I spent a few weeks driving the 2024 Hyundai Tucson recently. Not just around town. I took it on a long highway trip. I sat in traffic. I loaded up the back with stuff from the hardware store. And I came away with pretty strong feelings about this SUV. If you are shopping in the compact SUV space, you have probably looked at the Honda CR-V or the Toyota RAV4. But the 2024 Hyundai Tucson deserves a real look. Here is why.
First, the outside. The 2024 Hyundai Tucson looks different than anything else on the road. That grille is huge. And the daytime running lights are hidden inside the grille. You do not see them until they light up. Then suddenly the whole front end glows. It is a bit showy. Some people love it. Some people think it is too much. But you cannot mistake a 2024 Hyundai Tucson for anything else. The body sides have these sharp creases. They look like origami. I worried they would be hard to keep clean. Turns out, dirt hides pretty well in the lines. The rear has a light bar that goes all the way across. Very modern. Very now.
Inside is where the 2024 Hyundai Tucson surprised me. I drove the SEL trim with the convenience package. The seats are cloth but they feel sturdy. Higher trims get leather. The dashboard is wide and low. You can see over it easily. There is a big screen in the middle. On lower trims it is 8 inches. On higher trims you get two 12.3 inch screens connected together. That looks expensive. But here is something Hyundai did right. They kept a physical volume knob. Thank goodness. I hate digging through touchscreen menus just to turn down the radio. The climate controls are touch sensitive but they are dedicated buttons. You do not have to swipe through menus for that either.
The steering wheel feels good in your hands. Not too thick. Not too thin. The gauges are digital on most trims. You can change what information shows up. I set mine to show fuel economy and tire pressure.
Now let me talk about driving the 2024 Hyundai Tucson. The base engine is a 2.5 liter four cylinder. It makes 187 horsepower. That is fine. It is not fast. But it is not dangerously slow either. Merging onto a highway requires some planning. You push the gas pedal down. The engine gets loud. Not a nice loud. A buzzy loud. But you do merge. You do get up to speed. The eight speed automatic transmission shifts smoothly. I barely noticed it working. That is a compliment.
If you have more money, get the hybrid version of the 2024 Hyundai Tucson. I drove that one too for a few days. The hybrid uses a 1.6 liter turbocharged engine plus an electric motor. Total output is 226 horsepower. That does not sound like a huge jump from 187. But the difference is real. The hybrid pulls away from stoplights with authority. The electric motor fills in the low end torque that the base engine lacks. And the hybrid gets much better fuel economy. I saw 37 miles per gallon in mixed driving. The base model gave me 28. So if you drive a lot, the hybrid pays for itself.
The 2024 Hyundai Tucson handles well for a tall box. The steering is light. Almost too light at first. But you get used to it. Parking is easy because the wheel spins with one finger. On the highway, the car tracks straight. You do not have to constantly correct it. There is body roll in corners. Do not pretend this is a sports car. It is a family SUV. The suspension absorbs potholes nicely. My passenger said it felt smoother than her RAV4.
Cargo space. This matters to me. The 2024 Hyundai Tucson gives you 38.7 cubic feet behind the rear seats. Fold those seats down and you get 74.8 cubic feet. I fit a full sized folding table back there. No problem. The load floor is low enough that you do not have to lift heavy things very high. The rear hatch opens high. I am six feet tall and I never hit my head. There is a spare tire under the floor. Not a repair kit. A real spare. That is getting rare.
Safety equipment is standard across all trims of the 2024 Hyundai Tucson. You get forward collision warning with automatic braking. Lane keeping assist. Lane following assist. Driver attention warning. Blind spot warning is standard on the SEL and above. I tested the lane following assist on a curved highway. It worked. The car steered itself gently to stay centered. It did not ping pong between the lines like some systems do. The adaptive cruise control works smoothly. It does not slam on the brakes when a car cuts in front of you.
One cool feature. The blind spot view monitor. When you hit the turn signal, a camera shows the blind spot right in the instrument cluster. No more craning your neck. No more guessing. You just look down and see exactly what is next to you. I wish every car had this.
Now let me be honest about the downsides. The base engine is noisy. Really noisy. If you live in a flat city and never rev past 3000 RPM, you might not notice. But on mountain roads or aggressive highway merges, the 2024 Hyundai Tucson sounds strained. The fuel economy of the base engine is just okay. It is not bad. But it is not class leading. The Honda CR-V beats it. So does the Nissan Rogue. The 2024 Hyundai Tucson only wins on fuel economy if you buy the hybrid.
Another complaint. The wireless charging pad. It worked fine with my phone. But my friend put her iPhone on it and the phone got hot. Really hot. She unplugged it after ten minutes. I have read online that other owners have the same issue. Maybe it is a problem with certain phone cases. Maybe it is the pad itself. Either way, be careful.
The rear seat is comfortable. Legroom is good. 41.3 inches. That is more than the RAV4. The seat reclines a little bit. That is rare in this class. Two adults sit back there happily. Three adults is tight but doable for short trips. The floor is almost flat. So the middle passenger does not have to straddle a hump. There are USB ports back there. And air conditioning vents. So your kids or your friends will not complain.
How about the different trim levels? The base SE is fine if you just need transportation. It has the 8 inch screen and cloth seats. The SEL is the sweet spot. You get heated front seats. A power driver seat. Blind spot monitoring. The N Line looks sportier but does not drive much sportier. The Limited has all the toys. Big screens. Leather. Sunroof. Bose stereo. The hybrid models come in similar trims but cost about four thousand dollars more. Worth it if you keep cars for a long time.
I looked at the warranty because that matters to me. The 2024 Hyundai Tucson comes with a five year or 60,000 mile basic warranty. The powertrain warranty is ten years or 100,000 miles. That is the best in the business. Toyota gives you less. Honda gives you less. Nissan gives you less. That warranty transfers to the next owner too. So if you sell the car after three years, the new owner still gets some coverage. That helps resale value.
Speaking of resale. The 2024 Hyundai Tucson does not hold its value as well as a RAV4 or a CR-V. That is just the truth. Toyota and Honda have decades of reputation. Hyundai is getting there but not quite yet. However, you pay less upfront for the Tucson. So the total cost of ownership ends up being close. Plus the warranty gives you peace of mind.
I have driven the 2024 Hyundai Tucson in snow. Not deep snow. Maybe four inches. The all wheel drive system worked fine. There is a lock mode that sends power evenly to all wheels. That helps you get moving from a stop on slippery surfaces. Do not take this car off roading. It is not a Jeep. It is for getting to work when it snows or driving up a gravel road to a trailhead. For that, it works great.
The infotainment system is mostly good. Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto on the big screen. Wireless on the small screen. That is backwards. I do not know why Hyundai did that. The small screen gets wireless. The large screen requires a cable. It makes no sense. The navigation system on the Limited trim works fine. But you will probably just use Apple CarPlay anyway. The speakers on the base system are okay. The Bose upgrade is worth it if you like music. It has decent bass without being boomy.
Maintenance is cheap. Oil changes every 7500 miles. That is longer than many competitors. The engine uses a timing chain not a belt. So you never have to replace that. Brake pads last a long time especially on the hybrid because of regenerative braking. Tires are standard sizes. You can buy them anywhere. Do not let the dealer sell you expensive packages. Just follow the manual.
So who should buy the 2024 Hyundai Tucson? People who want style. People who want a great warranty. People who do not want to pay the Toyota tax or the Honda tax. Families with one or two kids. Commuters who buy the hybrid. Older drivers who like the easy steering and the blind spot cameras. People who keep their cars for eight or ten years because the warranty will cover them for most of that time.
Who should avoid the 2024 Hyundai Tucson? People who hate the grille. You cannot unsee it. If you think it is ugly now, you will think it is ugly in three years. People who need to tow more than 2000 pounds. This is not the car for a boat or a heavy trailer. People who want a sporty drive. Go drive a Mazda CX-5 instead. That car handles better. But it is smaller inside. People who care about fuel economy above everything else. Get a RAV4 hybrid. It gets slightly better mileage. But the Tucson hybrid is quieter and looks better.
After all that driving and thinking, I would buy the 2024 Hyundai Tucson. Not the base engine. The hybrid. The SEL Hybrid with convenience package. That is the best value. You get the good fuel economy. The smooth power. The nice interior. The warranty. And you save a few thousand dollars compared to a similarly equipped CR-V or RAV4. The 2024 Hyundai Tucson is not perfect. The noisy base engine is a real flaw. The wireless charging pad is suspect. But the overall package is strong. Hyundai has come a long way. This SUV proves it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How reliable is the 2024 Hyundai Tucson?
A: Early data looks good. The 2.5 liter engine has been around since 2020 with few major issues. The hybrid system uses technology from the Ioniq and Sonata, which have proven reliable. The ten year powertrain warranty covers you anyway. Consumer Reports rates predicted reliability as average to above average.
Q: Does the 2024 Hyundai Tucson come with all wheel drive?
A: Yes. On base trims, all wheel drive costs extra. On higher trims like the SEL and Limited, it is often included depending on your region. The system is called HTRAC. It works automatically. There is a lock button for low speed slippery conditions.
Q: What is the real world gas mileage of the 2024 Hyundai Tucson?
A. For the base engine, expect 27 to 29 combined depending on your driving. The hybrid gives you 36 to 39 combined. I saw 37. The plug in hybrid gives about 33 miles of electric range then behaves like the regular hybrid. Cold weather drops all these numbers by two to three miles per gallon.
Q: How much can the 2024 Hyundai Tucson tow?
A. 2000 pounds maximum when properly equipped. That means a small utility trailer, two jet skis on a light trailer, or a teardrop camper. Do not tow more than that. The transmission will overheat and the warranty will not cover the damage.
Q: Is the 2024 Hyundai Tucson good for tall drivers?
A. Yes. I am six feet tall. I had plenty of headroom even with the sunroof. The seat goes back far enough that I could not reach the pedals comfortably. Taller friends at six foot four also fit fine. Rear seat headroom is also good because the roof line does not slope too much.
Q: Does the 2024 Hyundai Tucson have a spare tire?
A. Yes. A compact temporary spare under the cargo floor. The plug in hybrid version might have a repair kit instead because the battery takes up space. Check before you buy if that matters to you.
Q: What are the best alternatives to the 2024 Hyundai Tucson?
A. Honda CR V for interior space and resale value. Toyota RAV4 for fuel economy and off road styling. Mazda CX 5 for driving fun. Nissan Rogue for comfort. Subaru Forester for visibility and ground clearance. The Tucson sits right in the middle of all of them.
Q: How long will the 2024 Hyundai Tucson last?
A. With proper maintenance, 150,000 to 200,000 miles is reasonable. The engine and transmission are not known for early failures. The hybrid battery will likely last over 150,000 miles. Hyundai has replaced very few of them under warranty.
Q: Is the 2024 Hyundai Tucson expensive to insure?
A. No. Insurance costs are average for the segment. The Tucson has good crash test scores and standard safety tech. Both of those lower premiums. Get quotes before you buy because rates vary by state and driving record.
Q: Should I buy the 2024 Hyundai Tucson now or wait for the next model?
A. Buy now. The current generation started in 2022. A mid cycle refresh might come for 2025 or 2026. But refreshes usually change headlights and bumpers. The bones will stay the same. There is no reason to wait unless you want a deal on a leftover 2023 model.
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