In this video, I talk about the 2021 Hyundai Tucson, compare it to the competition, go over pros and cons, reliability, resale value, pricing, and trim information.
Basics
Exterior Styling
Interior
Size
Reliability
Resale Value
Pros
Cons
Price & Trim
Conclusion
Basics - The Tucson is the best selling vehicle in Hyundai’s lineup. It’s a compact SUV that is in the same class as the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V and the Nissan Rogue.
The 2021 Tucson has no significant changes compared to the 2020 model. This current generation of Tucson was last redesigned for the 2016 model year. Hyundai is introducing a completely redesigned 2022 Tucson that will be released in the first half of 2021.
Let’s see if it’s still a good SUV to purchase or best to wait for the 2022 Tucson.
The Tucson starts with a 2 liter 4 cylinder engine with 161 horsepower and 150 lb-ft of torque. The uplevel engine is a 2.4 liter 4 cylinder with 181 horsepower and 175 lb-ft of torque. The only transmission available is a 6 speed automatic. The Tucson comes standard with front wheel drive and all wheel drive is optional.
The power specs for the base engine is a little lackluster compared to the competition. As you can see, all of the top competitors in this segment have a standard engine with at least 20 more horsepower than the Tucson. One important thing to keep in mind is that Tucson's base price is the lowest in this group.
Luckily, the Tucson is available with a larger engine with 181 horsepower that puts it more in line with the base engines of the competitors. However, the Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4s are available in hybrids with significantly more power. The Mazda CX-5 Turbo stands out as the sportiest and fastest in this group with 70 more horsepower and 135 more lb-ft of torque than the Tucson’s upgraded engine.
Fuel economy for the Tucson with the base engine is 23 city / 28 highway / 25 combined MPG for the front wheel drive and 22 city / 25 highway / 23 combined for all wheel drive. Compared to the top sellers in this segment, the 2021 Tucson lags behind in fuel economy. The CR-V, RAV4, Rogue, and the Forester all get 6 to 7 more miles per gallon combined than the Tucson while producing more power.
Going up to the larger engine, the Tucson gets 22 city / 28 highway and 25 combined for front wheel drive while all wheel drive lowers that to 21 city / 26 highway / 23 combined. Unfortunately, the Tucson trails all of the competitors here. The RAV4 Hybrid impresses with 40 MPG combined. Even the CX-5 with its potent turbo engine gets better fuel economy than the Tucson.
Interior - The 2021 Tucson has some of the most user friendly interior layouts in the business. The infotainment system is easy to use and has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There are physical dials and buttons for the climate control. It’s one of those vehicles where you don’t have to read a 200 page manual to figure out how to operate the controls.
Size - The Hyundai Tucson has a good amount of space for passengers. The front headroom comes in at 39.6 inches and the rear is 39.2”. The front legroom is 41.5” and the rear legroom is 38.2”.
If you like a very spacious cabin, then consider the Subaru Forester as it’s very large, and it feels even bigger because of its expansive windows and panoramic moonroof.
Cargo capacity is an important consideration for many buyers. The Hyundai Tucson has 31 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 61.9 cubic feet with the rear seats down. That’s on the smaller side of the segment with most competitors having 70 cubic feet with the seats down. If you are looking for a large area to put your stuff, the Forester, the CR-V, the RAV4 and the Rogue provide significantly more cargo space.
Reliability - The Tucson has average expected reliability according to a leading nonprofit consumer advocate. 2016 and 2017 models had much worse than average reliability so it has steadily improved in reliability.
Resale Value - The Tucson has very good resale value compared to the average car. The 3 year expected resale value of the Tucson is 67.8% of its original price. That trails the Toyota, Honda, and Subaru which have the highest resale values in the industry but Tucson is not far behind. Hyundai has come a long way and their resale values are finally reflecting the quality of their vehicles.
The 5 year expected resale value of the Tucson is at 50.5% and 7 year resale value is at 41.1%.
Pros - The 2021 Tucson is a solid SUV overall. It’s well-priced. It also has a good amount of space
Cons - The 2021 Tucson at this point is getting a little old compared to some of the newer entries. That means that the fuel economy is below average.
#tucson2021 #hyundaitucson