2025 Hyundai Tucson refreshed with more buttons and knobs at New York Auto Show
The 2025 Hyundai Tucson arrives dressed up in this generation’s mid-cycle refresh and featuring an assortment of new tech.
Looking around the exterior, you’ll notice the updated Tucson gets a new grille, fresh bumpers in front and rear and a new daytime running light look with larger lighting areas than before. Smaller tweaks like new wheel designs, a larger rear wiper blade and a new anodized look to the badging round out the changes. And if you opt for the more rugged-looking XRT, Hyundai adds new raised roof rails for greater capability.
Hyundai’s powertrain options are largely carryover, though the Hybrid gets a slight boost with a more powerful electric motor (goes from 59 horsepower to 64 horsepower), giving it a total system output of 231 horses and 258 pound-feet of torque. The base engine is still the 2.5-liter four-cylinder that produces 187 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque, while the most powerful version continues to be the PHEV with 268 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. A new “Baby Mode” joins the various drive modes for 2025, too, and Hyundai says it “helps reduce the sharpness of initial acceleration, smoothing out driver inputs for a gentler acceleration feeling for passengers.”
The in-cabin experience is where Hyundai applied its most impactful changes for 2025. It features a new dash with a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a new (OTA-capable) 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system running Hyundai’s latest software that features “faster processing speeds, enhanced colors and sharper graphics.” All trims feature wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto now, too. Below the infotainment is a redesigned center stack that does away with the Tucson’s frustrating touch haptic controls for more user-friendly knobs and switches. This new setup looks like a big upgrade for ease of use and ergonomics. In addition to the dash, the Tucson has a redesigned center console, steering wheel and door panels. There’s also a new tray located just above the glovebox for storing small items.
Higher trims will also get a new column-mounted gear selector we’ve seen implemented in other Hyundai products for more center console space. A new wireless phone charger is said to offer improved performance, and the USB-C ports offer faster charging speeds. Limited models add acoustic glass in the front windows for a quieter cabin experience. A larger 12-inch color HUD will be available, and a new biometric authenticator can be used to start the car up without a key fob. Hyundai’s Digital Key 2 tech is also present, which allows for locking, unlocking and engine start via your phone’s presence – it also allows you to easily share temporary access to the car from one phone to another.
As far as driver assistance systems go, the 2025 Tucson adds Forward Attention Warning, which is essentially a driver monitor that uses an infrared camera to track the driver’s attention levels.
The updated Tucson in standard engine form will hit dealers in June this year, and both the Hybrid and PHEV will follow in late summer. Pricing for the 2025 car will be revealed closer to the on-sale dates.
