2018 Hyundai Tucson vs Mazda CX-5

What's the difference?

The Tucson has given Hyundai its next step forward, especially when it comes to design. It truly is one of the nicest looking rigs on the road today. It doesn't overplay itself, but yet it also has a boldness and a confidence that makes it look good in any driveway.

It’s a shame, though, that the Active X – as well as most models in the Tucson line-up – miss out on important safety aids like AEB, lane keeping and blind spot warning systems.

Combined with sensible practical touches, clever speccing to get it to a good price-point and a low-key yet fuss-free drive train, though, the Tucson Active X is one of the highlights of the Tucson range.

Does the Hyundai Tucson tick your adventure boxes? Tell us what you think in the comments.

The CX-5 GT is a triumph of style and substance. The range is generally a tremendous value-for-money line-up and this upper-echelon offering is no different because a GT buyer will want for nothing – except perhaps Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and if we can live without those, you can too. More of a city-friendly SUV than a rough-and-ready off-roader, the GT is still capable of getting you to where you want to go, as long as you have a realistic notion of AWD-suitable terrain: think formed trails, well-maintained National Parks tracks and perhaps even, at a stretch, very firm sand.

Is the CX-5 a legitimate Adventure vehicle, or should it stay in the suburbs? Tell us what you think the comments below.

In this reviewer’s eyes, at, least, the Tucson is one of the most handsome cars currently on the road in any category.

It's a sign that Hyundai's design language has really matured under its European influences, and the Tucson has the rare honour of appealing across both genders and throughout the age spectrum. It's muscular yet still slender, handsome without being too macho, and very well balanced despite it being a relatively simple shape.

The interior is more workman-like than others in the category with evidence of hard plastics in plain view, while soft-touch materials are found under elbows and in other areas where body extremities can reach.

The relatively sombre grey black interior theme is cleverly offset by the subtle use of satin silver highlights, while the pale roof does belie its price point a little.

People who know me, know that I put more stock in what’s under the bonnet than appearance but, having said that, I am still capable of appreciating attractive things. The previous version of the CX-5 looked good; this new one looks damn good. Everything is simply neater, sleeker and more streamlined than before, inside and outside.

Fit and finish is tighter and all materials and designs complement, rather than clash with, each other. That bright white leather – adding a real overall touch of class – doesn’t hurt either.

This CX-5 looks and feels like it sits more comfortably in the realm of sports cars than that of family-friendly SUVs – but I spend zero time in sport cars, so what do I know?

The Tucson Active X is a great family rig with plenty of clever storage touches and useful items to get you through the day.

A deep phone and wallet recess in the centre console is designed to hold inductive charges in higher models, but works perfectly well as a secure phone holder. Cupholders of different sizes reside in the centre console, although a manual handbrake does take up more room than an electronic equivalent. Bottles up to about one litre in size can be stashed in all four doors, and those door pockets are divided to stop items sliding around. The centre console bin is tall but narrow, while rear seaters also have their own pair of cup holders in a pull-down centre arm rest.

No chargers or vents as mentioned are supplied for that second row, but there are two ISOFIX baby seat mounts.

Cargo room is good at 488 litres, even with the full-size spare that hides underneath the boot floor.

The rear seats, too, can be locked vertically to create a squared-off area for stacking boxes against it; it's essentially like a cargo barrier if you haven't got backseat passengers. Of course, each passenger can then recline the seat back to a favourite position, which is a nice touch.  There's plenty of head room and toe room back there, even for our tall teenage passengers.

Once the seats are flipped, there is 1478 litres of cargo space to drag along all of the accoutrements that a family collects over a weekend.

From the front to the back everything is pretty well suited for day-to-day life.

There is ample room for driver and passenger up front with electric adjustment for those forward pews.

Second-row travellers also get stacks of leg and headroom and the driver seat goes nowhere near encroaching on space behind. When it comes time to collapse those second-row seats, it is a 40/20/40 split.

Storage solutions include a space for phones and loose change in front of the shifter, four cupholders (two up front and a pair in the second-row centre arm-rest), and a bottle-recess in each door. Annoyingly, there are two USB ports in the glovebox, which is deep enough for a dog to sit in (only joking!), so it is difficult for the driver to readily access those as a charging point.

There are air vents for both rows.

Down the back, cargo space is 442 litres with the second row up; and 1342 litres with that row flat.

Our review vehicle – an upper-spec Mazda CX-5 GT AWD diesel – had a manufacturer listed price of $47,390 at standard spec, but ours also had Soul Red paint ($300) and optional front and rear floor mats at a cost of $187.02. There is a stack of gear for the price as standard including keyless entry and start, a 7.0-inch touchscreen (with Mazda’s MZD Connect multimedia system but no Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), satnav, reversing camera,  front and rear parking sensors, head-up display, cruise control, a 10-speaker Bose stereo, dual-zone climate control, electric front seats, white leather trim, auto wipers, powered and heated folding mirrors, power windows, a sunroof, electric tailgate, 19-inch alloy wheels and a space-saver spare tyre (tucked under the cargo floor). There’s also active automatic LED headlights, LED foglight and plenty of active and passive driver aids.

Hyundai's in-house 2.0-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder combines well with Hyundai's own traditional torque converter-equipped, six-speed automatic gearbox.

While the outputs of 121kW and 203Nm are relatively modest, the engine is honest, seamless, and very linear.

The 1580kg Tucson does feel the strain when it's loaded up, and steep inclines aren't its best friend, but on the whole, it's a very dependable, very faithful drive train to this category of car.

The GT has a 2.2-litre SkyActiv diesel engine – producing 129kW@4500rpm and a chunky 420Nm@2000rpm – matched to a six-speed automatic transmission. No complaints about this pairing.

Hyundai rates the Tucson Active X auto as consuming 7.9 litres per 100km on the combined fuel economy cycle – it’s the thirstiest Tucson in the range by a small margin.

Over our 320km test loop, we recorded a dash-indicated 9.1L/100km, and a fuel top-up of 28 litres works out at 8.75L/100km.

With a fuel tank capacity of 62 litres, it’s got a theoretical range of around 780km on a single tank, and it’s perfectly happy with regular unleaded fuel.

We recorded 8.3L/100km for about 160km of daily driving (country, suburban, city and freeway) and 8.7L/100km for 150km of AWD-appropriate touring (including a substantial amount of dirt-road driving). The CX-5 has a 58-litre fuel tank

In daily use, the Tucson Active X really excels. Its relatively small capacity, 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine matches well with Hyundai's in-house automatic six-speed transmission for seamless forward motion.

The engine can feel strained when pushed, but around town, it works perfectly well, especially in conjunction with the Tucson's front-wheel-drive layout. Its steering is firmly weighted, too, and easy to manage.

Hyundai goes to some lengths to tweak the suspension of its cars to suit Australian roads, and the Tucson is no exception. As a rule, the local tune generally imparts a slightly firmer ride quality with less body roll, and this suits the Tucson perfectly. There's great visibility out the front with a sloped bonnet, as well as all around the car.

The Tuscon's doors open wide allowing for easy access, too. It's just basically a lovely, simple, no-fuss car that does everything right and pretty much nothing to annoy you or your passengers.

This CX-5 is 4550mm long, 1840mm wide, 1675mm high has a claimed kerb weight of 1744kg and an 11.2m turning circle. It feels low and long – even though it’s not really – and is rock-steady to drive, at any speed.

This CX-5 never feels like anything but a supremely well put-together unit and that makes for a smooth driving experience. Steering is light at the right time and takes on a real weight when you need it to; the 2.2-litre engine is eager and works well off changes in the six-speed auto.

It’s better suited to open-road cruising, than stop-start city driving as it tends to lag off the mark when you actually need it to swiftly budge.

Mazda reckons its staff have worked hard to make the current CX-5’s NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) levels much better than those in the previous model, but we’d never noticed anything in that earlier thing, and nothing in this latest model, so we have to take their word for it.

The GT is on 19-inch alloys, shod with Toyo Proxes R46 rubber.

The CX-5 has a five-star ANCAP safety rating, as a result of testing conducted in September 2017. It has six airbags, ABS, reversing camera, blind-spot monitoring, reverse cross-traffic alert, front and rear auto emergency braking and more. It has two ISOFIX and three top-tether points.

Hyundai offers a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty for the Tucson, as well as a free 1500km service and 12 months of roadside assistance. Service intervals are at 12 month or 15,000km intervals.

Five-year fixed price servicing costs for the 2.0-litre engine equals $1525.

Mazda offers a three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty on the CX-5; capped price servicing is included. The servicing schedule is set at six months/10,000km and will cost from $317 to $387.