19/07/2020
Tucson??? What it is ?
Lot of ongoing discussion about upcoming Tucson. Below I will share unofficial details and my opinion about it.
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Hyundai Tucson Update:
[ unofficial ]
KIA which is the subsidiary of the Hyundai Motor Group , started its operation mid last year and already started production of passenger vehicle in shape of Sportage . HYUNDAI on the other end was little slow and people were waiting in excitement.
Last year they introduced a mid-size, 3 row SUV Santa FE , which is a CBU and 100% import and on order. At almost 19 Million price [ before registration and other associated costs ], the Santa FE is happily residing on few showrooms floors. Public was eagerly waiting for something which is affordable and that is what the need of the market . HYUNDAI promised last year that they will be bringing a locally assembled vehicle this year/ 2020 and it will go on sale in 2020.
Tucson and Sportage are identical vehicles under the skin. Both are 5 seat vehicles. On the exterior they are completely different looking vehicles and styling, interior, exterior is subjective and personal opinion but they are on exact same platform and share the same mechanicals and other components.
Both Sportage and Tucson are available with different engine types depending on market. They share same exact AWD system known as HTRAC. As far as size/ dimensions, not much is different between two. Both models are within an inch of each other. We can say Tucson has slightly more room inside comparing Sportage.
Tucson will be powered by the same exact 2.0L engine as in sportage with power output around 155hp and with same automatic transmission as in Sportage. Sportage has ground clearance of 172mm and this is what is for Tucson without any weight in both of them. We should expect a FWD and AWD variant same like Sportage. It is rumored that Tucson base model will be offered even as manual but no confirmation.
As of safety , KIA Sportage is offered with 2 air bags like other car makers in Pakistan although the same models has side/ curtain airbags as standard overseas. We can expect same 2 airbags in Tucson and It would be nice if we get the curtain airbags and I hope Hyundai do. VSC / ABS would be there.
As of features, there are no official details but multiple trims are expected and that will decide features. Panoramic roof will be offered depending upon the variant. The Tucson on auto show in Lahore earlier this year has a slightly different head-unit than what is offered in overseas market. The overseas market Tucson head-unit gets two k**b on the either side of display and has slightly different screen size. It looks like the locally assembled Tucson might have incorporated an Android unit developed locally same like we see in Honda and Toyota which has different head-units when we compare with international models. Personally It feels and looks like a cheap integration in Tucson comparing what an overseas market model gets.
It is also possible that Tucson has an option of navigation from factory built in unlike Sportage which does not offer a navigation system although you can pair your phone. Steering wheel controls, cruise control will be offered as we saw on displayed vehicle in Lahore earlier this year. Leather seating, climate control, power lift gate will be available again on basis of variant.
Locally produced Tucson will be visible at dealerships for viewing and test drive soon and at that time official specification and variants will be known more in detail. We can expect this to happen in sometime in next few weeks .
There had been a lot of questions what would the price and no one knows about it at this time and everyone is predicting while there are certain rumors as well. Internationally depending on market/ Country, Sportage and Tucson are close to each other in Pricing.
We can expect around same pricing as Sportage BUT Hyundai has been always saying that they are premium brand and have premium product which in reality they are NOT. This what they said when they revealed the Santa FE and fear is that we can expect a base Tucson to be around 5 Million while the top variant somewhere near 6 Million range. Again this is just an assumption and my personal opinion.
For now, we need to wait for another couple of weeks, before we will be able to have any concrete information, details specifications, pricing and booking details as well as a direct comparison with Sportage.
Finally this upcoming Tucson will be replaced in overseas market late this year while the Sportage will go into next generation in mid to late 2021.. So, a Pakiatani Tucson will be a discontinued model very quickly and don't expect we will get the next generation right away. In other words, a Pakistan version of Tucaon will soon be called an oldse generation while Sportge still has life in it and approx a year time in the international market.
I was asked by number of people if they should sell Sportage and switch to Tucson. It's a personal preference and decision BUT as I said, the PKDM Tucson will soon be an older generation and I will not spend money on something with a label " older model ".
