Driven: 2022 Hyundai Tucson Elite Serves As A Good, And Bold-Looking, All-Rounder
One could have excused Hyundai for playing it safe with the fourth-generation Tucson. After all, it is one of the brand’s most popular models and, usually, one does not mess with a successful recipe. Despite this, Hyundai did very much the opposite with the new Tucson, making it stand out on the road with striking exterior and interior looks.
The South Korean car manufacturer introduced its new ‘jewel-like’ grille with the 2021 Tucson, a feature that has since been adopted with the Santa Cruz pickup truck and could be used by the facelifted Palisade. This is much more than a typical grille, however, and cleverly hides the LED daytime running lights into the grille itself, resulting in a truly radical design.
2022 Tucson is quite impressive and very different from other Hyundai models on the market. However, it will not be to everyone’s taste.
Like so many other vehicles currently on sale, the fourth-generation Tucson eschews traditional buttons, switches, and knobs across the dashboard in favor of touch-sensitive buttons. This philosophy, of course, extends across the 10.25-inch infotainment screen that comes standard with the Elite but is also evident across the rest of the dash. For example, all the media controls below the infotainment display are touch buttons, as are all the settings for the climate control. Making matters worse is the fact that all of these touch buttons are finished in piano black.
XRT, and Limited guises. Prices start at $25,500 for the SE and increase to $26,800 for the SEL, $30,900 for the N Line, $31,550 for the XRT, and $35,000 for the Limited.
So, what’s the verdict? All in all, the fourth-generation Hyundai Tucson is a very competitive vehicle in its class and improves on its predecessor in all areas. It’s just a shame that it has become quite pricey.
