016 has been a year of revival for Hyundai. Not in the business sense of course, every passing year has been a bigger success for the brand and it's poised to breach the half million sales mark this year. By revival, we mean that the company's two big launches in 2016 are in segments that have been struggling off late. First came the Elantra in a segment where only the Octavia and Corolla sell in small numbers. Now, we have the all new Tucson which will go against just one direct competitor, the Honda CR-V. The other direct rivals, the Chevrolet Captiva and Renault Koleos have been discontinued. The new Hyundai Tucson aims at reigniting interest in this price point with Hyundai's trademark offering of good performance, plenty of features, solid safety and great design.
Design, style and features
Hyundai has really outdone itself in the design department - the Tucson is the most handsome sibling in a family of good looking SUVs. Every profile looks great, starting with the striking face. Hyundai has made clever use of sleek pulled back headlamps that straddle an imposing new chrome grille. The lights feature dual LED projectors while LED DRLs and fog lamps are neatly incorporated in the front bumpers in a smart gloss black section. The side profile is really interesting too thanks to an unusual asymmetric shape in the wheel arch moulding and a single shoulder line. Black cladding all around gives the Tucson some SUV presence and the 18-inch diamond cut wheels catch the eye. The roof gets subtle silver finished rails and there's a shark fin antenna shared with the Creta. The rear section has a subtle but sporty protrusion in the bootlid, sleek wrap-around lights and a chrome dual exhaust on the right. What I love most is the Tuscon's athletic stance thanks to the pronounced boot, smart spoiler, pinched window line and kinked wheel arches. It looks crouched, ready to pounce. Excellent job on the exterior Hyundai
