THE dilemma faced by anyone in the market for a brand new, forecourt-fresh car is neatly encapsulated by a look at Hyundai's burgeoning line-up of excellent family cars, writes William Scholes.
In one part of the showroom is the Tucson SUV, a new version of a model that has been locked into the upper reaches of Northern Ireland's best-seller charts for years. You will spot the latest version immediately; for a start, it looks nothing like the chunkily handsome car it has replaced.
In fact, for better or worse, it looks like almost nothing else on the road, with a highly distinctive front grille and light treatment, wilfully awkward creases in its bodywork and an aesthetic that is deliberately challenging. Where many marques adopt an evolutionary approach to the design of new models, as far as the Tucson is concerned, Hyundai has had a revolution. Take that, Darwin…
And if the Tucson's design doesn't stand out enough for you, then there's always the 'Beast' version to consider. This concept was created by Hyundai for the new adventure film Uncharted - in cinemas from Friday, movie fans - in which erstwhile Spider-Man Tom Holland plays "street-smart thief Nathan Drake" and gets to drive a Tucson Beast, complete with "fortified bumpers, tyres and other outdoor-ready accoutrements…".
There's no word on what a Beast-mode Tucson costs, but the versions you and I can actually buy start at a shade over £29k and stretch to around £42k.
Those bookends are a fairly prosaic 148bhp petrol and manual gearbox combo in entry 'SE Connect' trim at one end and, at the other, a bells-and-whistles 'Ultimate' grade with a brawny 261bhp plug-in hybrid drivetrain complete with automatic gearbox and four-wheel-drive.
There's plenty of choice in between, and expect the variants in the mid- to high-£30k territory to be the most popular.
Obvious rivals include the similarly brand new Nissan Qashqai, Volkswagen Tiguan, Seat Ateca, Kia Sportage, Ford Kuga, Mazda CX-5... the list of family SUVs is long and winding.
But with just a little lateral thinking, there is also an alternative from within Hyundai's own ranks. Just as boldly styled as the Tucson - though, to these eyes, more cohesively and with greater flair - is the battery-electric Ioniq 5.
Not quite an SUV, more a family hatchback on steroids, the Ioniq 5 is at least an attempt to do something a bit different with the form of the car by taking advantage of the freedoms that electric vehicles give designers - no engines to package or exhaust systems to pipe under the floor, for example.
Where many new EVs are essentially electric versions of bodystyles we're already familiar with, Hyundai deserves serious credit for doing something different with the Ioniq 5. Others who have done something similar include Hyundai's sister company Kia, with the stunning EV6, and Jaguar with the iPace. In this part of the market, outfits like Audi seem content to do electric SUVs that look just like their petrol and engine SUVs… BMW's iX3 is literally an X3 with an - admittedly excellent - electric drivetrain.
So, an Ioniq 5 might not be an SUV in the way that the Tucson is, but it is definitely a spacious, intelligently designed family car. Prices start at just under £37,500 and there are two further models in the range that overlap with the Tucson's prices.
It's this intersection that is interesting, and one which we are sure to see increasingly often as car-makers steadily launch new electric vehicles alongside established petrol models. As battery range and - dare we hope? - Northern Ireland's charging network blasts into the 2010s, if not the 2020s (let's not get ahead of ourselves…) the electric alternative is sure to become more viable.
The Ioniq 5 has a quoted range of between 238 miles and 298 miles; obviously not as long-legged as the Tucson, but still useful and perhaps sufficient for most people, most of the time.
But we're not really here today to talk about the Ioniq 5. It's the Tucson that is of more immediate relevance to Northern Ireland drivers, as evidenced by the growing number of them appearing on our roads.
Styling is in the eye of the beholder - I'm not convinced by what they've done with the Tucson, but you are entitled to think otherwise - but in every other aspect this new version is a great leap forward from what was still a highly accomplished vehicle when the old one went off-sale.
Where many car-makers adopt an evolutionary approach to the design of new models, as far as the Tucson is concerned, Hyundai has had a revolution. Take that, Darwin...
Hyundai build quality is top notch - and backed up by a generous five-year warranty - but the new Tucson actually also feels like a quality product. The interior in my test car was comfortably up to Audi or Volvo standard, and enhanced by the decision to use materials which not only look great but offer some premium tactility - there's a splash of cloth across the top of the dashboard, chrome trim, the ubiquitous 'piano black' finish make an appearance and the plastics are soft and expensive feeling.
The design is smart, too - clean and modern, with digital screens aplenty and one of the most intuitive infotainment systems around. This reinforces the upmarket ambiance.
My car was in 'Ultimate' trim and had an impressive 'Krell' premium audio system, heated seats front and rear - with the pews in front also being ventilated - and just about anything else you could wish for on a family car. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, electric seat adjustment, lots of USB sockets, wireless phone charging pad, a large sunroof, window blinds, electric tailgate - the list stretched on and on. There was even a facility to park the car remotely via a control on the key. I think the last car I drove that had that was a £100k BMW 7 Series...
The wheelbase measures just 1cm longer than the old Tucson, but the clever folk at Hyundai have managed to eke out a greater increase in cabin space than that might suggest. The back seat is bigger than before - 6ft-plus me could easily sit behind myself, or at least behind the driver's seat when set for my lanky frame, so there ought to be no problem carting younger children and teenagers around.
The boot is massive. Or to put it more scientifically, it has a volume of up to 620 litres, which translates to 'as big as you're likely to need'. The four-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid versions have a smaller boot - 558 litres - while the mild hybrids are 577 litres; battery placements in both cases eat a little into the luggage space.
This is a relatively large and hefty - 4.5 metres long, 1.7m tall, 1.8m wide and weighing between 1,500kg and 1,900kg - family wagon, and with that in mind hasn't been gifted a chassis that will make the hair stand up on the back of the enthusiast driver's neck.
But that would be to miss the point. Hyundai's 'N' cars show it is more than capable of making proper sporting cars, and the Tucson's brief is altogether different. It's comfortable, refined, easy-to-drive, which is what the vast majority of customers will expect and appreciate. Perhaps it's a shame that there isn't the sense of fun that you can find in a Mazda CX-5, but having sold transporter-loads of Tucsons over the years, Hyundai clearly knows what customers want.
If you can get past the Marmite flavoured wrapping, the Tucson package is a tastefully and thoughtfully constructed family car. It's a leap ahead of the very popular previous generation model and offers a range of on-trend mild-hybrid, hybrid and plug-in hybrid drivetrains
If you can get past the Marmite flavoured wrapping, the Tucson package is a tastefully and thoughtfully constructed family car. It's a leap ahead of the very popular previous generation model and offers a range of on-trend mild-hybrid, hybrid and plug-in hybrid drivetrains. There is much to like here, and if a family SUV is on your radar, then you need to be sure to pay a visit to a Hyundai showroom - though you may find yourself being distracted by the electric Ioniq 5 sat beside it...
AT A GLANCE
Hyundai Tucson Ultimate hybrid
Price: £37,800. As tested: £39,965, including £1,500 'tech pack' with electronic control suspension, around-view monitor, remote smart-park assist, and £665 metallic paint
Engine and transmission: 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric hybrid, six-speed automatic gearbox, front-wheel-drive; 227bhp, 258lb ft
Performance: Top speed 120mph, 0-62mph in 8.0 seconds
Fuel consumption and CO2: 49.6mpg (WLTP combined), 131g/km
Vehicle excise duty: £210 in first year, then £145 annually
Benefit in kind: 30 per cent
Euro Ncap safety rating: Five stars (tested in 2021)
