Hyundai Tucson - MPG, CO2 and running costs

No matter how well the Tucson drives, how comfortable it is to sit in, or how much equipment is crammed on-board, if it costs too much to run, then it won’t make it onto customer shortlists. However, Hyundai seems to have thought this one through, because it offers buyers the full range of petrol, mild-hybrid, full-hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains in the Tucson – basically everything short of an EV.

The cheapest version to buy is the 148bhp 1.6 TGDi petrol-only model in SE Connect trim. It comes with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard and manages a respectable 41.5mpg on the combined cycle, while CO2 emissions are 151g/km – almost identical figures to a similarly specced Volkswagen Tiguan in Life trim.

If you opt for a Tucson with a mild-hybrid set-up, then you have a choice of either the Intelligent Manual transmission (IMT) or a dual-clutch automatic transmission, although the latter offers marginally better economy, at 43.5mpg. CO2 emissions are 144g/km.

The 227bhp full-hybrid model improves on these figures significantly, capable of achieving just over 50mpg and emitting 127g/km of CO2. We covered more than 8,000 miles in our Tucson Hybrid long-term test car and managed to average 46.5mpg, which we were pretty pleased with. 

Of course, the most efficient (and most expensive) variant is the Tucson Plug-in Hybrid. According to Hyundai, the Tucson PHEV can return up to 201.8mpg and emits 31g/km of CO2 emissions; and while you might not get close to that (remember to plug in as frequently as possible to minimise your running costs) it should be an affordable family SUV to run. Even more so if you’re a company car driver, because it falls into the 12 per cent Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax band, compared with the 36 or 30 per cent bands the petrol and full-hybrid versions sit in, respectively.

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Electric range, battery and charging

The Tucson PHEV model is the only hybrid model you need to charge yourself, because the rest rely on energy recuperation from braking or the engine to charge their batteries, and feature much smaller batteries too. The Tucson Plug-in Hybrid uses a 13.8kWh lithium-ion battery to offer a pure-electric driving range of up to 38 miles. Although the figure we saw during our own testing was a little lower, you should have no problem covering more than 30 miles without using a drop of petrol if the car is fully charged. 

Like the majority of plug-in hybrids, the Tucson doesn’t have any rapid charging capabilities, but its 7.2kW on-board charger means you can fully recharge the relatively chunky battery in under two hours if you use a suitably fast home wallbox or public charging point.

Insurance

Insurance premiums start from group 12 for the entry-level 148bhp Tucson version in SE Connect trim, which is competitive when compared with the base Volkswagen Tiguan in group 15.

The 178bhp mild-hybrid variant in the top Ultimate specification sits in group 19, while the 227bhp full-hybrid with the same equipment line is only in group 20. Even the top-of-the-range 261bhp Tucson Plug-in only sits in group 21, regardless of the trim level you choose, so premiums won’t break the bank.

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Depreciation

Our expert data suggests that the fourth-generation Hyundai Tucson range will retain on average 58 per cent of its list price after three years and 36,000 miles of ownership. The Kia Sportage is slightly ahead of the Tucson in terms of residual values, while the Nissan Qashqai is expected to retain around 51 per cent of its showroom price after three years of motoring.

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