Tucson tops safety ratings in US, Europe as Hyundai marks 22-year journey from hydrogen to hybrid [Tucson World Premiere]

From urban SUV debut in 2004 to four generations of evolution

Five straight years as US News' top compact family SUV

Cumulative sales pass 10 million units as fifth generation launches

The Tucson ix Fuel Cell. [Hyundai Motor]

Hyundai Motor marked the global debut of the fifth-generation "The All-New Tucson" by tracing the nameplate's 22-year evolution and its record of international awards. Across successive generations, the Tucson has earned recognition for safety, quality and practicality, establishing itself in world markets as a dependable family SUV.

From first-generation urban SUV to fourth-generation hybrid

The first-generation Tucson, launched in March 2004, was a compact urban SUV that blended the strengths of a sedan and an SUV. It rolled out in Europe and the United States later that year, and by 2008 — just four years after its debut — cumulative global sales had surpassed 1 million units.

The second-generation "Tucson ix," introduced in 2009, adopted a coupe-inspired, dynamic design. In 2013, a hydrogen fuel cell variant — the Tucson ix Fuel Cell — entered mass production, making Hyundai Motor the first automaker in the world to mass-produce a hydrogen-powered electric vehicle.

The third generation, launched in 2015, was built around what Hyundai called a "reinvention of the fundamentals," raising the proportion of ultra-high-strength steel from 18 percent to 51 percent. That model went on to become Hyundai Motor's best-selling global nameplate in 2019. The fourth generation, arriving in 2020, added a hybrid powertrain for the first time and deepened region-specific strategies backed by a production network spanning factories in Ulsan, the Czech Republic, China and Alabama in the United States.

Last year, cumulative Tucson sales crossed 10 million units — the third Hyundai Motor Group model to reach that milestone after the Avante and Accent, and the first SUV to do so. More than 90 percent of total sales have come from overseas markets.

Top ratings from IIHS, NHTSA and Euro NCAP

The Tucson's safety credentials have been validated by the world's leading assessment bodies. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named the second-generation model a Top Safety Pick for four consecutive years beginning in 2010, while the third generation earned the institute's highest designation, TSP+, for the first time in 2016. The fourth generation has maintained TSP+ for five consecutive years, from 2022 through this year. In the passenger-side small overlap crash test introduced in 2016, the Tucson was the only compact SUV at the time to receive the top rating of "Good."

In evaluations by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the first-generation model received five stars in both frontal and side crash tests in 2005, and the third and fourth generations each achieved five stars under the agency's more rigorous overall rating framework. Euro NCAP awarded five stars — its highest rating — to the second generation in 2010, the third in 2015 and the fourth in 2021.

Owner surveys have also returned strong results. In J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study, the Tucson ranked first in the small SUV segment in 2015 and 2018, and first in the compact SUV segment in 2020. AutoPacific's Vehicle Satisfaction Awards named it a segment winner multiple times from 2007 onward, and in 2019 it was selected as the highest-satisfaction vehicle overall.

US News & World Report named the Tucson its best compact family SUV for five consecutive years, from 2022 through this year, noting that "rear seat and cargo space rivals some larger SUVs." Britain's Top Gear named the fourth-generation Tucson its best family car in 2022, and What Car? selected it as the best used family SUV last year.

Hyundai Motor held "The All-New Tucson World Premiere" in New York on Thursday (local time), unveiling the fully redesigned fifth-generation model to global markets. The company plans to use the new Tucson as the foundation for expanding its position in the compact SUV segment.

eyre@heraldcorp.com