Fit For Hard Work
by David Morgan (06 Jan 06)

Qite unexpectedly I reached the top the other day. It's taken me 39 years of driving, but at long last I've taken a car to the top of a Scottish mountain. It may not have been a Munro, and sure there was a perfectly reasonable track in place, but scrambling to the summit of 2539ft high Sgurr a' Chaorachain on the Applecross peninsula was an achievement both for me and for Hyundai's two-litre CRTD turbodiesel Tucson.

The tough Korean SUV had already beaten Scotland's most spectacular road - the stunning 2000ft climb from Loch Kishorn to the top of the Bealach na Ba - when I was offered a chance to go higher still. But this final 550ft climb was no cakewalk. The Tucson had to tackle a transmitter access track hewn from solid rock and surfaced with large, loose and very sharp stones. I had to pick my way carefully along the rough surface. In places it was steep and just wide enough, but the Tucson's turbodiesel didn't miss a beat. From just over 2500ft the view over Skye to the west was magnificent.

It says a lot for this modest five-door SUV that it took the Sgurr in its stride. At 4000rpm there's only 111bhp on tap and I was forced to use plenty of revs to make the summit. But with 181lb/ft of torque kicking in between 1800 and 2500rpm the climb was straightforward. The engine is a willing common-rail two-litre which revs easily and delivers as much pulling power as some competitors' 2.5-litre V6 petrol engines.

The Tucson has been around for more than two years and is available in two-litre and 2.7-litre V6 petrol forms in addition to the two-litre turbodiesel. The oil burner's engine refinement is not particularly good and there's a cheap and cheerful feel about the vehicle. But as a dependable workhorse with good value pricing it is hard to beat, particularly in diesel form.

The cheapest petrol version, a 140bhp two-litre GSI, costs just £14,395 on the road. But this is two-wheel drive only and a pointless choice for any off-road work. The cheapest 4x4 petrol GSI costs £15,395 but if you are looking for all-round ability you need the diesel option.

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