Hyundai reveals Tucson N-Line, no 213kW/422Nm

HYUNDAI Motor Company (HMC) has unveiled its biggest performance-oriented model yet with the Tucson N-Line due to arrive Down Under in the coming months, offering a sportier look and driving experience compared to the rest of the new Tucson medium SUV range.

As is the way with all N-Line products, the Tucson N-Line’s styling has been given an aggressive makeover and now sports a bigger, blacked out radiator grille, enlarged lower intake, a redesigned front bumper and black headlight surrounds.

From the side, bigger (19-inch) and more aggressive alloy wheels headline the changes along with chunky body-coloured wheelarches, black mirror caps and blacked-out roof and glasshouse.

At the rear there is a bigger roof-mounted spoiler ridged with subtle aero fins while the rear bumper now sports a sizeable rear diffuser and dual exhaust tips.

The sporty touches have been continued within the cabin too with N-branded sports seats finished in black suede and leather, N-branded gear selector, N steering wheel, black headliner, metal finish sports pedals and an abundance of red stitching.

While the local pricing and specification details are yet to be revealed, HMC says the bulk of the Tucson N-Line’s development has been done in Europe and in that market at least, will be available with a sportier tune of the optional ‘electronically controlled suspension’ (adaptive damping) to make the flagship family hauler more dynamic to drive.

The larger-diameter wheels and lower-profile tyres will help here too, inevitably delivering a marginally firmer ride.

As for the powertrains, the Tucson has long been offered with a different range of engines in Europe than it has in Australia, with the N-Line set to be underpinned in Europe by a turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with five different configurations.

Those consist of pure internal combustion (110kW), two mild hybrids (110kW and 132kW), a 169kW hybrid (HEV) and a 188kW plug-in hybrid (PHEV).

Australian Tucsons – initial examples at least – are likely to retain the current line-up of petrol and diesel engines – 122kW/205Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol, 130kW/265Nm 1.6 turbo and 136kW/400Nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel – while the hybrid powertrains are under consideration.

One notable omission from those line-ups is the long-suspected turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol mill out of the Sonata N-Line good for 213kW/422Nm, leaving the door wide open for a possible full-fat Tucson N to emerge down the line, something executives have alluded to in the past.

Standard equipment highlights on the European N-Lines, in addition to the sports-oriented features outlined above, include a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen, three-zone climate control, heated and ventilated front seats and heated rear seats.

According to Hyundai Motor Europe vice-president of marketing and product Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, the Tucson N-Line will offer even more choice to the brand’s customers.

“With the all-new Hyundai Tucson N-Line, we are bringing our popular sporty trim level to the latest generation of our European best-seller,” he said.

“Our all-new Tucson N-Line features exclusive performance styling and a state-of-the-art powertrain line-up with electrified solutions.”

Due to launch in the northern hemisphere spring of this year (our autumn), GoAuto has contacted Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA) to confirm exactly when the Tucson N-Line will be arriving locally, with the only previous communication being the first half of 2021.

HMCA sold 15,789 examples of the current-gen Tucson in 2020, enough to snag it third place within the all-important sub-$60,000 mid-sized SUV segment with a 10.3 per cent market share.