AEB off-limits for some 2019 Hyundai Tucson models

The new-look 2019 Hyundai Tucson arrives in showrooms this month with lots of new features, including autonomous emergency braking (AEB) – but there’s a catch.

The potentially life-saving automatic braking technology is only standard on the two most expensive model grades – the Hyundai Tucson Elite ($37,850) and Highlander ($46,500) -- and is not available on entry-level manual models, while optional on automatics.

That means that of the five most popular mid-size SUVs, the Hyundai Tucson and Honda CR-V remain the only two not to offer AEB as standard across the range.

Every version of the top-selling Mazda CX-5, as well as the Toyota RAV4 and Nissan X-TRAIL, is fitted with the important active safety feature.

The entry-level Hyundai Tucson Go (priced at $28,150 plus on-road costs) and Active X ($31,350) manual are not available with AEB. And when specified with a $2500 automatic transmission, AEB is included in both variants only when buyers fork out an extra $2200 for the SmartSense option pack.

What is AEB?

This option pack adds AEB along with blind spot collision warning, rear cross traffic alert, driver attention alert, high beam assist, lane keep assist and smart cruise control with radar assist. It also adds dual-zone climate, glovebox cooling, an electric park brake, drive mode select and puddle lights on AWD variants.

Hyundai expects the take-up rate of the Tucson’s SmartSense option pack to mirror that of the Kona small SUV, at around 30 per cent.

The medium SUV segment is hugely important to Australia’s top car brands as it’s not only the largest SUV segment in terms of competitors and sales volume, but the largest new-vehicle segment overall.

More Australians now buy mid-size SUVs than small cars, with sales topping 124,000 to July this year – up almost 10 per cent year on the same period in 2017. SUVs such as the Mazda CX-5 and Hyundai Tucson are pitched as family vehicles and are also pushing upmarket to challenge the likes of Volkswagen.

Hyundai Motor Company Australia CEO JW Lee acknowledged the Tucson’s lack of range-wide AEB, which from this year is all but a prerequisite for a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating, is not ideal.

“That is not a positive thing,” he conceded.

“Cost is one part of this, so we need to find some way to reduce the entire cost and that would be a big challenge for us. But personally I want to put AEB in the entire model range, not just Tucson,” said the Hyundai Australia boss.

“The Tucson is a priority and other major [rival] models already have it.”

Lee explained that the South Korean car-maker is exploring a new AEB solution that would be similar to the Mazda CX-5’s system, which works between 4-80km/h. Currently Hyundai’s system works between 10 and 180km/h, requiring more hardware.

“This is not a matter of the money, because frankly customer safety is more important to us. But in order to put AEB in the Tucson, the stereo camera is needed and a radar system, which costs more,” said Lee.

Andrew Tuitahi, senior product planning manager at Hyundai Australia, said getting the desired equipment at the desired price is “always a juggling act”.

“We have to look at what customer expectations are for the price point, what they want to have in terms of features -- whether that’s safety, convenience or luxury.

“And we try to put together the best combination and package that ticks all of those boxes as well as helps us achieve those [sales] targets,” he said.