The third-generation Tucson was introduced to South Africa earlier this year. I had already tried one model out on an extended trip to Gauteng (where I towed a variety of caravans and trailers), so I was pretty excited to do so again on this Route 62 mission.
As a starting point, I love the Tucson’s looks! The outside has sleek, bold dynamic lines, and inside the fascia has been “cleaned up” to have a neat and uncluttered appearance. The cabin has been upgraded from the i-series and now contains soft-touch materials.
The seats seem to hug your body, and being heatable in both back and front you can be sure of a comfortable ride. Leather seats and a six speaker DAB+ digital radio are standard across the range (although a navigation system will run you another R15 000).
There’s enough leg room front and back, and you can fit a substantial amount of packing in the back – Hyundai says the cargo area with the back seats folded flat measures to 1478 litres, while the boot space is rated at 488 litres.
The Tuscon Turbo Executive had the four cylinder 1.6 litre Veloster turbo petrol engine with the six-speed manual gearbox. For petrol heads that equates to 130kW at 5 500rpm, and 265Nm of torque at 4 500rpm.
When I previously towed a little teardrop caravan behind a similar model Tucson, I didn’t feel it at all. On this trip I towed a 1450kg Tourer SW… and it was no problem; not a surprise, considering that this model is rated as being able to tow a 1 900km braked trailer!
Considering the fact that I was towing the caravan up hill and down dale, I was impressed with the average fuel consumption on the trip of 14.4 litres/100km.
The new 2016 Tucson also comes with a 5-Star Euro NCAP safety rating. It achieves this through an advanced high-strength steel body shell, six airbags and a host of other safety features. The reverse camera allowed me to look like a pro as fellow campers watched me hook up the caravan.
All in all I really felt safe and pampered, and enjoyed this vehicle immensely.
