Hyundai Motor Company's compact SUV, the Tucson, has evolved over 21 years to become a global representative of the SUV market. Starting as an urban SUV, it has consistently improved in design, space, and powertrain, while also meeting increasingly stringent global safety standards, thereby building consumer trust.
According to industry reports, the Tucson has steadily developed its core value as a compact urban SUV. The first-generation Tucson, launched in 2004, combined the advantages of sedans and SUVs, paving the way for market popularity. The second generation enhanced its appeal with sleek design and powerful powertrains, while the third generation significantly improved its body structure and safety technologies.
The fourth generation, introduced in 2020, brought substantial design changes, featuring the 'Parametric Jewel Hidden Lamp' that connects the radiator grille and daytime running lights into a single form. When not illuminated, it appears as part of the grille, but lights up as a lamp when activated.
Despite being a compact SUV, it offers interior space comparable to that of mid-size SUVs, enhancing its utility as a family vehicle. Additionally, it has incorporated hybrid powertrains and advanced driver assistance systems, boosting its competitiveness.
This evolution has led to increased sales. Since its debut in 2004, the Tucson surpassed 10 million units in global cumulative sales last year, marking it as the third model from Hyundai Motor Group to achieve this milestone, following the Avante and Accent, and the first SUV to do so.
With 90.9% of its sales occurring overseas, the Tucson holds a significant share in the global market. Hyundai has established four production bases in Ulsan, Czech Republic, Beijing, and Alabama, allowing it to respond effectively to regional market characteristics.
The Tucson's growth into a global best-selling SUV is also attributed to its consistent safety ratings. It has maintained high ratings across generations in safety evaluations from major organizations, including the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP).
In the IIHS evaluations, the second-generation Tucson was first named a 'Top Safety Pick' (TSP) in 2010 and maintained this status for four consecutive years until 2013. The third generation was first awarded the higher 'Top Safety Pick Plus' (TSP+) in 2016.
The fourth-generation Tucson has achieved TSP+ for five consecutive years from 2022 to the present. Notably, in the small overlap test, where only 25% of the vehicle's front collides with a fixed barrier at 40 mph, both the driver and passenger sides have consistently received the highest rating of 'Good.'
The Tucson has also excelled in global safety evaluations. Since the NHTSA revamped its evaluation system in 2011 to calculate a 'Overall Safety Rating Score' based on frontal and side crash tests and rollover resistance, both the third and fourth generations of the Tucson have received the top rating of five stars.
In Europe, the second-generation Tucson received five stars in the Euro NCAP in 2010, and the third generation achieved the same rating in 2015. Even with the stricter evaluation criteria introduced in 2021, the fourth-generation Tucson maintained its five-star rating.
Consumer satisfaction has also been high. In the Vehicle Satisfaction Awards (VSA) conducted by the automotive research firm AutoPacific, the Tucson ranked first in the small crossover SUV category in 2007, and again in 2010, 2014, and 2016 in the compact crossover SUV category. It also topped the same category in 2019 and received the highest score overall, earning the title of 'Highest Satisfaction Vehicle.'
The evolution that has continued for 21 years now leads into the fifth generation. The new Tucson enhances its appeal with a larger body and next-generation hybrid and infotainment technologies, as it aims to set new records following its achievement of 10 million in global cumulative sales.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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