Hyundai Tucson 2019 Tow Test

As one of the best-selling SUVs in Australia, Hyundai’s mid-size five-seat Tucson is one of the most familiar sights on Australian roads and in driveways. Close to 70,000 alone have been sold in Australia since the introduction of the latest Tucson here in late-2015.

At the same time the number of registered recreation vehicles in Australia has risen to 680,000 recreational vehicles – many of those either caravans or camper trailers that require tow vehicles to haul them around.

While the Tucson is not seen as a typical tow vehicle, it does have a reasonable capability with a maximum tow rating of 1600kg across the range, combined with a maximum towball weight of either 120kg or 140kg, depending on engine/transmission combination.

New and improved

Hyundai's last significant update of the Tucson occurred about six months ago, and included some exterior and interior styling tweaks, including the introduction of an eight-speed automatic transmission for diesel variants and a new infotainment tablet featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, as standard across the range.

Like the previous model the Tucson is offered in four trim grades – Go, Active X, Elite and Highlander, with the choice of six-speed manual transmission or two automatic transmissions (eight-speed torque converter auto and a seven-speed dual-clutch option) plus three engines: 2.0-litre petrol, 1.6-litre turbo-petrol and 2.0-litre turbo-diesel. There’s also the option of front- or all-wheel drive.

For this tow test, we’re driving the top-spec Tucson Highlander with feisty 130kw/265Nm 1.6-litre turbo-petrol donk driving all four wheels through the fast-shifting seven-speed auto.

It’s a slightly unusual combination for a tow test – tow vehicles are typically fitted with torquey turbo-diesels and either manual or conventional auto ’boxes. But it looks pretty good on paper, with the engine's maximum torque available from a low 1500rpm all the through to 4500rpm -- not unlike the typical flat torque curve of a turbo-diesel engine.

Around town, the transmission is pretty seamless and effective. You need to rev the engine to get maximum performance, but it feels zippy from the lights while remaining fairly quiet and refined at higher revs. The car also changes direction confidently, making it both safe and sporty to drive.

For the towing component we hitched up a small Avan pop-top caravan that weighed 1049kg, or around 60 per cent of the maximum tow rating. The weight on the tow ball was 135kg, or just under the Tucson’s 140kg maximum.

The Tucson’s rear suspension didn’t noticeably drop with the extra weight behind, which is a good thing as Hyundai doesn’t recommend the fitment of load levelers.

Bit thirsty when towing

Our towing route comprised some 100km/h sections, a few hills and twisty roads. With the caravan behind, average fuel economy according to the trip computer was 17.3L/100km – or around double the figure we saw when driving without the trailer.

While 17-18L/100km is not unreasonable when towing, it’s a lot higher than we saw when towing over a similar route with a larger Hyundai Santa Fe powered by a  2.2-litre turbo diesel. While not as powerful as the Santa Fe’s there's the option of a 136Nm/400Nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel for the Tucson, so if fuel consumption is important it could be worth the extra $2000.

Other than that, the Tucson remained nice and stable when towing, even at 100km/h although you'd expect that with the Tucson’s 1561kg kerb weight well above the trailer's.

Not surprisingly the turbo-petrol engine worked a bit harder when towing, particularly when trying to maintain speed up inclines, but at every opportunity the transmission would slot into top (seventh) gear when cruising between 80-100km/h, to help keep revs down to 1500-2000rpm.

However, we never pushed it too hard up hills, as Hyundai warns of potential overheating of the dual-clutch transmission if towing for extended periods up an incline.

The locally-tuned suspension also worked well when towing, soaking up the bumps nicely and with little pitching or yawing.

Steering was light but reasonably direct, and the tight turning circle made navigating our tight campsite location easier.

Comfy cabin

Of course, being the Highlander grade you’d expect plenty of comfort and technology and the top-spec Tucson doesn’t disappoint in this regard. The leather clad seats are above average for support and comfort, and both the floating infotainment screen and digital trip computer work well, with many of the controls located on the steering wheel.

Legroom isn’t great in the rear seats, depending on who’s sitting back there, but you can fold them flat to free up more cargo space in the boot, which contains a full size spare wheel under the floor.

The top-spec Tucson comes with a full suite of safety features, including forward collision warning, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic, plus some nice extras like around-corner LED headlights, heated steering wheel and seats (which are also cooled), smartphone induction charging and full length sunroof.

The reverse camera with grid lines is a good aid for hitching up, and we had little trouble strapping our towing mirrors on the Tucson’s compact side mirrors. However, we did burn our fingers on some exposed exhaust when fiddling with safety chains on the factory tow bar, which is set quite far back under the rear of the vehicle.

Summing up

While the Tucson’s tow rating is a little under rivals like the Mazda CX-5, which can tow up to 1800kg, it’s still competitive and covers a lot of smaller campers or even caravans available on the market.

For better towing performance and durability we’d probably opt for the turbo-diesel with eight-speed auto option. But if you only need to haul a lightweight trailer for the odd short trip, we’d have no hesitation in recommending the turbo-petrol Tucson as a part-time tow tug.

What does the Hyundai Tucson Highlander cost?

How much does the 2019 Hyundai Tucson Highlander cost?
Price: $46,500 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 130kW/265Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 7.7L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 178g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP (2015)