- It did poke me that I was paying so much for a Hyundai but I’ve driven a 12-yr-old first-gen Santro, so I knew the quality of engineering Hyundai puts in.
- Decision making
- Ownership experience till now
It did poke me that I was paying so much for a Hyundai but I’ve driven a 12-yr-old first-gen Santro, so I knew the quality of engineering Hyundai puts in.
BHPian naikameya recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
I recently took delivery of a shiny Red & Black Tucson AWD just before Diwali. This post combines my perspective of decision making, driving a Tucson and what it feels like for someone who does multiple categories upgrade after 10 years. Also, for those who want to see how the car looks in Red.
My previous car was a 10yr old Honda Jazz 1st Gen facelift with ABS, EBD and dual airbags. It came with all the bells and whistles for that time and was an overpriced car then (it seems like I have a knack for it).
Decision making
My criteria were simple: Safety, comfortable ride quality, a powerful engine, ventilated seats and a panoramic sunroof. From my journey with Jazz and 1st version of S-Cross, I am a firm believer in cars sold by volume manufacturers but not Indianized. It is a sweet spot for quality service and uncompromised products for which you are essentially paying a little more.
Tiguan and Kodiaq were considered, but the price, ride quality (Tiguan) and unreliable gearbox were the deal breakers for me.
My driving is very low post-pandemic, and petrol made the most sense, but the powerful good ones are offered only with the unreliable gearbox. The better half declined a used car. Entry models of luxury Germans were ruled out since they are not their true brand entry points (tribal knowledge on our forum—no offence to those who own one). I didn’t care about the brand name. At the same time, it did poke me that I was paying so much for a Hyundai, but this was not my first rodeo of overpaying (Honda Jazz – wink wink). Also, having driven a 12 yr old 1st gen Santro I knew the quality of engineering Hyundai puts in.
I love Tata and Mahindra products. Safari has an excellent build quality, but some pieces were an excuse for a feature – a tiny portion of the seat is ventilated. Some switches near the dome felt like they were lifted from an old electronics product. This is where I get uncomfortable with Tata, they do great overall products, but there are hidden surprises of poor execution that makes me wonder how many such internal things were left undercooked.
XUV700 had a long waiting period, and too much software in a Mahindra is a big no for me. The whole fail-fast agile method that some software industry applies is scary.
Besides the quirky design which I hated earlier, I had nothing to complain about in Tucson on paper while buying. But some things hurt now.
Another important aspect of the decision-making was Petrol vs Diesel. I didn’t follow the traditional way of choosing diesel for high running, which I don’t have. I don’t think the mileage is the great deciding factor when the characteristics of Petrol vs Diesel are so different. I would say go for it if you want the torque. DEF clogging risk exists with Diesel, but heck there is no perfect car.
Ownership experience till now
I will not bore you with the buying phases and delivery details, but I got all the support from Arsh Hyundai Sion for a PDI and delivery as needed. I could not negotiate on the insurance price because I got an accidental early delivery for the exact colours and model I wanted. They were allotted two Red Dual Tone cars- one with 2WD and the other AWD and it seemed like one customer cancelled, and I was the one who wanted a little offbeat colour for Tucson.
Since the last 3 weeks, the car reads 1200+ km, which is a mix of city driving, idling the vehicle at late night eat outs and a 700 km Mumbai-Hyderbad Road trip. I have also added DDPAI Z50 Dual Dashcam but have not hardwired it. I have safe covered parking at home and office and don’t see a need for hardwiring it.
I had big plans of doing PPF but gave up on it, knowing they would have to open the trims to do a good job. I am a little old school and believe factory fit is factory fit. The plastics, when put together for the first time, take shape, if opened, they will never go back again the same way. I followed that policy for my Jazz and never had a rattle in 10 years. I also like to buy the car loaded and maintain as much stock as possible.
Some observations from all the driving I have done to date.
- The feel of upgrading from sub-4meter 1.2lt NA Petrol 88 BHP and 110 NM to 4.6m 2.0lt Turbocharged Diesel with 186 BHP and 416 NM is stark and, at times, difficult to get comfortable. Add to this automatics-ness of everything in the car against the Jazz’s pure mechanical character. For me, everything is different, and I took time to get used to it.
- The car looks magnificent in red colour. The dual-tone treatment makes it look a lot more stable. But this could be just me feeling this after spending that amount.
- Ventilated seats are a boon, and so are seat warmers. On my road trip, I started from hot and humid Mumbai to chilly and dry Hyderabad weather. While I used ventilated seats throughout the day, I washed my face in Telangana only to realise I had splashed myself with very chilly water. Switching on the warmers was very comforting and almost felt like a light heat massage.
- You will not feel the need for paddle shifters. I enjoy the manual but the gearbox’s sheer torque and responsiveness are more than enough. Since it is not yet popular on the road it feels like a sleeper car. I have had numerous experiences on the Mumbai Pune expressway where some rashly driven cars with “Desh ka engine” (which I love by the way) would come behind you and keep honking to give way. It was such a delight that I could switch lanes and let the dude come side-by-side and floor. The grin on my face. It was so much fun.
- I have completely put all things ADAS on warning-only mode, and disabled the lane assist alarm. It was a nuisance on highways and is a nuisance on our roads where a bridge with two lanes lands on a road with three lanes and mismatched lines.
- I also drove the petrol version, and I feel it is not as bad as it has been called out on our forum. It is still reasonably powerful. So those who are okay with spending big bucks on Hyundai, go for it. The refinement of this car is really good, extremely good. You may need some working through gears if you want some enthusiastic driving. Obviously, it will not compare to Turbocharged VAG, but that is physics.
- The music system is not that great, with very few adjustments for sound output. Also, I had recently upgraded my setup in Jazz to JBL GTO series component speakers front and back with tweeters, which could have raised my expectation. But I am not an audiophile, so not a deal breaker.
- Let’s accept the lights are mediocre for the price point. I will also need time to get used to LED lights and white colour. My Jazz had halogens with unmentionable high-wattage bulbs. This is the only sore point in the whole car and doesn’t come with an easy fix. Any upgrade is going to void the warranty.
- I also had a small mishap on my way back. On the highways during dusk, I was doing a comfortable pace of below 70, and a dog jumped out of bushes and hit the front bumper. It bounced off, but my bumper and the chrome lip took a hit and now have a crack. Maybe better lights could have helped. I don’t know.
Here are some un-edited photos of the beauty in red.
It was difficult for me to give away the Jazz.
Keyword: Why I picked Tucson to replace my decade-old Jazz: Ownership experience