When choosing a car for a 1,000-mile trip from Florida to North Carolina, there are several criteria to consider: fuel economy, comfort, safety features, and practicality. We chose a 2024 Hyundai Tucson for the journey in N Line specification, and because Hyundai gives the sporty N Line trim a hybrid powertrain rather than the conventional gasoline engine, we got more power, and more miles out of it. The Tucson Hybrid is more powerful than its gas sibling, with 226 horsepower versus 187 hp, and yields superior efficiency, the latter being particularly important on a long journey.
Driving a total of 1,133 miles through four US states, we learned a lot about what the Tucson does well and also discovered a few areas where it can improve. Fortunately, Hyundai already has an incoming facelifted model for the 2025 model year, which should address several of our minor concerns. The 2025 Tucson looks like a major improvement, but the existing 2024 Tucson N Line is such a solid package, we wouldn’t hesitate to purchase one right now. However, as we learned from calculating our final fuel economy, the hybrid system wasn’t as efficient as we’d hoped it would be when driving at highway speeds. Depending on how you plan to use it, the Tucson Hybrid ranges from outstanding to generally great.
Exterior: Efficiency Meets Cool
Once a fairly mundane compact crossover, the fourth-generation Hyundai Tucson – first introduced for the 2022 model year – shocked everyone with a bold styling direction. Parametric Hidden Lights are nestled within the jeweled grille, which looks a bit like medieval chainmail armor. At the back, a connected taillight bar is bookended by sharp fangs that feel reminiscent of an aggressive sports car. Everywhere you look, there are creases and edges, making each surface worthy of further observation.
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The visually appealing N Line trim is now hybrid only, so customers don’t have to choose between sporty styling and maximum efficiency. It rides on special 19-inch wheels with the N Line logo in the center caps, and it also gets loads of model specific badging on the fenders and within the grille. It takes what is already a striking car and makes it even more exciting. The N Line only comes in four colors, and the Serenity White Pearl on our tester wouldn’t be our first choice, especially not for $470 extra. All the other hues, including Titan Gray, Phantom Black, and Ultimate Red are no-cost options.
Interior: One Knob Away
The N Line is not the top Tucson trim level, but it includes most of the upgraded technology, including the larger 10.25-inch navigation infotainment system and a matching 10.25-inch digital gauge cluster. Lesser gas models get an eight-inch infotainment display. Everything on the screen is intuitive, but it doesn’t offer wireless connection to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, meaning you need to remember to bring a cable. Oddly, the entry-level gas models with the smaller screen do have wireless phone mirroring. The smaller screen also gets a physical volume knob, while the larger unit suffers with touch-sensitive buttons. If these minor grievances annoy you, just wait for the 2025 Tucson, which will include physical knobs for volume and tuning as well as wireless phone mirroring.
Other than those gripes, we found nothing else to complain about inside the Tucson. The N Line gets special sport combination seats with a mixture of cloth and leather. Not only do these chairs deliver nice bolstering, but they are perfectly comfortable over a nearly eight-hour drive. Heated front seats are standard on the N Line, while ventilated seats require a step-up to the Limited trim level, which equips heated rear seats, too. Other niceties on the N Line include a panoramic moonroof, wireless phone charger, and a full suite of safety features like adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist, which we’ll look at later.
Practicality: Big Compact?
Compact and spacious may seem like antonyms, but the Hyundai Tucson is quite large for the compact crossover segment. The trunk supplies 38.7 cubic feet of space, which bests the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid by over a cube and improves on the Honda CR-V Hybrid, which packs 36.3 cubes behind the second row (even less in its top trim). Folding the rear seats, the Tucson offers 74.5 cubic feet of space, which is two cubes less than the max trunk volume on the CR-V Hybrid. Speaking of folding the seats, we love how Hyundai integrated levers to drop them from the trunk, meaning you don’t have to walk all the way to the side door to get more space. It may not be the class leader in cargo capacity, but it’s at the top end.
Passenger space is generous too; the Tucson lets rear occupants sprawl out with 41.3 inches of rear legroom. That’s 3.5 inches more than the RAV4 and 0.3 more than the CR-V. Rear passengers also get their own air vents and USB ports, two premium amenities for the mainstream crossover class.
Powertrain: Frugal-Ish
Opting for the Tucson Hybrid replaces the gas model’s 2.5-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine with a smaller 1.6-liter turbocharged unit. This might sound like a downgrade, but the hybrid puts out 226 total hp between the engine and electric motor and 258 lb-ft of torque. Comparatively, the gas-only Tucson delivers just 187 hp and 178 lb-ft of toque. The EPA rates the Tucson Hybrid at 37/36/37 mpg city/highway/combined, with the entry-level Blue model one-upping that to 38 mpg on all cycles. In either case, it’s far better than the regular model’s most frugal 25/32/28 mpg rating. Also keep in mind that all Tucson Hybrids get HTRAC all-wheel-drive standard, whereas front-wheel-drive comes standard on the gas model. The hybrid also uses a six-speed automatic, not the regular model’s eight-speed transmission.
During our limited time driving in the city, the Tucson met or exceeded its fuel economy ratings. We easily observed 39 mpg while commuting around town, but that efficiency dropped significantly on the highway. Our 1,133-mile week ended with an average fuel economy rating of 33.9 mpg, mostly at highway speeds with some around-town driving. However, in highway driving alone, we only managed 31.5 mpg. These numbers are not terrible, but the Tucson Hybrid can clearly lean more on its electric assistance at slower speeds. If you plan to drive mostly on the highway, the regular gas Tucson might be the superior option since it doesn’t have to lug around a battery. We’ve noticed this same phenomenon in other hybrids, but it’s more pronounced in the Hyundai based on how the system works. A similarly-priced RAV4 Hybrid is rated at 38 mpg on the highway, and it would likely get closer to that number in the real world. Alternatively, if you only drive locally, the Tucson PHEV adds 33 miles of electric-only driving, and it produces 261 hp compared to the Hybrid’s 226 hp.
Driving Impressions: Cruising Star
The vast majority of our time in the Tucson N Line was spent on I-95, driving from Florida to North Carolina for a much-needed vacation. Those miles revealed how relaxing even an affordable Hyundai product can be. The combination of lane-keep assist and adaptive cruise control takes all the stress out of highway driving. Though it still requires hands on the wheel, the system keeps the car centered in the lane with only light pressure from the driver. You can feel the wheel nudging itself around corners, but not quite enough to warrant a name like “Full Self-Driving.”
Though the six-speed transmission is likely to blame for the less than class-leading highway fuel economy, it produces a more “normal” driving experience without the eCVT drone that is associated with many Toyota hybrid vehicles. The Tucson’s engine can be felt and not heard, unlike the rather loud engine in the RAV4, and the lack of road or wind noise at highway speeds makes it a calmer place to sit than the Toyota. Is it the most exhilarating crossover in the world? No. It’s not even the most exciting N Line product in Hyundai’s lineup. But if you want a stylish and frugal crossover that can perform a fabulous impression of a luxury car, the Tucson is a stellar option.
Verdict: Wait Or Don’t
With the refreshed 2025 Tucson right on the horizon, we might recommend waiting for that model to arrive since it will seemingly fix all of our minor complaints with the 2024 model. But even if you need a car right now, we wouldn’t hesitate to endorse the 2024 Tucson Hybrid. We loved the N Line trim before, but making it a hybrid was a great way to give buyers the best of both worlds, merging styling and performance with efficiency exceptionally well.
The 2024 Tucson Hybrid starts at $32,575 for the frugal Blue trim, which yields the highest fuel economy rates. Stepping up to the SEL Convenience brings the price to $35,155, and in our opinion, it’s worth spending a bit more from here to get the N Line at $36,655. The top Limited trim is a large leap to $39,715, but it makes the Tucson truly luxurious with features such as a surround-view monitor, blind-spot view monitor, heated/ventilated seats, and Remote Smart Parking Assist. The 2024 Hyundai Tucson Hybrid is an outstanding crossover, and it’s only about to get better.