Sponsored Make No Small Plans: The 2025 Tucson Is One Compact SUV Ready for Big Adventure

For those who live a double life split between Monday meetings and weekend trailheads, it can be difficult to shop for your next “daily driver” without feeling like you’re compromising on something. SUVs are meant to be dual purpose, but oftentimes shoppers are forced to trade capability for driver comforts and connected technology. This is what they call “versatility”, and for the vast majority of people that’s all they’re ever looking for or need. But if you want a vehicle built with real outdoor capability in mind, serious outdoor hobbyists often will be forced to come home with an expensive and bulky full-size SUV.


Enter the 2025 Hyundai TUCSON. It’s stylish, fits perfectly in nearly any garage, and filled with modern tech, so you’d be forgiven for assuming that something this good-looking wouldn’t be ideal for more ambitious outdoor activities like, say, a canoe camping trip. But that’s where the 2025 Hyundai TUCSON stands apart: it brings serious practicality, refined driving experience, and plenty of grit to go way beyond the carpool lane and unlock big, real-world adventure.

TUCSON: Ready to Go for Launch

A lot of great camping can be done close to home; wherever you are, chances are there are a few drive-in camp sites within 30min drive right now. But once your goal is to have a dispersed overnight camping experience, especially multi-day, you’re going to have to look further than your backyard. Especially for a canoe camping trip, reaching that remote launch site at the water’s edge is going to typically start with hours of driving on backcountry roads and county highways to find your national park or campground — which is where the TUCSON’s hybrid powertrain models can really come in handy.
 

With available HEV and PHEV powertrains, the TUCSON boasts an impressive fuel economy of up to 38 MPG in the city and on the highway¹, making those long excursions through the American wilderness much easier on your wallet. The TUCSON Plug-in Hybrid goes even further with its EPA-estimated 77 MPGe². Not only is reaching your next trailhead a breeze, but this is one compact SUV with the potential to spark serious wanderlust.

Comfortable and Connected Cabin

Efficient travel is always a plus, but that road trip journeying into the wild needs to be effortless and comfortable too so you don’t arrive at the site physically exhausted with devices low on power. The TUCSON driver and passenger seats can keep you comfortable with available heated and ventilated seats, with available heated rear seats so even any littles or carpoolers can stay warm too. An available massive 12-inch Head-up Display alongside the standard 12.6-inch touchscreen display give you a command center for all your apps and music, while available wireless device charging up front, USB-C charging ports in both rows, and 12volt outlets in the front and cargo area give you plenty of ways to keep your phones and powerbanks at full power right up until you unload at the park entrance^3.

To make the driving itself a little easier on those long highway runs, the TUCSON also has several available Hyundai SmartSense™ adaptive control features perfect for road trips. The available Highway Driving Assist (HDA)⁴ and Navigation-based Smart Cruise Control (N-SCC)⁵ use a combination of radar and sensing technology to not only help you to keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front of you, but it will allow the TUCSON to automatically adjust speeds based on speed-controlled zones, road conditions, and curves so it can automatically return to speed when the conditions have passed.

Room for the Gear That Gets You There

One of the advantages (and challenges) of canoe camping is that you have a high capability vehicle with you wherever you go: your canoe. Because you’ve got a means of transporting additional gear from site to site in your boat, after a long day of paddling and portage you can build a small campground all to yourself on the shore that can feel pretty indulgent compared to backpacking. All that extra gear that ends up in the canoe starts in the backseat of your car, and the TUCSON makes packing easier with flexible cargo solutions like dual-level fold-away rear seats that create up to 71.8 cu. ft. of cargo space once they’re tucked into the floor of the backseat. The TUCSON also features available Hands-Free Smart Liftgate⁶, a feature so simple you’d wonder how we went without it for so long: after just a few seconds of waiting by the gate, so long as you have the fob in your pocket, the liftgate will open all on its own. It’s a game-changer when your hands are full of gear, or your dog insists on helping.


You’re also going to need to solve for the 17 ft, 90 lb canoe itself — a challenge for smaller compact SUVs — but the TUCSON also has plenty of transport space above thanks to sturdy roof rails and available crossbar accessories. The TUCSON even has a towing capacity of up to 2,000 pounds⁷, so with available tow-hitch you can even transport multiple canoes, kayaks, or extra equipment without stepping up to a larger SUV.

Confidence off the Beaten Path

As any boondocker and national park buff knows road conditions are predictably unpredictable once you leave the concrete and asphalt of the paved road behind. But it’s especially true for those sites that are meant for canoe camping, because once you arrive the first thing you’ll need to do is portage: carry your canoe and gear from wherever you parked to the river’s edge. That moment when you’re considering how close you can get to the water is where the TUCSON’s available HTRAC All-Wheel Drive system truly earns its keep. With Drive Mode Select, you can fine-tune handling for changing road conditions, from loose gravel to unexpected rain, not only allowing you to take the CUV off-road, but you’ll lose the distance to your first canoe launch. 


And if you’ve sprung for either the HEV or the PHEV you’ll get the added benefit of the electric motor, where there is extra torque that delivers a boost of power and traction — perfect for when the terrain calls for more traction and control.

XRT: Built for the Rough Rides

But there’s always some campsite that’s going to tempt you with an opportunity to get deep into the wild and see what your vehicle can do. For drivers who prefer trails and riverways a little less traveled, the TUCSON’s XRT trim delivers additional features that can take your adventure to the next level.   


With the XRT you’ll not only get the HTRAC AWD, but you’ll also get trim-exclusive bridge-type roof rails — perfect for hauling multiple kayaks and bikes—, a standard tow hitch, and underbody cladding to provide added utility and protection for true off-roading adventures ahead. You’ll also get trim-exclusives that add extra ruggedness like XRT exclusive 18-inch black alloy wheels, black interior X-Tex^® seat finish with XRT embossed logos, and exclusive badging. Not only will you be fully equipped to take on your ambitious outdoor expeditions, you’ll be riding in style.

Back to Everyday Adventure

And while the TUCSON excels at journeys that take you off the beaten path, you’ll still get all the connected and convenient tech features that make the TUCSON a fantastic vehicle for the everyday. Features like the available Hyundai Digital Key 2 Touch⁸ make it easy to lock and unlock with a tap of your compatible smartphone or smart watch, as well as remote start and pre-condition the cabin — a welcome detail after working up a sweat on that high-elevation hike. And the available Remote Smart Parking Assist⁹ helps you navigate tight parking spots by allowing you to get out of the vehicle and let the TUCSON park itself with a push of a button — great for tight quarters whether it’s at a downtown café parking lot or a popular trailhead.

Big Plans for Your Next Compact SUV

While the compact SUV segment might at times make you feel like you have to choose between everyday driving convenience and rugged off-road capability, the TUCSON is living proof that you don’t. You can have the best of both worlds in your garage: an efficient, tech-forward vehicle for your every day, and an SUV that can accompany you on your boldest wilderness challenges.


The only question is, what plans will you make, and where to next?