Hyundai Tucson (2015-2020) review

There wasn’t a great deal wrong with the Tucson’s ergonomically superior, spacious cabin, but Hyundai’s still gone to the trouble of rethinking the dashboard for its mid-life refresh. To bring the Tucson’s cockpit into line with the Santa Fe and Kona models, the touchscreen centerpiece now stands proud of a plinth rather than being fared into a bulkier dashboard. That means it’s as in your eyeline as before, but the rest of the dash has dropped away, increasing the sensation of space, and relegating the vents slightly lower in the dashboard.

It’s a successful refresh, and given Hyundai’s seven or eight-inch touchscreens are one of the best OEM systems in the mainstream car world, they’re fully deserving of extra prominence. Vauxhall, Renault and Citroen have got nothing on Hyundai’s ease of operation – and Hyundai deserves extra points for keeping the Tucson’s chunky, easy-to-use climate controls rather than burying them in the touchscreen.

Up front, all is well – the materials aren’t exactly plush but the Koreans have moved away from plastic masquerading as metal, and there’s enough soft-touch plastic and tightly-fitting surfaces to give most Japanese brands a serious wake-up call now. The glovebox is a decent size, as is the under armrest-cubby, and you’ve got cupholders that’d take the grandest of lattes. Or a couple of smartphones. Wireless charging pads next to the USB socket are standard on Premium and Premium SE models.

Through commodious doors and a respectable step up, you arrive in spacious rear seats. There’s enough room for three across the rear, but unlike the Skoda Kodiaq, there’s no seven-seat option here. For that, you’ll be wanting the Hyundai Santa Fe. Meanwhile, you’ve 513 litres of boot to fill – over a flat loading sill – and a 1,503 space with the seats flipped down. Again, there’s little pretention about the Tucson. You can’t fold its seats down via an app or a smartwatch. It’s just a car, designed and executed sensibly.