Photo: Hyundai
It seems we are talking about small performance crossovers more and more often these days. Hyundai has tried to add a bit of zing to the Tucson and Santa Fe in the past, just like it did with its compacts, but the Korean company is now looking into a full-on performance model to wear the N badge.
Once again, the story revolves around Albert Biermann, the man who left BMW M after 30 years working there and is now leading Hyundai's performance division. We've heard a lot of good things about his i30 prototype lately.
We told you about the Australian test drive even for the i30 N yesterday. And it seems that Drive magazine has learned about the possibility of a Tucson N there. Biermann suggested that the next cars in line to receive the N badge are the all-new Veloster and the coupe version of the i30. He was also very to the point when talking about the Tucson crossover, saying that it was a good platform “to make a high-performance SUV.”
If they use the exact same engine as the hatchback, we would be dealing with 250 and 275 PS flavors of Korean crossover. While that's not quite the 310 PS we'll see from the Tiguan R, it's still enough to keep up with an old Porsche Boxster.
As the crossover market grows, more and more customers are looking to combine the best parts of a sportscar and family SUV. Of course, there are flagship models like the Bentayga, Grand Cherokee Trackhawk or Tesla Model X. But there's also stuff going on at the bottom of the market with things like the JCW Countryman.
Of course, Hyundai won't approve the development of a costly turbocharged 4x4 until it sees how the i30 N sells. That worries us because it's not the only hot hatch coming out this year. But at least it gives the Tucson N enough time grab the 8-speed DCT gearbox Hyundai is working on right now.
We told you about the Australian test drive even for the i30 N yesterday. And it seems that Drive magazine has learned about the possibility of a Tucson N there. Biermann suggested that the next cars in line to receive the N badge are the all-new Veloster and the coupe version of the i30. He was also very to the point when talking about the Tucson crossover, saying that it was a good platform “to make a high-performance SUV.”
If they use the exact same engine as the hatchback, we would be dealing with 250 and 275 PS flavors of Korean crossover. While that's not quite the 310 PS we'll see from the Tiguan R, it's still enough to keep up with an old Porsche Boxster.
As the crossover market grows, more and more customers are looking to combine the best parts of a sportscar and family SUV. Of course, there are flagship models like the Bentayga, Grand Cherokee Trackhawk or Tesla Model X. But there's also stuff going on at the bottom of the market with things like the JCW Countryman.
Of course, Hyundai won't approve the development of a costly turbocharged 4x4 until it sees how the i30 N sells. That worries us because it's not the only hot hatch coming out this year. But at least it gives the Tucson N enough time grab the 8-speed DCT gearbox Hyundai is working on right now.
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