Brought home a Hyundai Tucson GLS diesel AWD

The car has oodles of power on tap, and is eager to surge forward with the slightest push.

BHPian TNAWAYAJ recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

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 Team BHP 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 cozily, 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 20 minute 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, on 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 tyre 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.

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