No longer a 4WD, the Tucson City is a suburban runner at an excellent price.By Eric Blair
FOLLOWING the lead made by Ford with its Territory, Hyundai has added a 2WD variant to its Tucson range.
The move by both companies recognises the fact that the vast majority of people who buy 4WD vehicles are unlikely to ever venture off bitumen roads.
At the same time a smaller 2.0-litre engine has been used in the 2WD Tucson to further reduce the price of what was already a great value vehicle.
Throughout its almost two decades on the Australian market Hyundai has been seen primarily as the producer of reasonable quality, well-equipped and very price-competitive vehicles.
With the release of vehicles such as the Tucson and the latest Sonata, the Korean car maker has shown that it is on target for ambitious global targets in terms of both the quantity and quality of its vehicles.
The 4WD Tucson has been on sale in Australia since August 2004.
It has proved to be a very good performer that will please a lot of Australians who prefer common-sense vehicle designs.
Not only is the price very attractive, the 4WD Tucson is unusual in its class in that it has a V6 engine rather than four-cylinder.
That engine is just 2.7 litres and so isn’t that much larger than the 2.4 or 2.5 litres of most of its four-cylinder competitors and there isn’t any real performance advantage in it having six cylinders.
What it does provide is the extra smoothness you get from six cylinders instead of four which makes the complete vehicle, not just the engine, feel more refined.
But back to the Tucson City, the name given to the 2WD variant.
At $25,990 it is $4000 cheaper than its 4WD sibling, the combined savings coming from it having a two-wheel drive transmission and the smaller engine. This is offset slightly by the greater tariff payable on 2WD vehicles.
The Tucson City’s engine puts out 104 kW and 184 Nm at 4500 rpm and is closely related to that used on the Hyundai Elantra so it is a unit already well known to many Aussies.
The V6 Tucson has adequate rather than exciting engine performance and some may find it on the slow side on long hills, particularly with a load on board.
The City weighs 158 kg less than the V6 and this, combined with slightly lower gearing with the 2.0-litre engine, means the City also has performance that will be more than enough for most owners.
Power in the 4WD Tucson is normally taken to the front wheels through a four-speed automatic transmission, there being no manual option at this stage.
When the front wheels start to spin the rears are brought into action to provide extra traction.
A real plus in the Tucson is the ability to lock the rear wheels when circumstances dictate.
The Tucson City also comes only with four-speed full automatic with tiptronic-style manual overrides.
Fuel savings from the 2.0-litre engine and lighter vehicle are likely to be in the vicinity of 10 per cent in suburban running.
The official government figure for combined city and highway running is 9.2 litres per 100 kilometres.
One thing we’re not so sure about is the decision to also remove the large protection strips on the doors of the new City.
Hyundai says these are only needed for bush driving and their removal is part of the weight and cost saving.
However, given the carelessness of some drivers, as well as their passengers, in shopping centre carparks, the extra protection would have been handy in the city as well – and suburban 4WD buyers do like having a vehicle that looks the part.
We’ve had an extended test of the 4WD Tucson which has shown itself to be competent and stable even when driven pretty hard on-road.
Obviously it’s not car-like in the way it behaves, but it does come relatively close and those who enjoy driving will find pleasure in punting this 4WD along.
We’ve had limited time in the Tucson City and were happy with the way it felt and rode.
Given that the City 2WD has the same ground clearance as the Tucson 4WD it could easily be used by country drivers who want to run on moderately rough fire trails and the like.
Be aware, though, that the ground clearance, even on the 4WD isn’t as good as that in a normal 4WD, being roughly halfway between a car and a 4WD.
The Hyundai range is available for test drive at Dandenong Hyundai, 169 Princes Highway, Dandenong, phone 9791 4644, or Valley Hyundai, 37-39 Queen Street, Warragul, phone 5623 5633.
