Hyundai Tucson 2027: hybrid-only midsize SUV confirmed with MORE space and a tough new XRT grade

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Hyundai has detailed its fifth-generation Tucson midsize SUV, ahead of its Australian arrival in the middle of next year.

The Tucson’s new “Art of Steel” design language keeps it as angular and striking as the current one and grows in all directions. The new Tucson, with model code NX5, is 4700mm long, 1905mm wide and 1685mm tall. That’s 60mm longer, 40mm wider and 20mm taller than before.

Neatly for those manoeuvring children and boxes into the Tucson, the doors open 10 degrees wider than before, to a nearly perpendicular 83 degrees. Hyundai claims there’s a metre of headroom and legroom in both the front and back.

As speculated by Chasing Cars when it broke cover last month, the only powertrain confirmed for Australia at launch is a plugless hybrid, producing 137kW and 265Nm from a hybrid-boosted 1.6L turbocharged straight-four engine. It’s mated to an eight-speed auto.

Hyundai says it’s targeting an average fuel consumption of 5.6L/100km for the front-wheel drive version, which compares with 4.9L/100km in the current FWD Tucson hybrid.

Both front- and all-wheel drive are likely to be offered in Australia, as they are now.

An “HEV Stay Mode” can run the aircon, heating, stereo and the two wireless phone chargers while the car is off, like a full EV.

Whether a plug-in hybrid offered overseas will come our way is unknown. The PHEV sold abroad offers 81km of electric range, though Hyundai didn’t state which testing protocol it measured that with.

Australia will definitely get the Tucson’s XRT model, which adds extended cladding to the bumpers and wheel arches, with “bold bumper and skidplate designs”. The cladding’s texture mimics forged composites.

Denied to Australia (for now) is the XRT Pro, which adds substance to the adventurous style with low-speed off-road cruise control and Smart Terrain Assist, which visually demonstrates traction and slip conditions (green: good, orange: bad, red: you’re stuck).

Amid the “soft, voluminous cushioning” inside is Hyundai’s new Pleos operating system. Pleos’s headline feature is Gleo, Hyundai’s own AI, which can obey natural speech with the intent of reducing distracting deep-dives through menus.

Hyundai’s keen on reducing distraction, with Pleos retaining real buttons for the aircon, radio and music.

The Tucson will enforce that lack of distraction with an In-Cabin Monitoring Unit watching eye movements and signs of drowsiness. This isn’t new to Hyundais and Chasing Cars has found the Unit disagreeable in the past – watch this space.

Cruise control can automatically slow the car for curves. Less technologically, the back seats fold 60:40, with Hyundai claiming 1067L of boot space.

The outgoing Tucson hybrid ranges from $42,850 to $59,850 before on-roads – whether the new Tucson’s price creeps up will be announced closer to launch in mid-2027.