Should you wait for the new Hyundai Tucson, or buy the old one now? I’ve compared them to help you decide

This is the new Hyundai Tucson, and if you thought the outgoing car was striking to look at then you ain’t seen nothing yet. This alternative to the Kia Sportage and Volkswagen Tiguan is sporting an all-new design for Hyundai, and it looks like it was drawn using nothing but a ruler.

It’s also larger than the outgoing car, and it has some new tech on board as well. However, you won’t be able to get your hands on one for a few months yet, and there are some great deals available on the outgoing car.

So the question is: should you buy the current Hyundai Tucson now, or wait for the new one? I’m going to compare the stats to help you decide.

Remember, you can buy a brand new or used car right here on Carwow. And you can sell your car, too. We’re here to help you through every step of your car-changing journey.

New vs old Hyundai Tucson: design

Let’s start by talking about styling, because this is a lot more than just a nip and tuck refresh.

The current Hyundai Tucson looks a bit like a scrunched-up sheet of paper, because the overall shape is quite rounded, but it’s also covered in creases. It has a bold front grille with the daytime running lights integrated within it, and it has a sporty-looking sloping rear end.

On the other hand, the new Tucson looks much more boxy, and it’s not quite as fussy as the outgoing car. There are still plenty of lines and creases across the body, but not as many as before. The front light design is also simpler, with hidden main beams and a full-width light bar across the front.

That styling cue is repeated at the rear as well, with a single, horizontal LED on each side protruding slightly from the rear quarter. It’s certainly an interesting design, but it’ll be up to you to pick your favourite.

New vs old Hyundai Tucson: interior and practicality

There are some more big changes inside as well, the main one being the new infotainment setup.

Whereas the current Tucson has a pair of 12.3-inch displays behind one sheet of glass, the new car has a 12.9-inch central screen as standard, rising to a whopping 17 inches on higher-spec models, and a slim 9-inch digital driver’s display set above the steering wheel – keeping it in your direct eyeline.

The screen itself also uses new Android software, just like you get in the Hyundai Ioniq 3 electric car, meaning it should be as easy to use as your smartphone. The graphics also look much brighter than they are in the current Tucson.

As for practicality, the new Hyundai Tucson is larger in every dimension than the outgoing car, and the result is a marginal increase in rear headroom and legroom. The 695-litre boot is also a whopping 75 litres more than you got before, and the Tucson already had one of the biggest boots in its class. A Kia Sportage has 591 litres of space, and a Volkswagen Tiguan has 650 litres.

New vs old Hyundai Tucson: engines and driving

Just like the outgoing car, the new Hyundai Tucson will be available with petrol, hybrid and plug-in hybrid engines.

The basic 1.6-litre petrol model has 150hp, and it’ll be available with a manual or automatic gearbox. Those are the same specs as the current Tucson, and the new hybrid hasn’t changed either. It still uses a 1.6-litre petrol engine mated to an electric motor, and it puts out the same 239hp as before.

You do get a smidge more power in the plug-in hybrid than before, going from 288hp to 292hp, and it has a slightly bigger battery as well. The all-electric range goes up from 44 miles to 50 miles as a result, which is still some way off the 75 miles you get from the Volkswagen Tiguan PHEV.

New vs old Hyundai Tucson: prices and verdict

The price of the new Hyundai Tucson will be announced in the coming weeks, and we expect deliveries to start in early 2027. A small increase is pretty much par for the course with a new car, but we’d still bet on it costing between £30,000 and £35,000.

The current Tucson starts from £31,000, but you can save an average of £4,625 on one through Carwow. If you’re after a spacious, well-equipped and posh-feeling SUV, and you don’t want to wait for the new one, grabbing a deal on the outgoing Tucson is a shrewd move.

However, the new Tucson is more spacious inside and has a more modern-looking dashboard, and it promises improved infotainment technology. We reckon it’s worth waiting for if you’ve got the patience, but you’ll have to wait until we get behind the wheel for the full verdict.

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