If an out-and-out 4X4 isn’t your bag, then perhaps you ought to have a go at 2X2, Hyundai Tucson style?
Revisions for 2008 mean the Hyundai Tucson is now offered in a brand new two-wheel drive format from £14,695, although purists can still scoot about in the traditional four-wheel drive assembly in both the Style and Premium variants that come with six-speed DIY gear linkages for £17,695 and £18,695 respectively.
SUV looks twinned with 4X4 purpose for hatchback running costs - says Hyundai - which is why the revised Hyundai Tucson may find favour and new homes in the UK on launch in its three trim levels: Comfort, Style and Premium guises.
Whilst visually the revamped Hyundai Tucson 4X4 flaunts a new radiator grille, number plate frame and instrumentation clusters, what the South Korean car manufacturer has impressively done with its new Tucson is tantamount to a damage limitation exercise for those of you in the new car buying cycle who really, really want a 4X4 – complete with all its trappings – yet are counting the coppers that only add up to hatchback territory.
But that isn’t a problem. Ever sensitive to customer demands, Hyundai has delivered with a two engine, three trim range redress for 2008 that means car buyers can have it all.
The beginners kit Tucson – the 139bhp 2.0-litre petrol-engined Comfort model – arrives in an uncharacteristically exciting package at £14,695 for starters, as tinted gangsta-glass, body-coloured bumpers and trim, front fogs, roof rails and snazzy 16" rims certainly look the part.
Lift the lid and air con, electric windows and dual front and side airbags will make you double check the bill of receipt you were handed in the showroom.
Petrol figures of 35.3mpg for this petrol version and 40.4mpg returns for the 148bhp 2.0-litre CRDI power plant will also help families keep the wolf from the door. Five-speed and six-speed manuals alongside five-speed auto boxes are the transmission choices throughout the Tucson range.
The Style model costs £16,695 and adds climate, trip computer, leather running rule over steering wheel and gear knob, cruise, butt-warming chairs, reverse parking sensors and metal grain dash trimmings over the Comfort.
The afore-mentioned Premium top-ranger is the only Tucson setting to harness the auto gearbox and costs £18,695, and collects many more shiny objects such as automatic headlights, sunroof, electrically-folding door mirrors and a unique alloy design like a magpie on speed.
As ever, the Hyundai Tucson comes with a five year unlimited mileage warranty.