Hyundai Tuscon

With the success of the Santa Fe in India erasing the dark past that Hyundai had with SUVs, the carmaker is now said to be looking at bringing back the Tuscon. In fact, the fluidic design language has worked wonders for the carmaker with the latest avatars of cars like the Verna and the Elantra becoming runaway successes in their respective segments, despite their not so impressive past. Hyundai could be expecting the same from the Tuscon as well, which now looks stunning to say the least.

However, the model received its last update in 2010 which means that a refresh is expected sometime soon. The refreshed model is what we expect to come to India - unless Hyundai decides to follow the Santa Fe’s route and bring in the aging model to India to test the waters and replace it at a later stage once the brand is re-established. Hyundai may continue using the ‘Tuscon’ nametag instead of the ‘ix35’ as it is called in the European market. Hyundai believes that it is better to go with brand names that have already been established (no matter what their history has been like), instead of creating new ones. Therefore the all-new Sonata wasn’t renamed as the i45 nor was the new Elantra introduced as the i40.

With the sub-20-lakh-rupee SUV segment heating up with entrants like the Ssangyong Rexton, we expect Hyundai to make the move this year itself and bring the Tuscon back to the Indian market. If it does arrive, expect the Tuscon to be priced between Rs 16 to 22 lakh - where it will compete with models like the aforementioned Rexton, the Mahindra XUV500 and the Tata Aria.