Hyundai's Seat Ateca rival gains a performance-honed chassis and racy styling details, and is priced from £25,995

Hyundai has announced pricing and spec details for the new Tucson N Line, a performance-inspired trim line that previews a possible hot N version of the SUV. 

Going on sale at the end of this month, the Seat Ateca FR rival will be priced from £25,995. That price gets you a 174bhp 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine with a manual gearbox and two-wheel drive.

Standard kit on top of the N Line styling upgrades, detailed below, includes heated seats with electric lumbar support, keyless entry, climae control and front and rear parking sensors. Also available is a 135bhp 1.6-litre diesel with mild hybrid tech. Both engines can also be had with a dual-clutch automatic transmission. 

The Tucson N Line follows on from the i30 N Line launched in 2018. Tweaks to the standard Tucson, Hyundai's best-selling model in Europe, include a stiffened chassis, revised bumpers, new black-painted 19in alloy wheels and a sportier interior.

“This is an understated sporty car with some subtle improvements inside and out, so it brings the N Line character to a Hyundai SUV for the first time,” says Thomas Buerkle, Hyundai Europe’s design chief.

Buerkle’s team has created a more muscular-looking Tucson with time-honoured changes such as a new front bumper, new grille, revised headlights and twin exhausts. New in the front bumper are distinctive ‘boomerang’ daytime running lights, while the headlights feature standard LED illumination and black bezels to emphasise the lamp shape.

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The Hyundai Tucson is a stylish crossover which focuses mainly on easy-going real-world ability, but is that enough to turn people's heads away from the Nissan Qashqai and Seat Ateca?

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The dominant design theme is to remove all the brightwork from the exterior, replacing it with black trim or black finishes to add some sporty menace to the Tucson.

The window frames are finished in black – as is typical on Audi, BMW and Mercedes sports models – and the grille gets a dark chrome treatment, while the rear spoiler has a glossy black finish.

Inside, the dark theme continues with bucket-style seats trimmed in breathable microfibre cloth, while red stitching for the steering wheel, dashboard and gear selector provide visual highlights.

But the Tucson N Line isn't just about styling. The front suspension is 8% stiffer and the rear is 5% stiffer, while software changes in the electric power steering are claimed to “give a slightly more direct, linear feel at the wheel”. Suspension development was carried out by engineers at Hyundai’s technical centre at Russelsheim, Germany.

The European N Line range is built around three engines: a 135bhp 1.6-litre diesel equipped with 48V mild hybrid technology, a 175bhp 1.6-litre turbo petrol unit and a 183bhp 2.0-litre diesel 48V mild hybrid. Hyundai says the new 1.6-litre mild hybrid diesel has an WLTP-rated combined fuel economy of between 51.3 and 47.1mpg, with CO2 emissions that range from 110 to 118g/km.

The UK range will be limited to the two 1.6-litre engines, both with front-wheel drive; these currently make up 95% of Tucson sales. With UK demand for the 2.0-litre diesel, only available with four-wheel drive, making up only 5% of sales, Hyundai UK says it can’t justify launching N Line trim with that power unit.

Keeping the 2.0-litre diesel out of the N Line range also creates room for Hyundai to slot in a full Tucson N, although Hyundai refused to comment on the possibility.

One engineering challenge will be to find an engine that isn’t as peaky as the i30 N’s 271bhp 2.0-litre turbo four; that may be exciting in the low-riding hatchback, but an SUV will need a wider spread of torque.

Read more

2018 Hyundai Tucson priced from £21,845

Hyundai Tucson review (2019)

Hyundai Tucson to receive 48v mild hybrid diesel powertrain

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Comments
5

21 March 2019

I really don't get the whole black alloys thing - it makes expensive alloy wheels look like cheap wheel trims.

I'm not a fan of style without substance either - I'd rather have it the other way round (more performance but subtle looks).

 

Everyone has a right to an opinion - don't confuse that with insulting your mother :-)

21 March 2019

I liked the idea of the new Hyundai vehicle, especially the concept that includes the front suspension is 8% stiffer and the rear is 5% stiffer, <a href="https://www.marssal.eu/it/ascensori-industriali-permanenti-milano"><img alt="Ascensori Industriali Permanenti Milano" src="https://www.marssal.eu/it/marssal/images/dedaw.png"></a> while linear feel at the wheel ”.

 

 

I like cars and news of them, especially Germans and Japanese

21 March 2019

I'm thinking of doing a test drive of the new Hyundai Tucson N Line, I've always liked the Hyundai model. Thanks for the suggestion.

21 March 2019

I'd be tempted to agree that the black wheels seem to do nothing for it in these pictures other than help highlight the digitally saturated red. Together they rather conspire to argue against its makers claim that is understated. It looks good though doesn't it, although that comedy-thick steering wheel full of lumps might annoy the energetic helmsman.

21 March 2019

I like this Tuscon N-Line. Looks good in the same way Ford Kuga ST-Line looks better than Titanium model and Vignale.

I agree with the comments that black wheels do not a compliment overall style. From a distance or when moving it looks like hubcaps are missing. Hyundai should follow Audi and Volvo with the silver/black diamond cut wheels or just offer a lighter anthracite grey wheel.

I was going to buy a Ford ST-Line X 1.5 Ecoboost petrol but may hold back for this Tuscon N-Line. Hopefully Hyundai will offer an optional wheel choice.

I like what Hyundai and Kia are making these days. A far cry from 10-15 years ago. Our local Kia dealer told us Hyundai Kia are same company.

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