The Tucson Wins on Price and Loses on Fuel

Fuel will cost you nearly as much as the car depreciates. Over five years, our ownership calculator puts the 2025 Hyundai Tucson's fuel tab at $9,847, against depreciation of $9,240. Those two line items are nearly tied, which is unusual for a compact crossover in this price range and worth understanding before you sign anything.

The five-year total comes out to $31,045, or about $517 per month. That is not a terrible number for this segment, but it is not a bargain either. Where the money goes matters more than the total.

Who Actually Belongs in This Car

The Tucson is a compact crossover SUV, which means it sits between a small hatchback and a midsize SUV in size and price. It fits four adults without complaint, handles a Costco run, and parks in a normal garage. If that describes your life, keep reading.

It is genuinely not for people who tow anything. The standard engine is rated for 2,000 pounds, which barely covers a small utility trailer. It is also not for drivers who expect the kind of fuel economy that makes a $9,847 five-year fuel bill sting less. The Tucson hybrid exists for those people, and this review covers the non-hybrid lineup.

Buyers who prioritize cargo space over a slightly lower purchase price should cross-shop the Toyota RAV4 before deciding. The Tucson is narrower and shorter, and that shows in cargo numbers.

The Powertrain Situation

The base engine is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder making 187 horsepower, paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive is standard; all-wheel drive costs extra on most trims.

A turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder is available on higher trims, producing 261 horsepower. It is quicker and feels more willing in traffic, but it is also thirstier in the real world than its ratings suggest.

Fueleconomy.gov rates the standard 2.5-liter front-wheel-drive Tucson at 26 mpg city and 33 mpg highway. The turbocharged version drops to 22 city and 28 highway with all-wheel drive. Real-world numbers tend to run one to two mpg below the EPA figures for both engines, particularly in city driving. That gap is where the $9,847 fuel number comes from, calculated at 12,000 miles per year over five years.

Trim Levels and What You Pay

Hyundai sells the Tucson in five main trims. The prices below are base MSRPs before destination fees or options. You can configure your own on the Hyundai build page.

Trim	MSRP	What You Actually Get
SE	$30,150	2.5L engine, 8-inch touchscreen, basic driver assists, cloth seats
SEL	$33,150	10.25-inch touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated front seats
N Line	$36,400	Sport styling, turbocharged 1.6L engine, N-tuned suspension, AWD standard
XRT	$36,900	Off-road styling package, standard 2.5L, skid plates, available AWD
Limited	$41,000	Leather seats, 12.3-inch digital cluster, Bose audio, panoramic sunroof

The SEL is the trim most buyers end up in, and it represents reasonable value. The jump from SEL to N Line costs $3,250 and gets you a more powerful engine, which is actually a fair trade given the turbo engine's capability. The XRT is mostly cosmetic, which makes it harder to justify.

What Hyundai Got Right

The interior quality is the honest highlight. At this price point, the Tucson's cabin materials punch above their class. The dashboard feels considered rather than assembled. Soft-touch surfaces appear where hands actually land, which is not the case in several competitors.

The standard driver assistance suite includes forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist, and blind-spot monitoring on most trims. Hyundai includes these as standard equipment rather than charging for them as a package, which is still not universal in this segment.

Back seat legroom is genuinely good. Adults fit without the usual compact crossover knee-against-seat experience. Hyundai stretched the wheelbase in recent years, and it shows.

The warranty is still the longest in the segment: 5-year/60,000-mile basic and 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain coverage. That warranty matters to our repair estimate. Our calculator puts five-year repairs at just $1,771, one of the lowest figures we see in this class. The long warranty is a real reason to trust that number.

What Hyundai Got Wrong

The fuel economy is the core disappointment. The Tucson costs about what a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid costs to buy, but the RAV4 Hybrid gets around 40 mpg combined. If Hyundai's fuel number were even 20 percent lower, that five-year $9,847 figure drops by roughly $2,000. It doesn't.

The touchscreen on base trims is too small. An 8-inch screen in a 2025 vehicle at $30,000 looks dated from the moment you sit down. Hyundai charges $3,000 more for the SEL to fix that, which feels like a tax on not wanting an outdated interior.

The XRT trim deserves a second mention here. Its off-road styling suggests capability that the standard 2.5-liter engine and regular tires cannot actually deliver. It is a look, not a function.

Safety Ratings

The 2025 Tucson had not received a complete updated NHTSA rating set at time of publication. Check nhtsa.gov for the most current scores as they are released.

The IIHS gave the prior Tucson generation strong marks, including Top Safety Pick status. The 2025 model's ratings from iihs.org are pending under the updated evaluation criteria. This is not unusual for a new model year, but buyers who want confirmed ratings right now should wait a few months or look at last year's scores with the understanding that they may shift.

What Year One Actually Costs on a Mid-Level Trim

New cars lose value fast. The SEL starts at $33,150, and first-year depreciation for a new vehicle typically runs 15 to 22 percent. That means you can expect the Tucson SEL to be worth somewhere between $25,857 and $28,178 after twelve months, a loss of roughly $5,000 to $7,300 in year one alone.

Fuel at 15,000 miles (the first year tends to run higher than the five-year average) costs approximately $1,970 using the EPA combined rating and current average gas prices.

Insurance runs about $1,200 to $1,600 per year for this segment depending on your location, age, and record. Our five-year estimate of $7,200 assumes roughly $1,440 per year, which sits in the middle of that range.

Hyundai's first scheduled maintenance interval is at 5,000 miles or six months for an oil change inspection, then at 7,500 miles for the first oil change under their OLM system. The first year of maintenance is relatively light. Budget around $150 to $250 for that first year if you are going outside the dealer.

Add it up and a first year in a Tucson SEL runs somewhere between $8,500 and $11,000 when you count depreciation, fuel, insurance, and that first service. That is the real cost of saying yes at the dealership.

How It Compares to the Competition

Toyota RAV4: The Tucson wins on interior materials and standard technology at a similar price point. It loses clearly on fuel economy and resale value, two factors that compound over five years.

Honda CR-V: The Tucson wins on warranty length and rear seat space. It loses on cargo room behind the rear seats, where the CR-V has a genuine advantage for families who actually use that space.

Mazda CX-5: The Tucson wins on powertrain options and available turbocharged performance at the N Line trim level. It loses on driving feel and cabin refinement, where Mazda still sets the standard in this class.

Who Should Buy It, and Who Should Skip It

Buy the Tucson if you want a well-equipped compact crossover with a strong warranty, good rear seat room, and interior quality that does not feel like it was designed by a committee trying to cut costs. The SEL or N Line are the right trims. The SE saves you $3,000 and feels like it.

Skip it if fuel costs are a real concern in your budget. At $9,847 over five years, the Tucson's fuel bill is one of the higher ones in our compact crossover comparisons. The hybrid version of the Tucson would change that calculus, but this is not that car.

Also skip it if you are a dedicated numbers buyer who weighs resale value above everything else. The Tucson holds its value reasonably well, but not at RAV4 levels. That $9,240 depreciation figure over five years is acceptable, not impressive.

At $517 a month all-in, the Tucson is a sensible choice for a specific kind of buyer: someone who wants a modern interior, a generous warranty, and enough space for a family, and who is not obsessing over every mile-per-gallon. That person exists in large numbers. Whether you are one of them is a question only your budget and your commute can answer.