Following an intensive development period at its proving grounds and roads across the globe, Hyundai has announced that its new Tucson SUV is production ready.
Unusually for an SUV, Hyundai has even revealed that the Tucson underwent testing on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, in addition to public road testing throughout Europe, including winter trials in Sweden and hot weather running in the south of Spain. Test were even undertaken on the mountain passes of the Grossglockner in Austria, where Hyundai’s engineers tested the vehicle’s behavior while towing a trailer uphill, downhill and around corners.
To ensure its off-road credentials stacked up, extensive testing also took place at the company’s proving ground in the Czech Republic, with particular attention paid to assessment of the four-wheel drive system, including analysis of torque distribution, clutch controllability and torque build up at low speeds under different conditions.
Hyundai says that its engineers also verified the overall body structure rigidity during these trials, opening all doors, tailgate and panorama roof with two wheels on the ground and two wheels diagonally in the air. Apparently, the doors were closed without any problems during this challenge, confirming the vehicle’s body rigidity.
On the proving ground’s noise vibration harshness (NVH) surfaces, work was undertaken to identify abnormal noises and develop solutions to reduce them. In addition, the fording capability of the car was tested at a depth of 20-30cm.
The Tucson is due to be officially launched on September 15.