This is the 2.0L four cylinder engine that comes as part of the Hyundai Tucson Preferred. It puts out 161 HP and 150 pound feet of torque. These numbers don’t exactly set the world on fire. But I will say that this is more than enough to power this compact SUV and do the things that you expect of it. Such as merge onto the highway, pass slower vehicles and the like. Though I will admit that you may have to occasionally push the engine more than you perhaps would want to to get the most out of it. It’s paired to a six-speed automatic and gets the power to the ground using Hyundai’s HTRAC AWD system. It snowed a couple of times during my review and it along with the winter tires really helped to keep the Tucson shiny side up.
Handling is pretty good as I was able to park it easily and make sharp turns in parking lots and the like. While more uplevel Tucsons feel more sporty than this, the target audience of this vehicle will not care. But what the target audience will care about is fuel economy. I am currently getting 9.4L/100KM’s in mixed city and highway driving. I am expecting that to go down as the week goes on.
Tomorrow I will discuss the interior which can be described as “functional” for the most part. Tune in tomorrow to find out what I mean by that.