Photo: Hyundai
The president of Hyundai's new N performance division said the Tucson is ideal for a makeover. But that could take several years to arrive. In the meantime, there's the new Tucson Sport with a reasonably adequate 204 PS. However, there's a catch.
This project is home-grown in South Africa, which is going to be its only market, from what we understand. Before you start saying that it's a real shame, consider the kit that's being offered.
Like the Elantra Sport that's also being launched in South Africa this week, the Tucson Sport comes with a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine. This was available before, but the output has grown from 177 to 204 PS.
Instead of bringing the crossover lower to the ground using new suspension, they chose the body kit route instead. This led them to inserts for the chin, side skirts, and a rear diffuser.
Of course, current Tucson owners want this look for the car they already bought, but Stanley Anderson, the local operations' director, says only the Tucson Sport will have this appearance package. It reminds us of a Kia Sportage tuning project from a while back, which leads us to believe that the add-on goodies come from a particular Korean tuner we know. Those 19-inch black alloys are from Tiger.
While the body kit makes the Tucson look like The Rock, it doesn't influence the way it drives. The only extra character comes from the quad pipe exhaust system and power boost.
Hyundai launched the Tucson in South Africa last year, and it's done quite well, managing 7,553 units delivered since then. That's better than the RAV4 or Mazda CX-5. But we're not quite sure a body kit makes this a sportier model. Thankfully, nobody outside this market will ever know about the sacrilege.
Like the Elantra Sport that's also being launched in South Africa this week, the Tucson Sport comes with a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine. This was available before, but the output has grown from 177 to 204 PS.
Instead of bringing the crossover lower to the ground using new suspension, they chose the body kit route instead. This led them to inserts for the chin, side skirts, and a rear diffuser.
Of course, current Tucson owners want this look for the car they already bought, but Stanley Anderson, the local operations' director, says only the Tucson Sport will have this appearance package. It reminds us of a Kia Sportage tuning project from a while back, which leads us to believe that the add-on goodies come from a particular Korean tuner we know. Those 19-inch black alloys are from Tiger.
While the body kit makes the Tucson look like The Rock, it doesn't influence the way it drives. The only extra character comes from the quad pipe exhaust system and power boost.
Hyundai launched the Tucson in South Africa last year, and it's done quite well, managing 7,553 units delivered since then. That's better than the RAV4 or Mazda CX-5. But we're not quite sure a body kit makes this a sportier model. Thankfully, nobody outside this market will ever know about the sacrilege.
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