Overview

MORE OF WHAT YOU WANT, LESS OF WHAT YOU DON’T

In theory, the SUV was a sensible choice: more room for your cargo, more ground clearance when roads are snowy or unpaved, and more traction when climbing slippery hills. It’s the trade-offs that make traditional midsize SUVs a less ideal choice: poor fuel economy, high purchase price, and difficulty maneuvering and parking.

Small CUVs were a response to these trade-offs, but they went to the other extreme and created trade-offs of their own: cramped interiors, a lack of refinement and a general lack of ruggedness.

To differentiate the Hyundai Tucson from the small CUVs on the road, Hyundai engineers decided the Tucson needed to offer the best of both worlds, combining the rugged utility of an SUV with the maneuverability and refinement of a car. Once you experience it, you’ll understand why the Tucson is the right vehicle for our times.

THE BOX MADE BEAUTIFUL

It’s one of the key principles of geometry: Rectangular shapes hold more than those with curves and sloping sides. So when designing a utility vehicle — particularly one that’s smaller by nature — boxier is better. The challenge, then, for Hyundai designers was to turn that boxy utility into graceful exterior design. The teams at our Frankfurt-based design and engineering centers were able to combine function and form in the sleek lines of the 2010 Tucson — our first CUV to be designed in Europe.

More about The Exterior