2020 Honda HR-V vs Hyundai Tucson

What's the difference?

If you’re after a small SUV that packs a lot of space in, then the Honda HR-V is the best option on the market. It can’t be beaten for overall practicality in a small footprint. 

But it’s really starting to fall behind its rivals for safety tech, engine goodness and it’s starting to feel old inside, too. Yes, the new screen has given it a welcome shot in the arm, but the HR-V needs more than a facelift to keep it relevant against the seemingly unending list of impressive newcomers in this class.

The only thing you should really consider is this: does the Highlander do more than the Elite? The answer is probably no. Most of the stuff in the Highlander is cosmetic or nice to have and as the car moves inexorably toward its end, the compelling reason for a petrol Highlander is the prosect of a hefty discount. Get one and you've got a ripper motor.

But, sometimes, you just have to have the top-of-the-range and I completely understand that. So if that's your motivation, there is nothing in this package that should give you pause for thought. As I said, it has held on very well over the past four or five years with lots of little tweaks keeping the Tucson well and truly in the game.

The Honda HR-V is the most cleverly packaged small SUV you can buy. It’s amazing to consider how much space the engineers have managed to eek out of a car of this size.

The dimensions are 4360mm long (on a 2610mm wheelbase), 1790mm wide and 1605mm tall, which makes it sit at the upper end of the “Small SUV” segment alongside the likes of the Qashqai and ASX. But it beats those two, and plenty more, when it comes to cabin space. We’ll get to more detail in the next section, but just know this - it packs more in than you’d expect.

The exterior of the HR-V? Well, it’s starting to look a bit dated, and it’s no wonder after seven years on sale.

The game has certainly moved quickly in more recent times, with some rivals offering more outlandish and characterful designs - the Toyota C-HR and upcoming Yaris Cross, for instance, not to mention the likes of the Hyundai Kona and the all-new Nissan Juke.

But if you’re sold on the HR-V and the RS tickles your curiosity bone, that’s because it looks a bit different to the rest of the range.

The RS gets a body kit with piano black highlights around the wheel arches, lower front and rear bumpers, side skirts and mirror caps. The section below the ‘black chrome’ grille is a honeycomb texture, plus it has dark chrome front door handles, a dark chrome rear numberplate garnish, and it rides on the biggest wheels in the HR-V pack - 18-inch rims with Dunlop Enasave 225/50/18 rubber.

The MY20 update slapped a new nose and tail on the Tucson. I'm not entirely convinced by the really chunky bit of chrome on the inner corners of the headlights and what was once a quite balanced and restrained design has been blown out a bit. The new grille is an overall improvement but, to my eyes, could do with less shiny chrome and a slightly lighter hand.

The interior update is better, with a lot more i30 goodness added in, including a new central strack with a much nicer touchscreen and a general lift of the quality of the materials. The Tucson's interior is one of the lighter ones in the segment and does it without resorting to the coloured patches in the Mazda that always look a bit cheap. If you go looking you'll find some hard plastic but there's a lot less of it these days.

As mentioned above, the HR-V is a pragmatist’s car. If you’re the sort of person who digs the idea of a tiny house, you’re going to love the HR-V. 

That’s because it packages a lot of smarts into its little body. I’m referring to, mainly, the 60:40 rear Magic Seats. They are almost like witchcraft, allowing you to lift up the seat bases in that split or altogether, while the seat backrests can also be lowered completely flat, allowing a massive storage space if you have longer items to cart with you.

I’m talking about 1462 litres (VDA) when the rear seats are folded down, or a still excellent-for-the-class 437L (VDA) with the rear seats in the upright, most reclined position. That figure is to the parcel shelf level, though the standard cargo cover is actually a folding mesh divider. You can option an accessory hard tonneau cover for the cargo area if you need it.

The boot easily fit all three CarsGuide suitcases (124L, 95L and 36L) with the seats in place, and there was actually room to spare. Speaking of spare, under the boot floor is a space saver spare wheel. 

Really, the HR-V’s boot and back seat is why you buy this car. It’s superbly practical and really spacious as well. In the back row, with the driver’s seat set for my position (I’m 182cm or 6’0”), I had enough space to sit for hours. There’s ample knee room, toe room and shoulder space, and while headroom is good those who are taller will need to watch their head getting in or out of the car, as the roofline rakes down quite a bit.

Rear amenities comprise dual map pockets and there are door pockets which are a weird shape, making it hard to fit a bottle in. There is no centre armrest or cup holders, but there’s a bottle holder in front of the middle rear seat, which is also where you’ll find a 12-volt outlet - but sadly, no USB ports, as many competitors now offer.

The materials are really nice, with soft finishes on the doors and padded elbow sections - all of which make the rear seat of the HR-V feel a bit more special than most rivals.

Up front the design of the dash has stood the test of time okay, though even with the new media screen it isn’t as modern as many rivals. The screen itself is positioned at a bit of a strange angle, which meant that driving at night saw a reflection on the windscreen up near the rearview mirror.

The screen itself isn’t the best quality, either. There’s a weird fuzziness to the display, and it’s not as high resolution as, say, a VW T-Cross’s screen. It looks a bit blurry, as you might be able to see from the images. 

The menus on-screen are reasonably easy to learn, but annoyingly there is no volume knob for quick adjustments. Further, you can’t change the audio settings (bass, treble, EQ etc) when you have a smartphone connected via USB. It has to be done when you’re not plugged in, which means you might set the wrong parameters for what you end up listening to.

That’s annoying. And you know what else was annoying? That our test car's screen didn't flick in to Android Auto mode when we connected an Android phone. We tried multiple times, yet couldn't get it to work.

So while the addition of the new screen does bring the HR-V up to date in terms of phone mirroring tech, you could actually probably do better by choosing an aftermarket head unit and having it installed. If you bought a pre-owned HR-V and did that, you’d save some big cash, too. 

Otherwise the cabin is pretty good up front, with door pockets suitable for bottle holders, central multilevel cup holders (that can be turned into bottle holders if you need), plus a small covered centre console bin. There’s no space in front of the gear selector for your phone or wallet, but there’s a shelf below the selector - which is a bit out of sight and out of mind - that would be suitable for a handbag. 

That’s also where the USB ports are - one for the screen (thankfully, because the old screen had a USB port that made for a messy cable situation), the other for recharging devices. There’s a 12-volt outlet there too.

The pixelated monochrome digital driver’s display doesn’t have a digital speedo, and it’s just another element that dates the cabin of the HR-V. But if you can overlook those little things, it’s a very practical car.

While the Tucson doesn't look very big, it seems to pack a fair bit in, something we discovered since our stewardship of one for six months. With a 488-litre boot that expands to 1478, there's a fair chunk of space here, bettered only really by the slidey-seat Tiguan and five-seat Honda CR-V.

For smaller items, there are four cupholders and the same number of bottleholders. You can also get some bits and pieces into the spare space in the spare wheel.

Back-seat dwellers will appreciate the reasonably generous legroom and headroom unless they're sitting in the middle seat, which isn't a great place to be unless you're quite thin and short. The front seats are very comfortable and while the driving position is very hatchbackey – Hyundai is excellent at getting everything right – you still have a good view out.

The Highlander is the top of the Tucson tree and is probably the least popular. Available in petrol and diesel, I had the turbo petrol which is priced at $46,850.

That kind of money scores you 19-inch alloy wheels, active LED headlights, power tailgate, auto-dimming rear vision mirror, heated steering wheel, panoramic sunroof, front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera, keyless entry and start, (probably fake) leather interior, dual-zone climate control, active cruise control, wireless phone charging, sat nav, auto wipers, power everything, heated and cooled front seats and a full-size alloy spare.

The eight-speaker stereo comes with DAB radio and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The basic Hyundai software is quite good and there's also a nify phone app called AutoLink. You can fire up the car, set the climate temperature and find it if you've lost it.

Annoyingly, out of the seven available colours, just one is a freebie (the usual, white), while the rest are a solid $595 extra.

No news here. It’s still the same 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with 105kW of power (at 6500rpm) and 172Nm of torque (at 4300rpm). Those figures are low for the class.

The motor pairs to a continuously variable transmission (CVT) automatic, and it’s front-wheel drive (FWD/2WD). Other markets get a six-speed manual transmission, and there are all-wheel drive (AWD) models out there in the world, but they’ve never been available here.

Nor has a hybrid model, despite it being offered around the globe. There’s no plug-in hybrid or electric model in this generation, though.

The Tucson leaves South Korea with a 1.6-litre turbo four-cylinder engine dishing up 130kW and 265Nm. It's found all through Hyundai's and Kia's range and while its outputs aren't startling, they're pretty good, 8kw and 60Nm more than the 2.0-litre in the lower models. It's a fair way off the 400Nm of the diesel, though.

Power gets to all four wheels via Hyundai's own seven-speed twin-clutch automatic. The all-wheel drive system is, obviously, not a hard-core off-road version.

The Tucson is usefully quick off the mark, cracking the 9-second mark for the sprint to 100km/h – not bad for almost 1700kg of mid-size SUV.

The HR-V line-up’s fuel usage ranges between 6.6L/100km and 6.9L/100km depending on the variant. The official combined cycle fuel consumption for the Honda HR-V RS model is pegged at 6.7 litres per 100 kilometres. 

On test, I saw a return of 7.4L/100km, which is consistent with the long-term Honda HR-V RS I had for six months. That’s decent.

The fuel tank capacity is 50 litres, which is pretty large for a car of this size. Theoretical range for a full tank is 675km based on my real-world fuel consumption experience.

The official combined cycle figure of 7.7L/100km looks a little high compared to some of its rivals, but I've always found Hyundai's testing to be a bit more honest than many others. We got 8.2L/100km in mostly suburban driving, which I reckon is good going.

This figure also comes without any stop-start cleverness, which – weirdly – Hyundai still doesn't do.

So you’re buying the RS model as it’s supposed to be more fun. It looks the part, and the RS badges and 18-inch wheels sell the idea of it being a bit more of a hot model than the rest of the HR-V range.

Sadly, for the most part it’s a case of smoke and mirrors. 

The 1.8-litre engine and CVT aren’t the most enjoyable pairing, and the powertrain - while offering enough grunt for a car of this size, which weighs in at a relatively light 1294kg in RS spec - is really quite dull.

You can put the transmission into ‘S’ for ‘sport’ mode, and that’ll mean it will rev a little harder and hold its momentum at higher revs. But really, it’s not that sporty. You could also take matters into your own hands by using the paddle shifters, but even that’s not a ‘real’ gear change experience as the CVT can slur between ‘shifts’.

At urban speeds around town, the powertrain is fine. Just fine - not fun. On the open road it remains the same. There’s enough power to overtake slower moving traffic, though it’s hardly enticing you to push the limits.

The steering, though. It’s the funnest part of the recipe. Honda has fitted the HR-V RS with a variable ratio steering rack, which just makes it react a bit quicker and feel more darty when you change direction.

The steering itself isn’t overly involving in terms of feel through the wheel, but it is quick to react and reasonably good to push through corners. There’s reasonably good grip from the Dunlop tyres, and it’s a pretty well balanced car in the bends, too.

The suspension is unchanged between the ‘regular’ HR-Vs and the RS model, though those big alloy wheels and low profile tyres can make the ride feel a little bit jiggly and bumpy, particularly at the front axle over bumps. 

When the surface is smooth below, the ride is perfectly acceptable. It’s just when you hit a harsh section or a sharp edge that things get a bit unpleasant. And there’s noticeable road noise intrusion on coarse chip sections of road as well - not deafening, but certainly not as hushed as when on concrete freeways.

When the Tucson landed it instantly became – as far as I was concerned – the benchmark, particularly in front-wheel drive form. I know it's getting tired, but the local team who tweaks the steering and suspension before the cars go on sale here are absolute guns. None of this Nurburgring nonsense, but a sensible balance of ride and handling to get you through the trials and tribulations of Australian road design and maintenance.

The turbo models with the bigger rims are not quite as successful on the ride and handling front as the 2.0-litre front drivers. I'd still take it over the CX-5 for ride and handling, but it's a much closer-run thing. The steering is really positive and the car does go where you point it, something that's been a hallmark of Hyundai's locally-tuned cars.

On that subject, the Tucson has, by and large, held up pretty well over the years of its current existence. It still feels pretty good, the only real blot being the hesitation from the seven-speed twin-clutch transmission. You need to have the car in Sport mode to get it to respond which rules out turbo lag and rules in a dithering gearbox. It will be interesting to see if the next-gen Tucson will have Hyundai's new eight-speed twin-clutch or the eight-speeder in the Santa Fe.

On the move, the Tucson is quiet and composed, for the most part riding really well on the big 19-inch wheels. When the road gets a bit crusty, the bigger rubber and lack of compliance from the sidewalls does count against the Highlander. Rear-seat passengers might be a bit unsettled by the way the rear can crash a bit into large potholes but, other than that, everything is fine. 

Once you wind it up, it moves aong very smoothly and happily indeed, the small-ish numbers from the engine pushing the Tucson along without fuss. It's still a very impressive package, really, with just the mildly annoying seven-speed dither.

Here at the top the range, the Highlander is packed with safety gear. Along with the usual six airbags, ABS and stability and traction controls, you get Hyundai Smart Sense, which includes forward AEB (with pedestrian detection), forward collision warning, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, lane keep assist and rear cross traffic alert.

You also get two ISOFIX points and three top-tether anchor points.

The Honda HR-V has a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty plan, which is paired to a 10-year capped price servicing plan. 

The service intervals are set at 12 months/10,000km - so if you do a lot of driving you might have to end up getting the car serviced more than once a year. At least the service costs are low, pegged at an average of $310 per year over the first three years.

Unlike some rivals, Honda doesn’t yet offer a pre-purchase service plan - so you can’t simply roll in the ownership costs to your monthly car payment.

The brand also doesn’t offer free roadside assistance, as many others do. You can get it as part of the brand’s Premium Roadside Assist option that is included in the added-cost extended warranty plan (seven years/unlimited mileage).

Hyundai offers an impressive 5 year/unlimited kilometre warranty that is dragging other marques into the 21st Century. Only sister brand Kia is better. You also get roadside assist for the duration, as long as you keep servicing the car with them.

Which is probably not a bad idea because you also get lifetime capped price servicing. You can also pre-pay servicing for a three-, four- or five-year period (maximum 10,000km per year) for $885, $1290 and $1585 respectively. 

Service intervals are 12 months or 10,000km – de rigeur for Hyundai turbo engines, sadly – and cost $295 for the first three, $405 for the fourth and back to $295 for the fifth. Look, it's not cheap, but you know what you're up for.

And it's cheaper to service than a turbo Vitara, for example.