Dear All,
Things happened as planned and got our starry night Tucson 2WD GLS CRDI delivered on March 31st. While the official review and BHPian QuadraticAmoeba's excellent ownership thread are pretty comprehensive with every finer details covered to the tee, I will just add my purchase experience and some photos here.
Let me share a picture from the day of delivery to start with :
The rationale behind purchase :
2018 - Our Fluidic Verna VTVT 1.4 CX turned 4 and we started the lookout for a replacement. Two primary reasons : 1. The 1.4 VTVT was underpowered and 2. The traffic conditions demanded an automatic. Had a hassle free ownership experience inspite of the infamous boat like experience of the fluidic Verna (though the 2014 version was pretty sorted compared to the initial versions, the steering was still vague at high speeds). Here's a picture of the Verna on the day when we sold it to a dear friend and the car is still going good I am told.
Apparently we wanted to upgrade from the Hyundai stable and we learnt that the Creta didn't come with an automatic in the top end then. This was our first tryst with the Tucson, where we test drove a 2L CRDI and came back mightily impressed with the extensive power on tap and the torquey diesel. The 2018 version came with a 6 speed BS4 and didn't have a panoramic sunroof then.
While we were about to finalise the 2018 Tucson, we coincidentally test drove an Ecosport AT. The car had a magic in it and thanks to its sorted dynamics there was a day night difference over the Hyundais. We were treated very well at the Ford dealership and that got us thinking. Another reason towards drifting to the Ecosport was the fact that we need not take a loan to buy the Titanium + AT and we took the bite.
2.5 years of fuss free ownership and a lot of happy memories with the car, like for instance my first travelogue on the forum when we did a Chennai-Kumta-Chennai drive in Dec 2020. The only disappointment with the car was the rear seat space and the boot space . Then came 2021 and I had an opportunity to lease a company car. Clearly knew that, selling the EcoSport would be a depreciation disaster, but then didn't want to miss the leasing opportunity. Did ask my first circle of friends and colleagues, but none were in a position to purchase a used car with an asking price where you can buy a brand new lower variant of the same car or a seven seater offered by a couple brands. We did get quotes from Cars24 and OLXCars. OLXCars gave a price that was 15% lower than the expected price and Cars24 gave a price 25% lower. We went with OLXCars and the process was seamless. We visited their Anna Nagar Chennai dealership at 3pm and the money was in my account at 5pm. It was really tough letting the EcoSport go and my 3 year old occasionally weeps saying she misses the old car. The fuel logs and the consolidated service reports I was maintaining meticulously were worthless. The EcoSport on the day we sold it :
Other options considered :
Jan 2021, we started our search for a car around 25-30L on road price, and this segment has very limited choices. We even test drove the Endeavour and Carnival a segment above, but somehow was not convinced the need for a seven seater now. A Tiguan AllSpace was available in one of the VW dealerships and they were open to negotiate further after an upfront discount of 8L, but somehow thought maintaining a CBU that has only been imported in limited numbers might be tougher in the longer run and turned down. Skoda Superb was available for around ~₹32L, but couldn't convince wife for a Sedan. The Skoda SA was pleading me to take a test drive, but I turned down, because I knew might fall for it. We visited a BMW showroom for X1 and they were least interested to sell the car, not sure why. Absolutely no follow up for a test drive. Jeep compass had a smaller rear seat and hence discounted. Test drove a Harrier AT and the TD car was poorly maintained and had the parking brake light lit on the odo all the time and the SA just asked me to ignore that it might just be a loose connection. Wanted to know the Citroen C5 Aircross's price details, but they kept on teasing without never actually launching the car. I thought missing the before March 31 launch was the biggest mistake they did, but then looked at their launch price and realised they can make much bigger mistakes too.
The purchase and delivery experience :
So ultimately wanted a car that should have reasonable space, reasonably powered engine, sorted dynamics and most importantly a hassle free service experience and there it was - Tucson, right on requirements and right on budget. The car purchase had to happen before the new financial year, so company negotiated a good deal with the FPL Hyundai dealership and the Guduvanchery branch was assigned. We did take a test drive after the booking and came back impressed. The SA kept us informed throughout and even arranged an i20 test drive car to pick us and drop for doing the PDI at the yard that is about ~60kms from our place. I had posted the PDI pictures earlier in this thread.
On the day of delivery, the same I20 1.0 Turbo GDi IMT test drive car came to our apartment to pick us up. Ours is the first Tucson to be delivered at the Guduvanchery showroom I was told. It's a very small setup and we distributed sweets to everybody and the car was delivered after a customary Pooja. Gifted the SA and her manager a small souvenir and took off. The dealership also said they'll be delivering the car with a full tank of diesel
![Cheering](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/Cheering.gif)
. A person from the showroom accompanied us to the Maraimalai Nagar COCO BP. I make it a point to stop the fuel when the dispenser auto cuts off, but the gentle man from the showroom insisted that it was his boss's order to fill the tank completely. The car drank a good 71.5 litres of Diesel, even though the quoted capacity is just 62L. And that's how we got our starry night Tucson 2WD GLS CRDI home. Some pictures to follow...
The neatly laid out engine bay, also can be seen is the Shell Helix lubricants recommended sticker (though the service centre uses Servo lubricants) :
I just learnt how to write diesel in Korean
![Cheering](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/Cheering.gif)
. Lot of interesting such bits showing its CKD DNA.
The view from the boot :
The side view :
The first drive was to my native Virudhunagar in south Tamil Nadu. Felt the suspension to be softer when compared to my EcoSport. The suspension did get tighter and the vertical movements were well controlled in the Sport mode. the steering was good too, definitely not as bad as my Verna. Was able to negotiate curves at 100kmph with confidence and not once was the steering twitchy. Can't write enough about the gem of the gearbox - the 8 speed just works like magic and none of the gear shifts were felt inside. The car just accelerates like crazy and before you realise the 80kmph chime comes in. Speed is well masked within the cabin and NVH is very well controlled. I am told the rear seat has been supremely comfortable and are well cocooned from the road. All in all the family is very satisfied with the purchase.
At a pitstop en route, with one of its counterparts :
Drove the return journey in comfort mode, though the picture shows Eco mode here :
First Service Experience :
Reached 1300kms mark on the 7th day and took the car to the 1st service. The security asked me if the car is a Venue or a Creta. When I told him Tucson, he went and checked and then told me he was confirming if it was a Hyundai. Hope Hyundai shows some intent to sell one very competent ace they have up their sleeves! They checked fluid levels, ran an OBD scan and did a waterless wash. Was billed ₹40 for the windshield washer sachets and the process got over in 2 hours.
Having owned two white cars before, I'm surprised how dusty the dark colours can get. Have no intention to do a PPF/Ceramic right now, I will judiciously use my cleaning kit which consists of a Jopasu, a kwazar venus foamer, a proklear wfc, a formula 1 glass cleaner rain repellant and a bunch of micro fibre clothes and may be revisit fancy and expensive techniques later.
The dusty car after the 1000kms trip :
After wash at the Hyundai Service Centre :
I am also told that all maintenance is free for 30K Kms/3 years whichever comes first. This is such a practical & value (8 Speed, 185ps, 400nm torque at ₹30L on road is a steal deal) car that has ticked all my boxes and hoping to have a good ownership experience over the years. That is it from me. Thank you for reading this far. Wishing you all a lot of happy miles!