Hyundai Wants Tucson To Be Its Halo Model

When you think of a halo car, you likely think of something seriously luxurious, or seriously vast. For Lexus, it wasthe gorgeous LFA. For Maserati, it's the newMC20. For Elon Musk's company, it will be the upcomingTesla Roadster. For Hyundai, it's theTucson. Why is a family SUV being touted as the halo car for the Korean company and not its biggest SUV or sportiest model? Well, first we need to discuss what a halo car is. Beyond that, we need to accept that Hyundai is very unlike other automakers, making its own rules and forging its own path.

A halo car is the one that a manufacturer chooses as the perfect symbol of everything it wants its customers to see from the brand. It's the vehicle that details its best efforts in design, innovation, and often performance. However, for Hyundai, it hasn't been around for decades like Ferrari or BMW. No, Hyundai is a relatively new company, and as a result, it doesn't have a back catalog of past production heroes or famous race cars. Thus, the brand has decided that it needed to choose a vehicle that would be instantly recognizable as a Hyundai while also offering some of its best technology, design, and luxury features.