Facelifted Hyundai Tucson spied with less camouflage

The strip tease continues!

A mid-life update for the HyundaiTucson SUV has been spied in Europe towing a trailer during testing with fewer pieces of heavy black camouflage.

This latest spied Tucson prototype has a typical black-and-white camouflage wrap on the front end which gives us a slightly better look at the design. It’s still hard, however, to make out exact details.

Unlike the recently revealed i30 Sedan and Sonata refreshes, it appears the updated Tucson will retain the same overall design as today’s car.

The front end still features a split headlight treatment, with the main and high beams hidden in a pod towards the outer edges of the front bumper.

Again there’s a grille that includes the crossover’s set of driving lights. The grille design appears to be updated though.

Just like previously spied prototypes there’s still heavy black camouflage cladding around the rest of the vehicle.

It’s expected there will be changes to the rear bumpers and tail lights, which is typical with mid-life updates.

At this stage there haven’t been any imagery of the updated Tucson’s interior, so we don’t know if the South Korean carmaker is planning a more drastic overhaul of crossover’s dashboard and cabin.

It’s unclear when Hyundai will reveal the mid-life updated Tucson, nor when it will come to Australia.

As previously reported, the South Korean carmaker confirmed the Tucson Hybrid is on track to arrive locally in the first half of 2024. It’s unclear if this will coincide with the mid-life update.

Power in the Tucson Hybrid comes from a turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol engine with a 44.2kW electric motor and a 1.49kWh battery pack.

Combined, peaked power is 169kW and claimed fuel economy is 5.7 litres per 100km.

Along with the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, the Tucson Hybrid will take on the Nissan X-Trail e-Power and the related Kia Sportage Hybrid. The latter is on track to arrive in Australia next year.

The Hyundai Tucson is currently available locally with two petrol powertrains, as well as a turbo-diesel powertrain. There are front- and all-wheel drive options depending on the drivetrain.

There is a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version of the Tucson available in other markets, though it has never been confirmed for an Australian launch.

MORE: Everything Hyundai Tucson