Kelley Blue Book: The 2024 Hyundai Tucson: The boldly-styled compact SUV is practical and roomy

The Hyundai
005380,
-2.86%
Tucson is a compact SUV with a satisfying balance of style and practicality. We love seeing such bold styling on a practical SUV, and the interior is comfortable and well-equipped. It benefits from the longest warranty in its class, a smooth and comfortable ride, and advanced tech features that are easy to use. The Tuscon is also one of the roomier SUVs in its class, with ample space for passengers and cargo. It competes with compact SUVs like the Honda CR-V
HMC,
-1.54%,
Toyota RAV4
TM,
-0.73%,
and Kia Sportage
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-2.85%.

The Tucson Hybrid and Tucson Plug-in Hybrid are reviewed separately.

See: The 2024 Hyundai Tucson hybrid improves an already excellent compact SUV

2024 Hyundai Tucson pricing

The 2024 Hyundai Tucson starts at $27,250. The popular SEL trim begins at $29,400, and the top Limited trim starts at $36,510. All-wheel drive is a $1,500 premium on every trim.

The pricing of the Hyundai Tucson is average for a compact SUV. Its price tag is similar to the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, and Ford
F,
-1.87%
Escape.

These are manufacturer’s suggested retail prices and don’t include the $1,335 factory-to-dealer delivery fee (destination charge).

Before buying a Tucson, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should really pay. Hyundai Tucson resale value is about average for the segment.

You might like: Here are 10 of the best used 2-row SUVs for a $20K budget

What’s new?

The Hyundai Tucson gets a few tweaks for 2024. It has new standard safety features like a seatbelt reminder for all occupants, rear side airbags, and steering wheel haptic feedback for lane-keep assist and blind-spot monitoring.

The optional 10.25-inch screen is more widely available this year. It’s still standard on the upper trims, but now it’s included in the SEL Convenience Package. Also, dual-zone automatic climate control now comes standard on the most popular trim, the SEL model. Finally, the sporty N Line trim is no longer available with the standard gas engine. It’s now exclusive to the Tucson Hybrid.

Plus: The 2023 Kia Sorento vs. the Toyota RAV4: Which one is better?

Power, ride and handling

The Hyundai Tucson is powered by a 187-horsepower 4-cylinder engine matched with an 8-speed automatic transmission and front- or all-wheel drive. This engine strikes a good balance of performance and efficiency. In our testing, it had no trouble getting up to speed on the highway, but we found the acceleration a bit lackluster compared to some quicker rivals like the Honda CR-V and Mazda CX-5. Performance-wise, the Tucson is in the middle of the pack.

The Tucson delivers a smooth and comfortable ride while being agile in the corners. Ride quality is a strong suit of the Tucson; it would be one of our top choices in this segment for taking on an extended road trip. The cabin is serene, with little road and wind noise, even on the highway.

We’ve spent hundreds of hours driving and evaluating the current collection of compact SUVs, including this Hyundai Tucson.

Fuel economy

The Hyundai Tucson returns 28 combined mpg with FWD and 25 mpg with AWD. That gap between FWD and AWD efficiency is a little bigger than some rivals, but not big enough to drastically change the fuel costs.

Those fuel economy ratings are about average for a compact SUV. For reference, the non-hybrid variants of the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 get up to 30 mpg with FWD. The hybrid version of the Tucson returns up to 38 mpg, while the plug-in hybrid can go up to 33 miles on electricity alone and then return 35 mpg in gas-electric hybrid operation.

Roomy interior

The interior design of the Hyundai Tucson is modern and upscale. We like this design; it’s both attractive and practical, with comfortable ergonomics and easy-to-use controls. The gearshift buttons take a little getting used to, but they help keep the interior design clean and uncluttered.

The Hyundai Tucson is a very spacious SUV. We found the rear seats to be adult-friendly, with 41.3 inches of legroom. Cargo space is also ample, with 38.7 cubic feet of room behind the rear seats. Fold down the back seats, and that opens it up to 80.3 cubic feet of space. That makes it one of the roomiest SUVs in its class.

Striking exterior

The stylish Hyundai Tucson speaks a design language Hyundai calls “Sensuous Sportiness.” We think it’s a sharp-looking SUV that stands out in a segment not known for daring styling. A unique light signature and dramatic body lines give this practical SUV a bold aesthetic.

Our favorite features and tech

Hyundai SmartSense
The standard safety tech suite in the Tucson bundles driver assistance features like automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, and more.

Highway Driving Assist
This optional semi-autonomous driving system makes highway driving safer and more relaxed by combining features like adaptive cruise control and lane-following assist.

Remote Smart Parking Assist
This optional tech feature allows you to get your Tucson in and out of tight parking spots using just your key fob, even if you’re not inside the car. This is a class-exclusive feature you won’t find on the Tucson’s rivals.

SEL Convenience Package
This option package for the popular SEL trim adds some excellent premium features while keeping the price affordable. It adds a 10.25-inch touchscreen, a fully digital gauge cluster, H-Tex faux leather seats, a power sunroof, a hands-free power liftgate, and more.

Smartphone connectivity
Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard on the SE and SEL trims of the Tucson. If you get the optional 10.25-inch touchscreen, you lose the wireless part but still get these handy smartphone connectivity features.

Loaded Limited trim
The top Limited trim is full of luxurious features you might expect to find in a more expensive SUV. It has leather upholstery, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, a panoramic sunroof, a Bose premium audio system, and much more.

Engine and transmission

Power for the Hyundai Tucson comes from a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine rated at 187 horsepower and 178 lb-ft of torque. An 8-speed automatic transmission smoothly delivers power to the front or all four wheels.

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5-year/60,000-mile warranty

The Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage share the title of best warranty in the class. It’s backed by a 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty and a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. Additionally, Hyundai throws in a 3-year/36,000-mile complimentary maintenance plan.

Safety

The Hyundai Tucson has earned the coveted IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award. It achieves excellent safety scores because of its good crash test ratings and a long list of standard safety tech features. These include automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams, and more.

Read: These are 2023’s safest new cars

KBB’s car review  methodology.

This story originally ran on KBB.com.