[Tony2298]

Hello all!
Wish everyone a happy Festive season ahead in advance and hope you all have a good time during this auspicious month!

As we all know during this season we all enjoy and buy stuff for our loved ones, I too ended up doing the same for my SUV, which in this case is a Phantom Black 2021 Hyundai Tucson GLS 4WD A/T, it has taken me to many places in uber comfort and utmost safety with an extremely enjoyable drive experience each time I get behind the wheel. I've done a massive JH-MH road trip a couple of years ago spanning 2500kms in about 72hours time crossing OD,TS,KA! Apart from that I did a very enjoyable Gujarat trip going to places like Statue of Unity, Anand, Baroda, Ahmedabad and Surat, also recently I did a trip to Indore and Ujjain!

All these long road trips aside my regular commute frequently involves up/down via Mumbai-Pune e-way and NH48(which is in a horrendous state now sadly). Therefore as you can make out my SUV is more on the highway as compared to urban conditions therefore I always like to keep it in fully tip-top condition and absolutely don't pinch pennies for it.

Gift #1

My first expense started off when one fine day my car refused to start, called up the RSA, it was diagnosed to weak battery, changed it immediately with Amaron which has offered 48months unconditional warranty plus 48months pro-rata warranty. Old battery was of Korean make and bought back by Hyundai for Rs2500.
Old Battery


New battery


Gift #2

Next up, I decided to prepone the service even though interval was 3000kms/3months away since I had driven it continuously upto 18hours at a stretch to Indore and 12hours to Vadodara! Additionally most of my drive comprises highway/e-way non-stop up/downs 180km one way. Therefore carried out the service, the old oil(Shell fully synthetic) was completely charred to thick black sludge and was replaced with fresh Shell Helix Ultra fully synthetic, apart from that Adblue was topped up and thorough cleaning was carried out both inside and out. Overall the service experience had been EXCELLENT, typically Hyundai!

The final bill for service


Gift #3
After service and batteries it was time for new shoes, my SUV has had been literally crying for new sets of tyres, I felt this especially for past couple of months when excessive tyre noise was filtering in the cabin making the drive experience that bit less enjoyable, even though the outgoing tyres had a bit more juice left I still opted to change the tyres since I couldn't push it to what it was capable since the tyres somewhere held it back.

This gen of Tucson comes with OE Tyres of rather odd size of 225/55R18, only other car in India to share this size is the Jeep Compass ModelS, a rare sight itself therefore not many manufacturers make this tyre, only choice I had were the Bridgestone Turanza T001(OE Fit in Jeep) and Apollo Vredestein Ultrac Vorti. One of the original Nexen tyre was defective and was replaced with Turanza early in its life by Hyundai themselves under warranty. Therefore wasn't very keen on repeating the Bridgestones, regarding Vredestein, yes they're relatively good but not as much since one of my friend has it fitted on his car and he is not too happy with those. Therefore decided to upsize the tyres, asked out DBHPian NikhilB, he recommended me upgrading with 245s instead of 235s, with the former I was very keen on getting the Pirelli PZero Rosso(F1 fanboy things), sadly however the dealer didn't have adequate stock of it and didn't know exactly when fresh stocks would arrive. Therefore my next best option were the Michelins, the dealer had fresh stocks of the same and offered me a cool discount and complimentary WA/WB too which sealed the deal. The Michelins are very soft, comfy and completely silent!

Pirelli v/s Michelin


New Michelins, completely suit the car's character IMO!



Gift #4
After testing all sorts of fuel including XtraGreen, BPCL, TurboJet, Reliance and Nayara have completely switched to Shell, preferably the V Power Diesel, yes it costs a bomb but is completely worth it, CRDi loves VPower and delivers its optimum performance with the same.

Shell V-Power+Michelin+Full service= The grinning face of Tucson says it all !


Gift #5
This time when it came to renew my insurance premium got extra add-ons of Zero-Dep, RTI, Loss of Personal Belongings etc inflating the premium quite a bit, yes I didn't purchase Zero Dep and RTI right from beginning since I've never ever filed a claim till this date therefore didn't feel the need initially but nowadays I see too many cases of mishaps on our roads therefore as a peace of mind updated the policy.

TidBits
Since my SUV completed its 3years with me, the standard warranty of 3years/unlimited kms expired, thus got the Extended Warranty of 5years/140k kms. Additionally BlueLink free subscription also expired which I subsequently renewed for 2years now. RSA was renewed too.

Apart from that, very happy with my Tucson and look forward for many more long, unending road trips!


Thank you
Tony!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[argho]

Hi.

I too have a Tucson Diesel GLS.

Curious about your tyre upsizing from 225/55 R18 to 24/50 R18.

Have you faced any problems at all ?

While taking an U Turn, with full lock, does the tyre foul with the wheel well ?

Do let me know.

[argho]

Also, were you able to fit the new size tyres on the existing rims ?

[Tony2298]

Originally Posted by argho

Hi.

I too have a Tucson Diesel GLS.

Curious about your tyre upsizing from 225/55 R18 to 24/50 R18.

Have you faced any problems at all ?

While taking an U Turn, with full lock, does the tyre foul with the wheel well ?

Do let me know.

As I mentioned in my post I did take an advise from DBHPian NikhilB about the upgrade, also even if you yourself check on a tyre upsize calculator the difference is marginal with 245s as compared to 235s, plus once the fitment was done, dealer himself double checked the fitment and everything turned out to be fine. Additionally the very next day of getting new tyres I did a 180kms one way up/down journey, didn't find anything unusual or bothersome. The steering didn't feel heavy, the turning radius ain't affected and if anything the feedback has improved by MILES!

Originally Posted by argho

Also, were you able to fit the new size tyres on the existing rims ?

Yes it was a PERFECT fit, felt as if the rims were originally designed for 245s itself !

I remember reading your article a couple of years ago, where you complained your Tucson's Nexen tyres did away within a meagre 11k kms or so causing you a hell lot of trouble. To be Honest, after reading that whole saga back then I really didn't expect you would've retained your Tucson till now. Happy to know you're still holding on to it!

Thank you
Tony

[argho]

Thanks Tony.

Very useful info. Will keep in mind for my next tyre change.

Yes, I have still retained my Tucson. Its a great vehicle. Still enjoying driving it.

The vehicle should not be blamed if poor quality tyres are fitted on it :-)

[ghodlur]

I gifted myself and my steed the Harrier the following gifts this festive season

1. Riggear Ventilated car seat for driver side - 6.5K
2. Garware Artic cool shield sun film for windshield, window glasses except rear - 11k
3. Blaupunkt 55W, 6k Lumens D5S low beam - 9.5k

Add to the above a nice exterior wash + interior care.

[ams43]

I'm looking to buy used Tucson within 17L,2021 model.

If I find, is it worth to buy in 2025.