[QuadraticAmoeba]

Originally Posted by redballons

the one thing which really worried me was , the brakes. I just didn’t get the confidence and feedback when I braked even at 80km speed, it’s very spongy and need breaking much earlier to avoid surprises.

Yes the brakes are spongy and not sharp. They don’t have a defined bite point. I have driven my friend’s Linea and the brakes there are sharp. Coming from a car like that will definitely be a change.

However the brakes work fine and don’t have any problems. We have braked hard during spirited driving at highway speeds and there is no problem. You will get used to it especially since you are a sedate driver.

[redballons]

Originally Posted by QuadraticAmoeba

However the brakes work fine and don’t have any problems. We have braked hard during spirited driving at highway speeds and there is no problem. You will get used to it especially since you are a sedate driver.

Thank you for the clarification. Have read your review twice !.

Can you also let me know , how is the LED headlight throw at night please ? ( low and high beam ). This is extremely important to me, as most of the long drives ( 800+ km ) is at night. I know you have shared couple of pics but still would like to get more observation/inputs please.

i have requested a night test drive as well and told the SA that drive will last for 1hr + and they have agreed to it.

Also what i noticed on my first test drive was - rattling noise from sunroof. When the sun shade cover was closed, noise went away. SA admitted to the rattling noise and said some beading issue , will get it rectified before the night drive.

Hope you have had no issues with Sunroof ?

[QuadraticAmoeba]

Originally Posted by redballons

Thank you for the clarification. Have read your review twice !.

Can you also let me know , how is the LED headlight throw at night please ? ( low and high beam ).

Hope you have had no issues with Sunroof ?

Thank you for your kind words.

The LED high beams are ok. Many return journeys spilled over into night time. Also, we have done one trip to Madurai and then back both fully at night. Onward journey was even in pouring rain until Salem. A shout out to my good friend who taught me a lot about safe night driving. These LED lights are not as good as some old car yellow lights in foggy conditions but they are decent for a night drive at legal speeds.

Sunroof we usually never open it, other than to show someone that it’s possible. It’s like a moonroof most of the time and we close the cover when it gets hot. I haven’t had any rattling noises due to the sunroof.

[QuadraticAmoeba]

Hi all, posting an update after a long time. Life has been busy with work and lots and lots of weekend drives.

20000 km and one year up! The car has just been a joy to drive.



Thoughts and ramblings after a year of ownership - no particular order to these.

1. Really love driving. The car is so smooth and quiet. Five people can be seated in comfort with good leg space. Minor humps and undulations are not felt much. This is a very good family tourer. I like the high seat position, it lets me sit straight and reduces back pain.

3. Music system is very good. Note I am far from an audiophile and don't like high volume or loud music. The integration with Apple CarPlay makes it simple to setup playlists and listen to your favourite music. The radio is clear, although I haven't had much chance to listen to my preferred 100.1 MHz FM station.

4. The hard stitch in the steering wheel is still annoying, my thumbs have become used to it. Luckily, no grooves in my thumbs yet.

5. The sunroof is really a moonroof since it is almost never opened. We do like it - early morning and night drives plus Bangalore weather most of the year. During summer, the cover gets closed really fast by the rear seat passengers.

6. The TPMS works and is very useful. One nit pick is that you have to drive for a bit for it to display the pressure. This is not ideal when you want to check things before a long drive. Luckily, I have a portable tyre inflator and I use it to top up the air once in a couple of weeks.

7. Fuel tank capacity is good, I get 800+ km on a tankful of diesel. To date, I have filled an estimated 1450 litres of fuel, with an approximate mileage of 14.2 kmpl. This is with about 80% highway and 20% city driving. There was a good amount of ghat section driving, so overall the mileage is pretty decent.

8. As time goes on, the car is filled with lots of small stuff - water bottles, sanitizer, cables, tissue paper, spare masks, change, etc. Now there are rattles when I drive on bad roads but I can't be sure that they are due to the items and not the car. Oh well, just focus on the music. Smooth roads have no rattles.

9. The horn is too far away from my hands. I have to take a hand off the steering wheel and hit it hard. I wish they put a button on the steering wheel for the horn.

10. The powered tailgate is cool and amazing, but I am scared of all the security checks and their tendency to try and slam the boot. I always rush out of the car and make sure the security guy stays away from the boot.

11. The pickup is phenomenal. I am a conservative driver and rarely push the car. Even so, on two-lane undivided highways, if you want to overtake - all you do is touch the accelerator and the car races forward. In sport mode, there is pretty much no lag in response time either.

12. The brakes work fine, but they are definitely spongy without a defined bite point. If you are coming from a Linea or a Jetta (two other cars I have driven), it feels very different. I am used to it by now.

13. Those speed limit beeps are annoying. The best method I have found to deal with the 120 kmph continuous beep is to drive at 100 or so. Peaceful and quiet!

14. The boot space is pretty good - I have done airport runs with two check in suitcases, two cabin bags and other small bags. The lack of a loading lip is very useful to load and unload the luggage. The one grouse would be that there are no tethers or hooks for bags - they can move or roll around.

15. I have driven a lot in the ghats, at night and in the rain. The headlights are good and the cornering lamps help with the twisty turns in the ghats. Yellow lights would be even better in the fog but these are good enough.









Car updates since my last post:

1. Friend and fellow T-BHPian @mohanKV, after driving my car, suggested that I get rid of the cheap OEM Nexen tyres. On his recommendation, I upgraded to Pirelli Scorpion Verde tyres (225/55 R18). It has made such a difference to the car that I would recommend all Tucson owners to go for this. Tyre noise has reduced, small potholes or flyover joints are just sailed through, wet handling is much better and ghat section curves give much more confidence. I am very happy with this purchase and only wished that I had done this earlier. Hyundai, if you are listening - make these as the default tyres please! The steering has become a bit stiffer even in regular mode, which is a good thing.



2. Got the third service done at about 19.5k or so. This time, I was too busy to go myself and opted for the pick-up and drop on the same day. As per my service advisor: all four filters were changed, engine oil was changed and there was some scanning done related to checking the fuse update a couple of months earlier. I had asked them to not clean the car (they do a waterless wash) since I have PPF/ceramic coating done. The service went smoothly, replaced parts were in the boot and I was charged nothing! Typical Hyundai efficiency.

3. Wheel alignment and balancing at Madhus along with the change in tyres (which were sourced from Madhus itself). We also got the steering angle sensor calibrated.

4. A long scratch on the side and a small dent on the bonnet. Thanks to the PPF, these became much smaller than they could have been. Got them fixed at Krithi Car Care and it looks like new now. Also got KCC to bleed the brakes and clean them. Braking is still spongy but it works fine.

5. Changed the front windshield wipers (Minda, whatever was available on an outstation trip) and got the windshield clayed. The rear windshield wiper needs to be changed but Hyundai does not have the part in stock.

6. DEF top-up (10L) at 15000km. This is available at Shell outlets also now. Compared to the first 10k km done, I reached a 30% DEF tank level in lesser kilometres driven. I guess this is due to more city driving now that the lockdown has gone away.

7. Renewed my insurance. Got a good deal from Tata AIG, so went with that.

8. Unable to get a PUC (pollution test certificate). Tried a couple of centres and they said that they are not calibrated for BS6. Anyone in Bangalore (East preferred) who has got this done and can point me to a centre?

Lots of lots of driving over the weekends:

- trips to Chikmaglur, Kalasa and Kelagur

- trips to Davanagere for Benne Dosa

- trips to Birur and Chitradurga for food (Preeti Canteen and Sri Lakshmi Tiffin Centre)

That's all for now. Signing off with some pictures.

[pk1972]

Great update - glad to see you are enjoying the car. Wish you loads of fun and driving.

[yd_gli]

Super update! I really love this car but for the low rear seat and the fact that a new one is round the corner. Forking out ~32L for it at this point of time is something I can’t convince myself on. Spare part availability is another issue that I find a little dicey especially 2-3 years down the road. Has the road noise gone down after switching tires?

Also, when you’re in Davanagere next, you should probably try out the meals at Sharabeshwara Meals restaurant. Super stuff. I’ve made a note of the Laxmi canteen in Chitradurga for my next trip

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by QuadraticAmoeba

8. Unable to get a PUC (pollution test certificate). Tried a couple of centres and they said that they are not calibrated for BS6. Anyone in Bangalore (East preferred) who has got this done and can point me to a centre?

You can try the PUC centre in the Bharat petroleum bunk near Leela Palace hotel. Last November I tried the club HP in front of it first and was told their system was not updated for BS6. Next I checked the BP guy and he had the setup. He could give the certificate for my car.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation ltd
098450 53636
https://maps.app.goo.gl/KwZSPtCEwAbMqSZB6

[QuadraticAmoeba]

Originally Posted by yd_gli

Spare part availability is another issue that I find a little dicey especially 2-3 years down the road. Has the road noise gone down after switching tires?

Also, when you’re in Davanagere next, you should probably try out the meals at Sharabeshwara Meals restaurant. Super stuff.

Yes, my fingers crossed on spare part availability.

Road noise has improved a lot. Only good things to say about the new tyres. I will shut up about them now before I start sounding like a salesman.

Thanks for the restaurant recommendation, will try it out. Also check out Preeti Canteen at Birur. I recommend you get off the highway as early as possible and drive through the interior roads, it’s good fun especially early in the morning.

Originally Posted by ashis89

You can try the PUC centre in the Bharat petroleum bunk near Leela Palace hotel. He could give the certificate for my car.

Thank you very much. This is so close to my house too. Will check it out.

[vijaykr]

Originally Posted by QuadraticAmoeba

Hi all, posting an update after a long time. Life has been busy with work and lots and lots of weekend drives.

20000 km and one year up! The car has just been a joy to drive.

I have been reading your posts with great interest since Tucson is one of the 3 cars on my shortlist. You have a good writing style and I like how you cover so many aspects informatively.

While budget approval from wife is on hold for now, I am not sure if it makes sense to go with the current model or wait for the new one which hopefully makes it in 2022. Personally, I like the look of the existing model better as I am not a big fan of bling and 'in your face' styling.

Wishing you '000s of motoring and safe drives with your ride.

[QuadraticAmoeba]

Originally Posted by vijaykr

I am not sure if it makes sense to go with the current model or wait for the new one which hopefully makes it in 2022. Personally, I like the look of the existing model better as I am not a big fan of bling and 'in your face' styling.

Thank you for your kind words.

Yes the new Tucson looks quite polarising (I don’t mind it, my wife doesn’t like it). There is some speculation that it might be a 7-seater model, might cost more than the current one and offer many new technologies and so on.

Good luck with your car search and may you find a car that you really enjoy.

[rkw]

Originally Posted by QuadraticAmoeba

9. The horn is too far away from my hands. I have to take a hand off the steering wheel and hit it hard. I wish they put a button on the steering wheel for the horn.

Best wishes for many years of joyful driving experience. Curious to know where is the horn pad located.

[g_sanjib]

I get rid of the cheap OEM Nexen tyres. On his recommendation, I upgraded to Pirelli Scorpion Verde tyres (225/55 R18).

I have a Tucson 2018 Diesel AT and let me share my experience: This is very true and I have also experienced the same issues with my Tucson 2018 Diesel AT. NEXEN tires are of no good use in an otherwise awesome vehicle. The stock tires have completely started chipping from 22,000 kms and I am not too sure on how long will they last. On top of all this, I was given a weird logic by my service advisor that "since Tucson is a high torque vehicle, the tires often cannot support the amount of friction and heat generated on the run!!". I have anyways raised an official complaint with Hyundai and waiting for them to revert.

The service went smoothly, replaced parts were in the boot and I was charged nothing! Typical Hyundai efficiency.

During my first Oil Change service, I was told by my Hyundai Service Advisor that the term "FREE SERVICE" means that Hyundai will only give a NORMAL Engine Oil as a part of the service and NOT the Synthetic Oil and it will not be free. I was quite surprised to know this and then decided to go for the Synthetic Oil variety and paid for it. Rest of the servicing and parts such as Oil Filter and Air Filter etc.. were replaced for free.

[aboveallkaran]

Its so good you are enjoying your vehicle. I want to ask you something. I also own a 2018 tucson. There is a rattling noise from the boot since the day I bought the vehicle which I always ignored. Recently I figured out it is of the toolkit. In tucson there is no specified place or storage space to keep the toolkit so that it doesnt rattle. Did you experience the same? If not, where do you keep your toolkit? Thanks in advance. I personally feel Hyundai should have provided a proper place to keep the toolkit.

[QuadraticAmoeba]

Originally Posted by rkw

Best wishes for many years of joyful driving experience. Curious to know where is the horn pad located.

Thank you. The horn pad is in the middle of the steering wheel. To hit it, one needs to take their hands off the steering wheel and exert a decent amount of force.

Originally Posted by g_sanjib

During my first Oil Change service, I was told by my Hyundai Service Advisor that the term "FREE SERVICE" means that Hyundai will only give a NORMAL Engine Oil as a part of the service and NOT the Synthetic Oil and it will not be free. I was quite surprised to know this and then decided to go for the Synthetic Oil variety and paid for it.

This is news to me. I didn’t realise that we have a choice to put better engine oil as part of the service. Thanks for this info, will ask them during the next service.

Originally Posted by aboveallkaran

There is a rattling noise from the boot since the day I bought the vehicle which I always ignored. Recently I figured out it is of the toolkit. In tucson there is no specified place or storage space to keep the toolkit so that it doesnt rattle. Did you experience the same?

I keep the toolkit in the boot next to the spare wheel. Although there is no defined space for it, it does sit snugly in that place and does not rattle. You may want to wrap it in some cloth and see if that helps?

[argho]

Hi.

Fully agree that replacing the OEM tyres is a much needed upgrade for Tucson owners.

I had posted a thread about the porblems that I faced with the OEM Kunhos.

I replaced them with Bridgestone Turnzas, and the car just seems to drive and handle much better now.

Recently did a Chennai - Kodai - Chennai trip and was really pleased with the handling.