Hyundai Tucson PHEV tops in Auto Bild’s performance review

Hyundai Motor’s Tucson plug-in hybrid electronic vehicle (PHEV) topped a German automobile magazine’s performance assessment of SUV models.

The Tucson PHEV scored 543 out of 800 points in a comparison review of SUVs by Germany’s Auto Bild, outperforming any other competitor of an equivalent class, according to the largest South Korean carmaker on Sunday. The Tucson was followed by Land Rover’s Discovery Sports PHEV (516 points) in 2nd place, and Peugeot’s 3008 PHEV and Toyota’s RAV4 PHEV tying for third place (514 points).

The magazine made an all-out assessment about the world’s top four popular models in terms of car frame, drivetrain, eco-friendliness, etc. Hyundai’s PHEV showed the highest level of braking performance to put itself to a full stop from 100km/h to zero. It not only garnered a great deal of acclaim in terms of driving performance and space utilization but also outcompeted rivals by more than 10 points when it came to cost. The Tucson PHEV was rated as a well-rounded and versatile player by Auto Bild.


Dong-Jin Shin shine@donga.com