I’ve heard nothing from our local Hyundai dealer re a test drive of a PHEV Tucson, but we are away for a few weeks now so I won’t bother to chase until we are back, especially as I’d prefer to test the facelifted model. Now that the N-Line S is on the scheme in PHEV form I think I’d be leaning more towards that over the Ultimate as I much prefer the body colour wheel arches and bumpers over the tonka toy like plastic cladding on the Ultimate, but it’s a pain that you can’t get leather seats on the N-Line S. It will hinge on how it is for my wife to get in and out of, as leather is easier to slide on. Of course, I may not like it and prefer to hold on to our BMW X1 for longer, but at least there is a choice! I’d probably like to also compare it to the new VW Tiguan as well, as I’m sure that will join the scheme later this year. I haven’t seen one in the flesh yet but from what I’ve seen I like the exterior styling (although it still has horrible plastic wheel arches and bumpers on the Elegance) but less so the interior, and leather is a £2k option, which is outrageous.
I had a look at the N line S yesterday, which is all they had in the showroom in both HEV/MHEV. Like you I prefer body coloured wheel arches however, the ultimate still remains top of the range and gains memory drivers seat over the N line S. Every other spec is the same apart from leather seats, which I prefer over ultra suede (microfibre) or whatever it is.
The twin screens and HUD lifts the car’s visual appeal and there are physical buttons for functions that matter. There is also ambient lighting in the cabin although not as pretty as that in the Tiggy, if that floats your boat. There are softish touch materials on the dash, front and rear doors along with where it matters and the door bins are not felt lined but, something I easily did on my current car.
The new Tiggy I don’t like the dash layout unfortunately. To me it looks like they have plonked a massive screen the size of a portable TV in the centre of the dash lol and there are an equal amount of hard plastics, if not more with the rear door cards being hard plastic. A far cry from VW’s of old. More importantly is the price it will command, given I will not own the car, should it joins the scheme. Even the basic Match trim, which is the one likely to join, will be silly money!