Will anyone buy a $60K-plus Hyundai Tucson?

Are Australians ready for a mid-size Hyundai SUV that costs about $65,000 by the time it’s on the road? Even Hyundai itself is unsure.

The updated, more expensive and more extensive 2024 Hyundai Tucson range is now on sale Down Under and the flagship of the upgraded mid-size SUV line-up is the Premium N-Line variant, fitted with a new petrol-electric hybrid powertrain and priced at $61,100 plus on-road costs.

Speaking at last week’s media launch, Hyundai Motor Company Australia chief operating officer John Kett admitted he didn’t know how it would be received.

“I think customers will tell us by not ordering that trim line [if it’s too expensive],” he said.

“We have a pretty good broad line-up, we’re not saying you have to buy at 65 [$65,000].

“We’ll just learn that. There are a lots of trims out there, we’ll get a sense of it.

“The car is definitely well positioned.”

Both the ($59,600 plus ORCs) Tucson Premium HEV – the Premium badge replaces Highlander – and the Premium N-Line HEV are priced above the most expensive Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, the Edge at $58,360 plus ORCs.

They are also positioned above the most expensive Kia Sportage Hybrid, the GT-Line at $55,420 plus ORCs.

The Tucson and Sportage share their platforms and petrol-electric powertrains, although the two Hyundai hybrids are all-wheel drive while the Kia is front-wheel drive.

The Premium hybrid’s pricing reflects a general upward push for the Tucson’s cost of entry. The range now starts at $39,100 plus ORCs for the front-drive 2.0-litre petrol auto, a climb of $3450 over the cheapest outgoing model.

Across the range prices are up as much as $3950.

Even more dramatic is the price escalation from when the fourth-generation Tucson launched in Australia in 2021. It then started at $34,500 and topped out at $52,000 plus ORCs for the Highlander diesel.

“We’re confident in the overall package we are offering,” said HMCA’s product planning manager Sam Dabestani when asked to justify the pricing.

“It offers a completely revised interior, it’s got the latest safety specification, the latest comfort and convenience specification, improved ride and handling with the hybrid specifically.

“All of those additions to the package make it a really good value proposition for customers.

Despite the Tucson price rises and Australia’s slowing new-vehicle market, Dabestani predicted the addition of the hybrid powertrain would drive bigger sales for the Tucson, which is already Hyundai’s number one seller.

Hyundai is even hinting that replacing the old turbo-diesel engine with the hybrid could boost the Tucson to sales records.

Hyundai sold 21,224 Tucsons in Australia last year, making 2023 its second-best sales year ever behind 2017 when 23,828 were registered.

The new hybrid is being forecast to claim 40 per cent of Tucson sales versus 28 per cent for the old turbo-diesel.

“We don’t like to get into specific volume projections but we expect the addition of the hybrid will help us surpass last year’s volume,” said Dabestani.

“Generally, across the medium SUV segment, hybrid seems to be what customers are most asking for.”

The primary evidence of hybrid’s strength in the medium SUV segment is the Toyota RAV4, which leads the class on sales.

Tucson hybrid pricing starts at $45,100 compared to $42,250 for the RAV4 (both plus on-roads).

Unlike Toyota, which recently deleted all non-hybrid variants from the RAV4 line-up, Hyundai has retained its petrol variants in the Tucson in the range.

In terms of a sales breakdown, Hyundai is forecasting the entry-level 2.0-litre petrol variant and the hybrids to account for about 40 per cent of sales each, with 1.6-litre turbo-petrol vehicles picking up the rest.

Front-wheel drive is forecast to account for 45 per cent of sales and all-wheel drive 55 per cent.

The biggest selling individual Tucson model is expected to be the mid-spec front-drive Elite Hybrid, which is priced at $50,100 plus ORCs.

Dabestani predicted the hybrid powertrain could claim more than 70 per cent of Tucson sales as soon as 2025. Current supply constraints primarily related to battery production are expected to be eased.

“This is what we have heard from global – we can expect increased supply,” said Dabestani.

While the MY24 Tucson range is nominally increased by only three variants from 14 to 17, that doesn’t tell the whole story.

Previously there were three 2.0-litre front-drive variants, two 1.6-litre turbo-petrol all-wheel drive models and two turbo-diesel AWDs.

All seven variants came with the option of an N-Line dress-up pack, doubling the line-up to 14 grades.

Now to reach the 17 count there are:

“We have tried to diversify the product offering as much as possible to meet the variety of customer requirements as much as possible,” said Dabestani.

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