The All-New Tucson Hybrid gains 10 PS and gets about 7% better fuel economy.
Kim Young-jin, senior research engineer at Hyundai’s Electrification Project Team 2, credited the motors, transmission, battery and aerodynamics for those gains.
What powertrains does the All-New Tucson offer?
The All-New Tucson comes with a 1.6-liter turbo gasoline engine making 193 PS and a 1.6-liter turbo hybrid making 245 PS of system output.
The gasoline engine uses a larger turbocharger and gains 13 PS. The hybrid pairs the same 1.6 turbo engine with two drive motors, P1 and P2, and gains 10 PS.
What is the All-New Tucson Hybrid’s fuel economy?
The hybrid’s combined fuel economy is 17.4 km/L, about 7% better than before, based on Hyundai’s Korean figures.
A new TMED-II six-speed automatic splits power between the engine and motors. Silicon carbide (SiC) components in the hybrid control system handle higher pressure and heat more efficiently. Hyundai did not say which wheel size or drivetrain the 17.4 km/L figure applies to.
How is the P1 motor different from P0?
The P1 motor is connected directly to the engine and adds drive force across a wide operating range. The P0 motor it replaces was belt-driven and only handled starting and generating power.
The P2 motor helps split torque between the engine and motors and keeps the engine running in its most efficient range, in a smaller package.
The 270V-class lithium-ion battery is kept below 55°C, with no more than 5°C difference between cells. It also gets over-the-air battery monitoring updates, battery aging prediction and an enhanced fail-safe cutoff.
What other efficiency features does the hybrid get?
The hybrid gets extended regenerative braking, coasting guidance and Stay Mode.
Regenerative braking now continues until just before the ABS activates. Coasting guidance uses navigation data to tell the driver when to lift off the accelerator. Stay Mode runs the electronics and climate control without the engine while the car is parked.
Across the range, the drag coefficient drops from 0.33 to 0.30, thanks to active air flaps, a revised rear spoiler, 17-inch aero wheels and a reshaped lower rear bumper.