Antilock Brakes are Now Standard with Well-Equipped 2006 Tucson
The Hyundai Tucson is a lightweight SUV right? Well, don't let its compact dimensions fool you. After all, every one of the
six Tucsons that set out from Cape Cross, Namibia, on the Atlantic Ocean, for a 6,200 km quest to cross Africa made it to the other side.
It took the trans-African expedition 22 days to reach Maputo, Mozambique on the Indian Ocean, after passing through the desert and over mountains of Botswana, Zambia, South Africa and Swaziland, and only minor problems were encountered. This is impressive, considering that only stock Tucsons, equipped with four-wheel drive and driver-selectable 4WD lock, the latter which provides a continuous 50/50 torque split between front and rear wheels, took part in the largely unpaved journey.
"The cars performed extremely well with just two tire punctures, three air filter changes and one air conditioning filter replacement," said Pedro Castelo, PR Manager for Entreposto.
Th
e "Tucson Coast-to-Coast" event was organized by Entreposto VH, Hyundai's Portuguese distributor, to show the general toughness and overall reliability of the South Korean automaker's popular new SUV under what the Hyundai team described as "highly demanding climatic and road conditions."
Equally impressive were the Tucsons' overall fuel economy, combining for 9.3 L/100 km, and this taking into consideration that all six vehicles had their air conditioning systems set to "full blast" for 15 of the 22 days. Temperatures were varied but mostly hot, ranging from a low of 13 degrees centigrade to a high of 45 degrees. In addition to the air conditioning, each Tucson carried up to 300 kg of cargo, putting a further load on fuel consumption.
The Hyundai Tucson is a lightweight SUV right? Well, don't let its compact dimensions fool you. After all, every one of the
 |
| It took Hyundai's trans-African Tucson expedition 22 days to reach Maputo, Mozambique on the Indian Ocean, after passing through the desert and over mountains of Botswana, Zambia, South Africa and Swaziland. (Photo: Hyundai Canada) |
It took the trans-African expedition 22 days to reach Maputo, Mozambique on the Indian Ocean, after passing through the desert and over mountains of Botswana, Zambia, South Africa and Swaziland, and only minor problems were encountered. This is impressive, considering that only stock Tucsons, equipped with four-wheel drive and driver-selectable 4WD lock, the latter which provides a continuous 50/50 torque split between front and rear wheels, took part in the largely unpaved journey.
"The cars performed extremely well with just two tire punctures, three air filter changes and one air conditioning filter replacement," said Pedro Castelo, PR Manager for Entreposto.
Th
 |
| "The cars performed extremely well with just two tire punctures, three air filter changes and one air conditioning filter replacement," said Pedro Castelo, PR Manager for Entreposto, Portugal's Hyundai distributor. (Photo: Hyundai Canada) |
Equally impressive were the Tucsons' overall fuel economy, combining for 9.3 L/100 km, and this taking into consideration that all six vehicles had their air conditioning systems set to "full blast" for 15 of the 22 days. Temperatures were varied but mostly hot, ranging from a low of 13 degrees centigrade to a high of 45 degrees. In addition to the air conditioning, each Tucson carried up to 300 kg of cargo, putting a further load on fuel consumption.