Hyundai has pulled the covers off the new Tucson in New York City, unveiling what appears to be a direct challenge to the Toyota RAV4. Autonotion was there and managed to, albeit briefly, get hands on with the new, not-so-compact SUV.
The most striking thing about it, before you get inside, is the shape. Society is sliding into a kind of cyberpunk dystopia and Hyundai seems to be the only car company with the guts to design retro-futuristic vehicles that would fit right in to any kind of sci-fi fantasy. They weren’t joking when they described the Tucson as their “boldest” SUV yet, its blocky design looks more suited to somewhere like Mars than NYC or LA.
It’s something I can see dividing people to a degree. You don’t make “bold” choices and bring everyone along with you/ But equally, I’m ecstatic a car company is abandoning the shapeless generic blobs SUVs have become in recent years and at least trying to do something unique.
This isn’t new for Hyundai, they debuted a realtor-futuristic Palisade a few years back. That’s also a good looking vehicle which stands out against its peers.
At first glance, the new Tucson appears to be almost as large as the Santa Fe. But, while it is longer than the 2026 model, the compact SUV is still over five inches shorter than its three row sibling. Though you wouldn’t think so if you sat in it.
The interior is a cut above
After sitting inside I can verify that Hyundai was not lying when they bragged about the spaciousness of the new Tucson’s interior. There is a lot of room. Brian Armstead is one of the tallest automotive journalists in the industry, the man is at least six foot seven. But he was sitting comfortably in front, and the person behind him had ample leg room. If the Tucson is comfortable in this extreme outlier of a scenario, it’s large enough to be a family car.
As for interior quality, the upholstery seems to be of very high quality, the seats are comfortable, and the quality control seems to be there. Though on that last point, vehicles present at press launches undergo extreme scrutiny so not seeing a stitch loose isn’t really a shock.
The slightly squared-off wheel is another potentially divisive design choice, but a necessary one in my opinion. A lot of manufacturers are leaning towards this form factor as driver displays get more advanced. I’d take a clear view of the driver’s display over a round wheel any day.
What about the new infotainment system?
One of the biggest leaps forward Hyundai has made with the 2027 Tucson is with its infotainment system. That system comes in the form of Pleos Connect, which features a new user interface combined with physical buttons to truly enhance the in-vehicle experience. Hyundai has used a hoard of data to map out an ideal layout for the menus. The route
Central to Pleos Connect is Gleo AI, Hyundai group’s new context-aware intelligence that does everything from controlling the seats to handling navigation. It’s both contextually and spatially aware, which means it can tell who is speaking and execute the command accordingly. It can also execute multiple commands within a single request, which means you can hop in there, adjust the HVAC, set your destination and get your tunes playing with a single (albeit long) sentence.
Pleos Connect is set to make its way into every Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis vehicle by 2030. But if you want to see it early it’s present in the 2027 Tucson.
As for how it performs, my time with the infotainment system was limited and the vehicle is still a prototype. However, I did get to try a few things out. Those who know me know I have a bit of an accent, which can make using voice controls difficult.
While I didn’t put it through its paces to the same degree I have Lucid or BMW’s AI, I did get to ask it for directions to Taco Bell and this taught me more than just where the chalupa supremes were. Looking on the text on screen, the AI initially heard the sentence as “can you give me directions to tackle belt.” But it then used context to correct the input to “Taco Bell” and listed local locations instead of giving me a play by play on fighting some pants support.
This is a positive step, though it will be interesting to see if it can tidy things up as effectively with less obvious sentences. Google’s Gemini seems to struggle when I’m asking for specific music and it can’t quite make out the pronunciation. Accurately transcribing text messages is something else I’ve seen AI struggle with, and I look forward to seeing how Gleo AI does with that.
As for the rest of the infotainment system, I found the menus a little confusing but that’s the case with every new vehicle. It takes a little time to work out where things are, and I’ll need to give it a full test to make a solid assessment there.
Can it take on the Toyota RAV4?
From my hands-on experience I can say without a doubt that the Tucson has a better interior than the RAV4 and its infotainment system is levels above Toyota’s effort. But what about the raw specs?
It’s important to note that this was just an unveiling, and I am yet to drive the 2027 Tucson. Though on paper, the vehicle looks like a potential RAV4 killer. First, the fuel economy. 42 MPG makes it one of the most efficient vehicles, never mind SUVs, on sale in the US. The hybrid RAV4 does edge this out slightly, but the 1 MPG combined difference is negligible.
In a world where gas and electricity prices are through the roof, the fuel economy alone is enough of a reason to pull the trigger on something like the Tucson or RAV4. Though, with Toyota still in its transitional period, RAV4s are scarce and Hyundai may capitalize on this massively. With 242 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque it’s got more punch than the RAV4 too.
The Tucson also absolutely kills the RAV4 when it comes to interior space. In terms of rear legroom, the Hyundai has over four more inches. In terms of overall volume, you get almost 10 cubic feet more in the Tucson. Hyundai also beats the Toyota out in terms of cargo space (41.7 cubic feet compared to 37.6) and has over seven cubic feet more storage space with the rear seats down.
Obviously driving experience is a large part of this, but if Hyundai stays true to form and the drive is on par with the Santa Fe or Palisade, then Toyota is in a lot of trouble.
