Hyundai Tucson Hybrid gets 2 stars in Green NCAP

The hybrid variant of the Hyundai Tucson reportedly flopped its Green New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) evaluation after garnering only a two-star rating. Green NCAP subjected the South Korean hybrid sport utility vehicle (SUV) to tests covering three categories namely Clean Air, Energy Efficiency, and Greenhouse Gas.

It scored 4.2 out of 10 on the Clean Air Index due to poor particle control, high output of the unregulated pollutant ammonia, and excessive CO emissions in high-power demand highway phases.

Meanwhile, its Energy Efficiency Index score is 4.5 out of 10.

“The hybrid system works effectively in situations representing ‘normal’ real-world driving and is expected to offer consumers good consumption figures in rural driving scenarios with moderate speeds. However, short urban trips and, especially, dynamic highway driving will increase the values to the measured values of 8 and 9 l/100 km, respectively,” Green NCAP explained.

On the other hand, the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid scored 3.1 out of 10 on the Greenhouse Gas Index. According to Green NCAP, the greenhouse gas emissions are closely related to the consumption figures and the results of the Highway Test push the Greenhouse Gas Index to a mediocre 3.1 points.

“Lowering the particle output and a more robust pollutant control would help the Tucson (Hybrid) easily reach higher assessment results. Higher efficiency on the highway would add to the improved score,” Green NCAP commented.

The tested Hyundai Tucson Hybrid had a 1.5-liter engine paired with a 1.49 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery. It had a declared maximum power output of 227 horsepower (hp) and 350Nm of torque.

Of the hybrid vehicles tested in the same batch, the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid got the lowest score. Other hybrid vehicles that also took the assessment were the mild hybrid Nissan Qashqai (2.5 stars) and the Fiat 500 (three stars).

Photos from Green NCAP

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