[anandpadhye]

Now some inside view...

Reclining seats...

Upright...



Relax...



Sleep well...



Spread out...




Cheers!

[anandpadhye]

Tired of driving? Just pull over and go to bed.
No need to search for a hotel in an unknown territory late in the night...




Inviting...





Cheers!

[anandpadhye]

Cargo mode



We have moved bicycles, furniture, food-grains...
Also serves as a little playground




Cheers!

[anandpadhye]

For the rough road...

Manual control: 4WD lock and TCS OFF

4WD lock gets disengaged > 40kmph.



Full size spare with alloy



The spare is mounted conveniently with outer side up - can be inflated in-place, unlike some other cars I haved used (Laura, NHC)

Cheers!

[anandpadhye]

It's always a pleasure to go back in time and see how things looked. In spite of all the protests from my mom, I have kept a huge bunch of auto magazines from last many years which keep falling down from the overhead storage spraying dust uniformly in the beadroom... and I like taking out some old issue randomly and reading it again. It's interesting to see if the predictions actually materialized, and how the "high tech" stuff from that time has aged and how it all looks as of today...

Here is a UK review of the Tucson, dated June 2004 (the same engine, gearbox as our Tucson):
http://cars.uk.msn.com/reviews/artic...ntid=147862291

Cheers!

[Digital Vampire]

Tucson ages quite gracefully and in mine, some 1,25000 kms later as well, the plastics looks as good as new and no squeaks or rattles whatsoever - I don't think any new generation vehicle feels so well put together - possibly its the CBU quality showing its charms.

Posting this from Hyundai ASC where my Tucson is undergoing its first major overhaul. Clutch+Flywheel, Suspension/Struts all around, All suspension related rubber parts/bushings, Lower Arm, Engine mounts, Rotors, Pads....

Unable to find any 235/60/16 HT/HL tyres - Might have to go back to stock size...damn!!!

[Guderian]

Hi Anand,
Was slowly savouring your journey and relishing the snaps.
4 years - long journey.
The snaps look really good and your Tucson seems to be handling the ravages of age well. Years ago I was quite fond of the Tucson and thought that it was a very capable & sensible SUV. Pity that the boffins at Hyundai decided to pull the plug on it without pushing it real hard in the Indian market.
Wishing you many a thousand KMs of delightful and safe drive/s ahead !

PS: Some snaps of the engine bay would be nice.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by Digital Vampire

Posting this from Hyundai ASC where my Tucson is undergoing its first major overhaul. Clutch+Flywheel, Suspension/Struts all around, All suspension related rubber parts/bushings, Lower Arm, Engine mounts, Rotors, Pads....

Unable to find any 235/60/16 HT/HL tyres - Might have to go back to stock size...damn!!!

True.
I am waiting to know how the overhaul goes and what are the costs. Please do update with the bill and the pics when you can.

I find 215/65/16 good enough (of course, have not tried 235/60/16 so don't know if they really make a big difference). As I posted a fews pages ago, I got the 215/65/16 Yokohama geolander G011 AT for Rs. 8200/tyre last year.

Originally Posted by Guderian

Hi Anand,
Was slowly savouring your journey and relishing the snaps.
4 years - long journey.
The snaps look really good and your Tucson seems to be handling the ravages of age well. Years ago I was quite fond of the Tucson and thought that it was a very capable & sensible SUV. Pity that the boffins at Hyundai decided to pull the plug on it without pushing it real hard in the Indian market.
Wishing you many a thousand KMs of delightful and safe drive/s ahead !

PS: Some snaps of the engine bay would be nice.

Thank you Sir.
Only if Hyundai would take a note of this and relaunch the Tuc (they can ship the dies to Chennai rather than throwing them away, also launch a 2WD as a base varient, etc)...

Yes, I will upload the engine bay pics.

Cheers!

[Digital Vampire]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

I am waiting to know how the overhaul goes and what are the costs. Please do update with the bill and the pics when you can.

As expected, the bills are already hovering on the wrong side of 1 Lac. Some more parts to come and I'll post the final set of bills later.

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

I find 215/65/16 good enough (of course, have not tried 235/60/16 so don't know if they really make a big difference). As I posted a fews pages ago, I got the 215/65/16 Yokohama geolander G011 AT for Rs. 8200/tyre last year.

I'm currently running 235/60/16 Cooper Discovery HP tyres and they made an ocean of difference in braking, cornering and overall stability when compared to 215/65/16 Bridgestone Dueller HT tyres. Those crappy Bridgestones were real howlers on highways!!!. IMHO, 235/60/16 is a must-have upgrade for Tucson. The overall improvement is too good to overlook that I'm delaying the purchase of new tyres since almost 3 months in the hope that I'll able to find a good brand 235/60/16 in HT/HL pattern. Now that the Duster is out, I hope the upsize for the same will start to become available in the form of 235/60/16.

[anandpadhye]

While the Tuc is in for some running maintenance, some pictures from the many travelogues that I never got around to write...

Not far away from Mumbai...

[kranti]

Originally Posted by Digital Vampire

As expected, the bills are already hovering on the wrong side of 1 Lac. Some more parts to come and I'll post the final set of bills later.



I'm currently running 235/60/16 Cooper Discovery HP tyres and they made an ocean of difference in braking, cornering and overall stability when compared to 215/65/16 Bridgestone Dueller HT tyres. Those crappy Bridgestones were real howlers on highways!!!. IMHO, 235/60/16 is a must-have upgrade for Tucson. The overall improvement is too good to overlook that I'm delaying the purchase of new tyres since almost 3 months in the hope that I'll able to find a good brand 235/60/16 in HT/HL pattern. Now that the Duster is out, I hope the upsize for the same will start to become available in the form of 235/60/16.

The only real downside to owning the Tucson has been the prices of spares. That said, it does age well. My dad's Tucson has done over 1,75,000 kms in five years and is still going great, thanks to regular servicing and maintenance.

As far as the tyres go, there is one tyre available on Changemytyre for 235/60/R16 — Yokohama ES501. I don't know how good the tyre is but maybe somebody else can throw some light on that. While the Michelin Latitude Tour HP tyres that we have are much better than other tyres in the stock size (we've tried all the decent options, including some that are no longer available in that size), I have always felt the Tucson could do with wider tyres, especially when driving on the highway.

Do keep us posted on which tyres you finally go with.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by kranti

While the Michelin Latitude Tour HP tyres that we have are much better than other tyres in the stock size (we've tried all the decent options, including some that are no longer available in that size), I have always felt the Tucson could do with wider tyres, especially when driving on the highway.

Do keep us posted on which tyres you finally go with.

My experience is slightly different. I had Michelin Latitude Tour HP which I used for around 35000KM and then switched to Yokohama Geolander AT. I find the Yoko's better. Next time I will give a try to 235/60/16 as both of you are saying that they would make wonders.


BTW, which spares did you specifically find expensive? Of course, maintaning an SUV is expensive in India, but if we compare Tucson with other SUV's I did not find anything different...

[kranti]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

My experience is slightly different. I had Michelin Latitude Tour HP which I used for around 35000KM and then switched to Yokohama Geolander AT. I find the Yoko's better. Next time I will give a try to 235/60/16 as both of you are saying that they would make wonders.


BTW, which spares did you specifically find expensive? Of course, maintaning an SUV is expensive in India, but if we compare Tucson with other SUV's I did not find anything different...

Considering that we spend most of our time on really good highways, the Geolanders proved to be noisier and less comfortable, offered lesser grip, and wore out quicker. Just my observations and our driver's, who just hated the tyres (they were my recommendation as a change from the Latitudes we had on before that). We moved back swiftly to Latitudes swiftly.

Sorry, I should have phrased my statement about prices of spares better. I don't find the prices of the spares much higher, but we did have to spend more on spares due to the more frequent replacements required. For instance, we've had to have the clutch replaced/repaired at least thrice, if not more. I remember the clutch was really hard till we got it replaced the first time. Also, the cost of the 5000 km services do add up to more, in my opinion.

And then there's always the waiting period for some of the rarer parts while they are being shipped because they aren't in stock in Hyderabad (where the car is).

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by kranti

I don't find the prices of the spares much higher, but we did have to spend more on spares due to the more frequent replacements required. For instance, we've had to have the clutch replaced/repaired at least thrice, if not more. I remember the clutch was really hard till we got it replaced the first time. Also, the cost of the 5000 km services do add up to more, in my opinion.

Oh yes, Clutch!!!
That's really a weak part in this car. I am getting the master and slave cylinder changed as we speak and I should pick up the car later today. I have purged the brake/clutch fluid twice in last one year and even then the clutch appears to become hard after around 50km of driving...

And the low RPM clutch plate noise!!! It starts appearing after around 25000KM making me look like a novice driver as people think I am in the wrong gear and casuing knocking! This time I have decided to hang on to the clutch even though it has already done 28000 KM. I will live with this low RPM noise but concentrate on getting rid of the hardness of the pedal. Let's see how it goes after today's master/slave cylinder replacement.

The Yoko's have done 15000 KM so far and I have not noticed excessive noise yet, let's see.

[kranti]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

Oh yes, Clutch!!!
That's really a weak part in this car. I am getting the master and slave cylinder changed as we speak and I should pick up the car later today. I have purged the brake/clutch fluid twice in last one year and even then the clutch appears to become hard after around 50km of driving...

And the low RPM clutch plate noise!!! It starts appearing after around 25000KM making me look like a novice driver as people think I am in the wrong gear and casuing knocking! This time I have decided to hang on to the clutch even though it has already done 28000 KM. I will live with this low RPM noise but concentrate on getting rid of the hardness of the pedal. Let's see how it goes after today's master/slave cylinder replacement.

The Yoko's have done 15000 KM so far and I have not noticed excessive noise yet, let's see.

Hmmm. I had heard that the clutch troubles a lot of Tucson owners but, to be candid, we have not faced any hardness or low rpm noise since we got the clutch replaced the first time around after around 40,000 kms. Guess we were just lucky as the clutch is truly the glaring weakness of this otherwise lovely car.

Glad to hear that the Yokos are serving you better.