[starrys987]

Hello Everyone,

Hoping everyone is keeping well. Been waiting for quite sometime to write this initial ownership review of the Tucson Diesel GLS 4WD that we got home at the end of September.

The Need
We owned a Ford Figo Diesel Titanium (2013 model) prior to this and to be honest, there was not much to complain about. The steering, build and the sure footed-ness of the Figo won us over, time and again. So, there was no real need to do the upgrade then.
Except, after driving around Bangalore, I started to feel the need to switch to an automatic. At various points, the left leg and the left knee more specifically, started yelling at me to consider its pain. So, one fine day, out of the blue, just decided that it was the right time to switch to an automatic. And, this was rightt in the middle of this pandemic, great!!.

The Criteria
So, with switching to an automatic being our main reason to change the car, we quickly got down to list the absolute must-have's. We came up with 4. A failure on any of these would simply send the car out of contention.

1. Automatic ( preferably diesel, after being addicted to Figo's torque)
2. Safety ( I gauge the safety of a vehicle by its weight relative to others in the category, so in addition to being 4 star NCAP rated, it needed to have a decent weight!)
3. Panoramic Sunroof ( The finance ministry at home would not approve the car without this, period )
4. 4500mm or lesser in length ( that's because of the kind of space I have for my car in the apartment. Anything bigger and the car is sure to be scrapped by other cars when they move of the drive-way).

The Contenders
Well, with these 3 criteria in play, we got down to test drives. Our budget was a strict 15L on-road. It then went to a strict 20L on road and then.... you know where it ended.

We rode a bunch of them which I am listing here. The Pros and Cons of these are well known, so I will only mention the reason for them to be out. We did test drive a few of these knowing we will reject them but wanted to a feel of some of these cars to help with the final decision.

1. Toyota Innova - Length issue
2. Hyundai Creta - Almost the final contender but for the waiting period + unknown safety
3. Kia Seltos - The 2 star NCAP rating
4. MG Hector - No diesel Automatic
5. Skoda Octavia - No diesel Automatic
6. Hyundai Alcazar - Safety, this one did not make my weight<->safety cut
7. Tata Harrier - Longer by about 100mm. Somehow didnt find this car pulling the hearts strings after the TD.

So, finally after reading and researching like a fellow in MIT, it came down to a choice between the 2.

8. Jeep Compass
9. Hyundai Tucson

Jeep Compass is a fantastic car. It has a lot going for it. The new interiors are a big selling point. Did multiple test drives at 2 Jeep Showrooms from KHT in Bangalore.

At the same time, test drove the Tucson multiple times as well. Getting 1 test drive for Tucson itself is a task in Bangalore. I believe it is same pan-India. So getting more drives was not easy. Started the search with Advaith Hyundai, who strangely did not show much interest. Switched to Trident Hyundai and things got better. I took a lot of cues from the thread of QuadraticAmoeba here. Thanks for that review, Sir.

We spent weeks trying to rationalize between Compass and Tucson. One day I would get up and tell my wife, today we will be booking Compass and another day it would be Tucson.

The Decision
So what was it that sealed it in favour of the Tucson?

1. Spacious rear seat. Something even my Kid noticed.
2. That 8 speed auto + 400Nm engine combo - Oh my!!
3. NVH levels - My brother is a very keen NVH observer. Even he felt the NVH levels in Tucson made it feel premium when traveling as a passenger. Something he did not like it in the Compass.
4. Ride Quality - Here Tucson decimates Compass

So Tucson it was, in Starry Night Color.

The Aftermath
Once the decision was made, quickly got things rolling and booked the vehicle on 2nd September. The Vehicle arrived at the stock yard on 24th. By then, I had spoken to Kriti Car Care ( Mr Krishna) for a full body PPF and he even volunteered to come along for the PDI. Gladly, I agreed. So, me, my brother and Mr Krishna did the PDI on 24th itself and set it up for delivery on 29th ( My Birthday !!)

29th Sept : We arrived at the showroom at the designated time ( a rather weird 4 pm). It took us a couple hours to get the formalities done and lay our hands on this gem of a car. We quickly filled a good amount of Diesel and got home. Next day, I dropped the car for the full body PPF at Krithi Car Care.

It took about 3 days to finish and we were really excited to see our car and experience the classy workmanship from KCC. We also got the front dash cam installed from them (70 mai A800S, front only). I also ordered a Bergmann Digital tyre inflator which is working well so far.

The car has done about 2000kms so far and is raring to take us to places we have only been thinking of traveling.

Hope you all enjoyed reading through this briefly shared experience.

Now, onto some pics !!!

At the Stock Yard :


Ready For Delivery :





Work in Progress at KCC :




The finished Product :




Somewhere on Hosur Road :

[lordrayden]

Originally Posted by umairalvi

https://gaadiwaadi.com/2022-hyundai-...e-launch-soon/

Actually, these cars are most likely headed for Nepal as discussed in many posts of this thread:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post5223388

[umairalvi]

Originally Posted by lordrayden

Actually, these cars are most likely headed for Nepal as discussed in many posts of this thread:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post5223388

Yes, you are right. I researched a bit and found out that these cars were indeed heading to Nepal. If you look closely, you can see the green sticker with the devnagri script which cements the fact that they are headed to Nepal. Perhaps, they are assembled here at the Chennai plant.
Unbelievable how Nepal got almost all models from Hyundai before India.

[desidino]

Dear Tucson owners,

Any car covers you would recommend? Couldn't find any tyvek ones specifically for Tucson online.

Thanks.

[rave20]

Originally Posted by desidino

Dear Tucson owners,

Any car covers you would recommend? Couldn't find any tyvek ones specifically for Tucson online.

Thanks.

Hyundai was offering one as a part of the accessories. This was part of the 6,500Rs accessories which was sold with the car. I didnt take it instead i opted for Organizer for back seat.

You may want to check with Hyundai folks once.

[umairalvi]

Folks here may be aware of this but for those who are not.. some info regarding the rear centre passenger seat belt.
My sister was fiddling around with the centre seat belt of the Tucson. She buckled herself in nicely but was struggling to remove the strap that comes on top of the lap (and thus makes it a 3 point seatbelt) while unfastening the seat belt. I did a quick search on Youtube and turns out, you have to use the primary belt's end and insert it into a tiny slot behind the smaller belt. Voila, it pops open! I am attaching the video link to the same. Never have I been left scratching my head while unfastening a seat belt. ��

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0dj9LJEl48

[daspranab]

Originally Posted by rave20

Got my ride on Thursday. Currently i am out of station & the ride is undergoing some beauty treatment.

There were few reasons which made me go for Tucson over compass

• Seating: back seat of jeep was very cramped. It could accomate only 2 adults comfortable. 3rd one was very difficult. Coming from an XUV, this was not acceptable for me. I usually will have 3 adults in the back seat. Tucson was lot more comfortable for 3 adults in the back seat
• Price:Tucson top end (Diesel GLS Automatic 4WD) was almost 3 lakh cheaper than Jeep compass diesel top end with 4WD.
• Ride Comfort: Both were pretty much the same in this area
• Maintenance: Hyundai Tucson offers 3year / 30,000Km free service and Hyundai spares are lot cheaper than Jeep
• Service: No Jeep service center in Mangalore.
• Engine: Interms of specs Tucson's engine (185BHP & 400NM Torque) is more powerful than Jeep's diesel engine

Have not checked this. Will check tomorrow and confirm

Did you say you found Tucson safety ratings are at par with the others in your list: just a curiosity?

Congratulate you on your new acquisition

[rave20]

Originally Posted by daspranab

Did you say you found Tucson safety ratings are at par with the others in your list: just a curiosity?

Last i checked 2020 Tucson has 5 star rating from Europe NCAP. This was good enough for me.

[SR-71]

Originally Posted by rave20

Last i checked 2020 Tucson has 5 star rating from Europe NCAP. This was good enough for me.

Both the current model and upcoming model have a 5-star EURO NCAP rating. The following link might help

[Pyrotek]

So it's been 2 weeks since my black beauty came home. I wanted to share a quick observation and confirm if this is normal. I felt like the AC was not cooling fast enough today. It took me a while to realize that the AC was in fresh air mode and after I changed to recirculation mode, things improved slightly. More peculiar were the following:
1. Car blows air through the vents near the legs for some time even though the mode is set to blowing AC through the vents only
2. The AC starts blowing hot air while starting the car but then switches to cold air within 10-15 seconds.

Has anyone else faced similar peculiarities with their Tucson too? Car is doing absolutely fine otherwise. Have racked up 800 kilometers since getting it 2 weeks ago.

[rave20]

Originally Posted by Pyrotek

1. Car blows air through the vents near the legs for some time even though the mode is set to blowing AC through the vents only
2. The AC starts blowing hot air while starting the car but then switches to cold air within 10-15 seconds.
.

Haven’t faced this issue. AC has been very effective for me. Cools in an instant

[umairalvi]

Originally Posted by Pyrotek

1. Car blows air through the vents near the legs for some time even though the mode is set to blowing AC through the vents only
2. The AC starts blowing hot air while starting the car but then switches to cold air within 10-15 seconds.

Has anyone else faced similar peculiarities with their Tucson too? Car is doing absolutely fine otherwise. Have racked up 800 kilometers since getting it 2 weeks ago.

I haven't faced this issue too. AC works as expected and cools the cabin in minutes. It would be a good idea to get it checked during the first service.

[Pyrotek]

Thanks rave20 and umairalvi for your inputs. For now, I will keep a close eye on the issue and get it checked during the first service.

[TNAWAYAJ]

Hello everyone,

Hope you’re all doing well and staying safe amidst the rising numbers.

I’ve been enjoying reading the acquisition and ownership experiences from many of you on this thread, and that has inspired me to share my own! Despite having been a member of teamBHP since the last 15 years, I’ve never really got down to writing one of these, so please bear with me.

--

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

My wife and I were looking for a replacement after finding a new home for our Polar White Hyundai Verna SX(O) AT – the car had just run 6k km in just under 3 years owing to the pandemic, but its value had depreciated with time. The Verna was incredibly well-maintained externally and internally, so I was able to find a buyer who genuinely appreciated its condition and pay the price I was expecting after some negotiation. All the offers I received from Spinny, Cars247, Olx Autos seemed like lowballing and albeit convenient for ownership transfer, didn’t make sense monetarily.

For the replacement, I had the following criteria in mind:

• Max on-road price at BLR no greater than 32L (had started out with a budget of 25L!)
  
• High ground clearance (roads are rare in the part of BLR I live in!)
  
• Excellent ride + build quality
  
• Powerful engine + smooth gearbox – with proven credentials as shared by folks here at TeamBHP and beyond
  
• Black + premium interiors (I know the jury is divided here, but I’m in the camp that is not a fan of dual-tone beige-black interiors)
  
• Reliable + tension-free + accountable After-Sales Service (have had a terrible time with VW A.S.S. specifically the one in Whitefield that is nearest to my home)
  
• Torque Converter AT (not DCT/DSG for me or my usage, and not after having suffered DSG failure on a Polo TSi that I had owned a few years ago)
  
• Good music system (I’m a bit of a music buff, and appreciate high-quality audio!)
  
• Safety – airbags all around, ABS, EBD, the works. Hopefully an NCAP rating if tested.
  
• AWD/4WD - good to have but not a dealbreaker
  
• Creature comforts – sunroof, powered seat adjustments, powered tailgate, etc.
  
• Something that my better-half would be comfortable driving – last but not the least!

With these criteria, we shortlisted the Jeep Compass and the Hyundai Tucson. Everything else was either beyond budget or didn’t satisfy my concerns around A.S.S. or missed something or the other from my list of criteria above.

The Jeep Compass showroom experience was awesome – the KHT Jeep showroom near Domlur had friendly and knowledgeable staff, several models/colours on display including a cut-away model of the Jeep Compass, and even offered our 3.5yr old toddler a Jeep-branded colouring book and crayons. Definitely won his heart over with that! A test-drive was immediately organized, the vehicle was sanitized in our presence, and off we went. Kudos to Aftab and Aparna from KHT Fiat for being so courteous and pleasant!

The test-drive, however, failed to impress – the Diesel AT seemed lethargic and keen on playing a let-me-guess-the-next-gear game with me! The interiors of the Model S were all-black (yay!) but at the same time felt a little cramped and claustrophobic. The dashboard and center console enveloped the driver cosily, but the rear seat just didn’t seem roomy enough, and my better-half was clearly not impressed. The large 10+ inch display seemed overpowering and distracting for me, although it had wireless Apple Carplay. At 36L+ on-road, it was also beyond my budget and not really bang-for-the-buck IMO.

The Tucson experience started with the test-drive – Ramanneet from Advaith Motors brought the Diesel AWD GLS version over to our place, and we went on a 20minute test-drive during which I got to test the ride quality over treacherous roads, experience the pickup of the Sport vs Comfort vs Eco modes, gaze at a polluted sky through the sun-roof, and blast some heavy metal through the Infinity-branded sound system. On all counts, the Tucson impressed. It felt like a true all-rounder – not exceptional at anything but definitely above average across all. It was definitely roomier than the Compass though it didn’t feel as solidly built, and had a far more responsive and peppier engine+gearbox combination. Ramanneet was very well-informed about the vehicle, and had already shared the brochure with me on chat earlier.

About the Tucson – it's interesting how the name lends itself to mispronunciations (can’t be as bad as the Taigun vs Tiguan confusion that VW has!) - I heard in a span of a day people call it “Tuksun”, “Tuskan”, “Tosohn”, and more. My better-half also called it “Tuksun” and when I corrected her and pointed out it was a city in Arizona, she looked at me angrily and asked “Isn’t the car Korean?? What were they thinking??” to which I had no befitting answer.

After the test-drive, I took a pause to scratch the SUV-itch and ask myself if I was actually going to put down 30L+ for a car (seemed unthinkable, my last car cost less than half this amount!).

Finally, decided to go ahead, and as there were not many colour options available, opted for the Starry Night AWD GLS option available at Advaith Hyundai ORR, after visiting the showroom to take a look at the colour in person.

Curious about the name of the colour “Starry Night” – the amazing internet told me that the actual code is UB7 also known as Moonlight Cloud Pearl. For some reason Hyundai has chosen to give it the name Starry Night in India. Can there be a reference to The Starry Night painting by Van Gogh? Is there a secret art connoisseur sitting in HMIL’s Marketing team??

The delivery experience was nice but not great – it could have felt more premium, for a car as expensive as the Tucson. It was definitely efficient, and Ramanneet was very thorough. We got a few photographs in front of the car, and then the key was handed over with a small box of chocolates. HMIL can do more here to make the experience feel more premium and memorable for Tucson/Elantra buyers possibly? Some creativity and out-of-the box thinking needed here!

The day after delivery, and after much indecision, I finally chose to get the Tucson ceramic coated at Esperto Car Care DCHalli (Main Branch) with Drexler 9H ceramic. Ojus and Amal (who are the co-founders) through their team did a fantastic job in reducing the significant orange-peel effect on the factory-finish, dressing the alloys, coating the glass, and applying PPF on the bumpers, mirrors, door handle cups, and door-edges.

Huge kudos to BHPian Rave20 for his advice and connecting me with Ojus from Esperto! Choosing the right detailer and product is no easy feat - there are so many brands out there (Drexler, CarPro, Modesta, etc. etc.) and many detailers too. I would recommend Esperto (Ojus and Amal) highly for their customer-service and professionalism.




--

TWO WEEKS LATER

It’s been a couple of weeks since we got the Tucson home, and you know what they say about the many stages of grief when it comes to the first scratch/dent in a brand new car??

As luck would have it, in our maiden highway trip to Chennai a stone hit the windscreen near the RHS A-pillar close to Hosur, causing a crack.

The crack started at around 2 inches long, right in front of my (the driver’s) face, and quickly spread to around 15 inches by the time we reached Chennai. My wife applied Araldite on it and it halted the crack from spreading further and enabled us to return to BLR without any more palpitations. But a windshield replacement is in order, with not even 1000km on the odo. This is Murphy’s law at work, folks – I haven’t had to replace the windshield on any of my previous vehicles in the past!



Note: An OEM windshield costs around (wait for it).... 38k INR GST included. Labour, sealant, molding, is extra. The windshield has to be ordered from the factory as no service center in either Bangalore or Chennai has inventory as of last week. OEE (OEM equivalent) windshields are also impossible to come by for the Tucson, possibly due to the scarcity of the car on Indian roads, something we Tucson owners need to be prepared for in the future.

Other than the cracked windshield, the Tucson returned an efficiency of 18.1 kmpl (!!!) on the trip to Chennai with sedate driving (sedate because with that crack staring at me throughout, I didn’t have the guts to floor the pedal!). The car has oodles of power on tap, and is eager to surge forward with the slightest push. The AC is extremely effective, and the dual zone climate control came in handy to configure the cooling based on the angle and direction of the sun. The stereo was punchy and bass-heavy just as I like it, and the Tucson glided over bad patches effortlessly. NVH levels were satisfactory though the tire noise was quite hard to ignore – possibly the Nexen compound isn’t the greatest?

That’s all for now. Will post updates after the windshield has been replaced. Hope Advaith ORR do a good job of it – I've become a little paranoid about scratches to the A-pillar trims and dashboard, soiling of the roof-liner, scratches on the bonnet, and so on. If any of you has a senior contact there, please pass it on. Wish me luck, folks!

Take care and stay safe.

[lordrayden]

Originally Posted by Pyrotek

1. Car blows air through the vents near the legs for some time even though the mode is set to blowing AC through the vents only
2. The AC starts blowing hot air while starting the car but then switches to cold air within 10-15 seconds.

I have noticed this in my Tucson. It happens under specific circumstances:
Generally, I keep the ACC temperature in the range of 23-24. When I start the car in the morning, given that its cold now I'm guessing the ambient temperature in the car is actually below that set point. So the ACC correctly decides to run the heater for a short while until the temperature comes up to the set point. After a short while (30-60 seconds), once the ambient temperature goes up, it switches to running the cooler.

When running the heater due to ACC temperature being higher than ambient, it seems to run the vents near your legs (hot air rises, maybe that’s why).

You can try this experiment: In Auto mode, move the ACC from something very low to something very high. As you are turning the dial to make this change, you will see these states:

• When the cooler is running, only the top vents will be used.
• At around the ambient temperature, BOTH vents will be used and the fan slows way down.
• Above the ambient temperature, only the bottom vents will be used. And at the same time the "A/C" on the display will disappear.

I always felt like its designed like this.

Hope this helps.