It must be difficult for car dealers in Ireland to sell new cars right now when most of the population are in Lockdown. But in the month of January, Hyundai managed to sell an impressive 1,588 versions of their new Tucson.
Naturally Stephen Gleeson, Irish MD of the South Korean company was very happy that the company were back in the top spot. He said: “We are delighted to see the Tucson back at number one in the Irish market.
“Key to its success is its striking new design, but also the ability of our dealer network to give honest advice to consumers as to the correct engine type for them.
“Overall our market share of 10.84% of the market is very satisfying given that we are still waiting on deliveries of the new Santa Fe 7-seater PHEV in addition to supplies of our new i20.”
Hyundai, who had been flitting between the names Tucson and IX35 for their neat SUV, made a decision a few years back that it’s going to be Tucson from now on. Incidentally in Japan the car was originally called ‘J.M.’ which meant Joyful Mover.
Thankfully I have a good memory and a good computer, so I can remember what was said when the third generation of the Tucson was launched in Powerscourt, County Wicklow six years ago.
Mr Gleeson said they changed the name from IX35 back to Tucson because the company wanted a ‘world car.’ And they certainly have that.
Now this totally revised fourth generation of the Tucson is better in every way and externally it looks very attractive. Inside it’s very spacious and there is plenty of leg and head room; the boot has 616 litres of luggage space.
The car looks and feels bigger than the previous model and the figures prove it, if only in millimetres. The new car is 20mm longer, 15mm wider, 5mm taller and has a 10mm longer wheelbase.
A 10.25-inch touch screen display dominates the dash and there is a small instrument display behind the steering wheel, where the background colour changes depending on the driving mode.
In the past the Tucson would have been popular with lovers of diesel and while farmers will still like diesel, Hyundai now offer their first-ever petrol hybrid version.
Prices start at €32,845 for the 1.6 diesel, while the starting price of the 1.6 petrol hybrid is €36,345. As with most new cars the more luxury you want the higher the price.
The Tucson has opposition from cars like the Peugeot 3008, Seat Ateca and Skoda Karoq, plus some of the premium offerings, like the BMW X1 and Volvo XC40. But for now the Tucson is certainly the best seller and has been the top selling car in Ireland in the months of January and February.
Normally the first few months of the year are traditionally the best months for new car sales, but this year it has been difficult. Hopefully when this current Lockdown ends we will see a surge of buyers heading to garage forecourts.
The good news for the Irish motoring industry is that the tradition of importing second hand cars from across the border or England has now become much more expensive since the UK left the EU.
