The all-new 2022 Hyundai Tucson is a stunning compact crossover. Park it next to rivals such as the Ford Escape and Honda CR-V and there's no debate as to which one will draw the most attention. The new Tucson looks more premium and luxurious thanks to its crisp lines and outright bold front end. Hyundai certainly took some styling chances here and it remains to be seen whether they'll pay off. We think it was a gamble worth taking. After all, Hyundai has become something of a design powerhouse in the auto industry over the past few years.

But if there's one thing Hyundai wants to make clear regarding the new Tucson it's this: it's not a luxury vehicle aimed at the world's top brands.

Speaking to Autocar, Hyundai product boss Lorenz Glaab said the following: "We don't see Hyundai in the premium game, but the C-SUV segment is more and more competitive, so we need to stay very relevant and stand out with new design language. We want to keep our customer base loyal but also open it to a new pool of customers."

Premium players like Audi and BMW should be more concerned about Genesis, which will soon launch its second luxury SUV, the GV70. The larger Genesis GV80 is about to go on sale and it'll undercut competitors like the BMW X5 and Audi Q5 in terms of starting price while including numerous standard features. But Glaab made an excellent point about Hyundai's need to stay ahead of its rivals, design-wise.

Just because some vehicles are classified as luxury models doesn't mean they shouldn't push design boundaries. For example, some think the latest Ford Escape looks somewhat bland with its more wagon-like styling. Although this was done on purpose in order to properly separate it from its platform-mate, the all-new Bronco Sport, the Tucson is proof Ford could, and perhaps should, have gone the extra mile regardless.

The 2022 Tucson does not have an official on-sale date just yet, but it's expected to arrive in showrooms sometime in the first half of next year.