Skip to main content

2025 Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid gets improved tech features

2025 Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid driving.
Hyundai

The 2025 Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid is adding plug-in efficiency to one of the most popular crossover SUVs on the market. For the 2025 model year, it gets its first major update since its launch, gaining a new infotainment display, more software-based features, and some mild styling updates.

Along with the rest of the 2025 Tucson lineup, the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid switches from the previous dual-screen setup to a panoramic curved display that combines a 12.3-inch touchscreen and a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. A 12.0-inch head-up display is available as well.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now standard across the board. Hyundai previously required customers to choose between wireless versions of these smartphone connectivity features, but a new operating system has corrected that. Turn-by-turn directions from CarPlay and Android Auto can also be viewed in the new head-up display.

All 2025 Tucson models also gain over-the-air (OTA) update capability and will be among the first Hyundai models with the automaker’s Hyundai Pay service, which allows drivers to pay for parking or fuel from their vehicles. A 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot can support up to five devices, and Digital Key 2 Premium lets phones replace key fobs.

Hyundai claims changes were made to the grille and daytime running lights, from 10 lighting elements to eight larger elements. But you’ll have to look carefully to distinguish between a 2025 Tucson Plug-In Hybrid and the pre-face-lift version, which debuted alongside the current-generation gasoline and hybrid Tucson as a 2022 model.

As before, a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and an electric motor route power to all four wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission. The electric motor gets a bump in power, though, and total system horsepower increases slightly to 268 hp (torque is unchanged at 258 pound-feet).

The 13.8-kilowatt-hour battery pack is the same size as before, and while Hyundai hasn’t released any electric range estimates, the 2025 Tucson Plug-In Hybrid likely won’t improve on the 2024 model’s 33 miles of electric range. That’s about the same as the related Kia Sportage plug-in hybrid but short of the Toyota RAV4 Prime’s 42 miles. A 7.2-kilowatt Level 2 AC onboard charger can recharge the battery pack in less than two hours, Hyundai claims.

The 2025 Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid is scheduled to reach dealerships later this summer, with pricing to be announced closer to that time. While Hyundai is still moving ahead with EVs, the automaker believes plug-in hybrids like the Tucson remain a good fit for customers not ready to make the leap to all-electric motoring.

Stephen Edelstein
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Lamborghini is reinventing itself with the Revuelto plug-in hybrid
The Lamborghini Revuelto plug-in hybrid supercar.

The auto industry in a time of transition centered around electrification and connectivity. Even Lamborghini, long the wild child of the auto industry, has to take these trends into consideration. But Lamborghini always does things its own way.
The Lamborghini Revuelto is the replacement for the Aventador supercar, and the latest in a long line of V12-engined dream machines that includes the legendary Miura, Countach, Diablo, and Murciélago. But the Revuelto is a plug-in hybrid — Lamborghini's first — and includes more tech than ever, marking a big step for the brand in the same direction the rest of the industry is taking.
The Revuelto carries on the Lamborghini tradition of stunning supercars, but under the skin, it's more than just a collection of tech buzzwords, Lamborghini CTO Rouven Mohr emphasized in an interview during the car's North American debut in New York City. From the design of the plug-in hybrid powertrain to the hidden aerodynamic elements in the Revuelto's Instagram-worthy styling, Mohr explained how engineers are preserving the essence of Lamborghini in this high-tech age.

Fashionably late
Lamborghini was a trendsetter with the Miura and Countach, but this time it's fashionably late to the party. Plug-in hybrid supercars arrived in a big way roughly a decade ago when the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1, and Porsche 918 Spyder all appeared virtually simultaneously. McLaren recently returned to plug-in hybrid technology with its Artura, while the all-electric Rimac Nevera and Pininfarina Battista have completely abandoned combustion engines.
Lamborghini isn't ready to go all-electric, but after dabbling in electrification with the Sián FKP-37 and Countach LPI 800-4 hybrids, company brass did feel the time was right for a plug-in hybrid. Three electric motors — one powering each front wheel, and a third attached to the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission — enable limited electric driving, with energy stored in a 3.8-kilowatt-hour battery pack. It's all in keeping with the times.
"The social environment has changed," Mohr said, noting stricter emissions regulations and the persistent concern that European customers will eventually need some form of electric mode to access city centers. Technological improvements, such as more energy-dense batteries, as well as Lamborghini's schedule for replacing models also made this the right time to launch a plug-in hybrid, Mohr added.
It keeps the sound that makes Lamborghinis as dramatic to hear as they are to look at.

Read more
9 longest-range plug-in hybrids: get the best of both worlds
2020 Polestar 1

All-electric cars are here and becoming increasingly available, but not everyone is ready to make the jump to an EV. After all, while EVs are cheaper to run and maintain, they also require you spend the time and effort to charge them — and on longer drives, that can be a bit of a pain. That’s exactly where plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) come in.

Plug-in hybrids offer the best of both worlds. They have an electric motor and a battery to allow you to drive without using any gas, and they have an engine and gas tank to allow you to drive using gas. The result? Often, you can get around town and to work and back without using any gasoline — only engaging the gas engine when you’re driving longer distances. That means that you don’t have to stop and charge when you don’t want to.

Read more
Why you should consider a plug-in hybrid in 2023
2020 audi q5 tfsi e first drive review phev 19

EVs are all the rage — and it makes sense. Electric vehicles allow you to avoid high gas prices and feel good about not impacting the environment as much, plus they’re usually sleek, stylish, and fast.

But in 2023, owning an EV isn’t for everyone. After all, charging stations, while improving, still aren’t as common as they should be -- and depending on your car, they sometimes aren’t all that fast. If you’re worried about those issues, there’s an alternative — a plug-in hybrid (also known as a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or PHEV). These are cars that essentially offer the best of both worlds: A battery and electric motor for quick, clean trips around town, and a gas engine for longer road trips.
What makes a PHEV so great?

Read more