We drive the Hyundai Creta , the current best seller from the Korean car maker to get you this detailed review.
, the current best seller from the Korean car maker to get you this detailed review. Tagged by the Korean carmaker as the ‘Perfect SUV’, the Hyundai Creta has been developed keeping the Indian customers in mind. The compact SUV segment is seeing an upward spiral in its demand in our country and the trend will continue to increase with time. The market for SUVs continues to grow rapidly in India and other parts of the world. With every manufacturer eyeing this high potential segment, Hyundai has launched its product, the Creta, to the market. With an option unique to this segment, this vehicle comes with a diesel automatic gearbox. Read on to know everything that the Hyundai Creta has to offer.
Food For Thought: Hyundai revealed the concept version of the Creta at Auto China, Beijing, in April 2014. The vehicle went on sale in August the same year as the ix25 in China. Hyundai named the ix25 as ‘Creta’ for the Indian and few other international markets. The Creta name comes from the word creative, with India being the second country to get this vehicle.
Hyundai Creta Exteriors:
The Hyundai Creta has been designed creatively from nose to tail, with not a single feature looking disproportionate or boring. This version which looks like a younger Santa Fe from many angles, looks fabulous with the designers doing great work on the Fluidic Sculpture 2.0. The Hyundai badge sits proudly in the middle of the shiny and wide three-slat grille. The sleek projector headlights with LED DRLs are the showstopper of the lean and aggressive front styling. The faux silver skid plate and vertically stacked fog lamps mate with a muscular bumper. What makes it look like a true SUV is the bonnet that runs straight and suddenly cuts flat from the grille.
The sleek side profile of the Creta makes it carry the macho SUV stance well. The car comes with many SUV elements like the squarish roofline, sharp and rising crease lines, roof rails, high ground clearance and pronounced wheel arches with black cladding. Adding a premium look are the 5-spoke diamond-cut alloys. The tail lights coming down from the sharp shoulder line, carry the crease to the tailgate in a wave pattern, ending in a smart number plate. What completes the Creta from the rear is a silver skid plate and dual tone bumper.
Hyundai Creta Interiors:
Powerful on the outside. Warm and welcoming on the inside. With a dual-tone beige and black themed plush-looking cabin. Beige is used in the layered dashboard in the middle and extended to the door handles, giving it a neat look. A sporty look is achieved with the entire cabin being treated in black, apart from the roof and dashboard, including the seats. Black being also easier to maintain, as beige seats are big dirt-magnets. The steering wheel in brushed silver finish at the bottom, is contoured and great to grip. The controls for the MID, audio system and Bluetooth telephony can be found on the steering. The instrument cluster and the display layout of the MID, is identical to the one in the Elite i20. The ‘distance to empty’ and ‘average fuel efficiency’ display on the Creta is missing. There’s no auto-open for the car’s mirrors when you approach the vehicle, like they do in the Elite i20. The stalk has multiple controls and feels good to use.
The Creta has no auto headlamps and rain-sensing wipers, but comes with two settings for the rear wiper and standard follow-me-home headlamps. The doors have the ORVMs controls within easy reach and the lock/unlock button too, unlike the Elite i20. Hyundai has given this car the auto speed-sensing lock feature, which can be deactivated too. The Creta has the mood change bar in its fully automatic climate control system, which turns blue when cold, white when moderate and orange when the inside temperature is high. With well-designed front AC vents, the rear passengers also get vents in the middle. The dashboard comes with a cool digital clock. With a big, fast and responsive touchscreen, the AVN system is convenient, having great touch-quality. Unlike the Elite i20 that has a small display on the center rearview mirror, this offers navigation and also doubles up as the rear view camera display. Great audio quality and the seamless bluetooth connectivity with smartphones are some more features. Under the climate control system is a neat space where you can keep your phone and connect it with the AUX, USB or power outlet for charging. The settings on the instrument cluster (to toggle car locking, etc.) only work when the handbrake is up. When the car is in motion, the phone can’t be paired via Bluetooth.
An ergonomically-designed cabin make the Creta a comfortable place to be in. A relatively high driving position commands a good view all around. The passenger side comes a big vanity mirror, while the sun visor on the driver’s side has a ticket holder. Unlike the Ford EcoSport Titanium+trim which gets none, the Creta comes with grab handles despite having 6 airbags. For comfortable long journeys the spacious footwell also gets dead pedal. A cup-holder and space to keep knick-knacks is provided in the useful armrest. The cabin looks organized with two neatly-positioned cubby holes near the handbrake, and a sunglass holder mounted on the roof. While the rear door pockets are sizeable too, 1-litre bottles can easily fit in the big front door pockets. The Creta comes with plenty of storage bins and extremely comfortable seats with ideal cushioning both at the front and rear.
The front seats offer good thigh, back and neck support. The rear seats are also quite relaxing with a perfect recline angle, ample headroom, shoulder room and generous knee room. Rear seats lack under-thigh support making it a bit uncomfortable for tall passengers. They also get a center armrest with cup holders, a power outlet for convenience along with rear AC vents. With back seat pockets to place magazines and newspapers, the integrated door armrest at the back is useful too. Long journeys can become a bit uncomfortable for the person sitting in the middle of the rear seat due to a slight raise. The rear floor center is almost flat. The raised shoulder line, narrowing roof and low seats give the rear windows a short feel. The sharp edge of the front windows was noticeable because of the design which is similar to the Maruti Swift. The overall quality, fit and finish of the stitching on the premium-looking seats is excellent. The boot comes with sufficient space with the rear seats being able to be folded flat. The 60:40 split seats are available only with the automatic version. Underneath the seats, you’ll find a same-size spare alloy wheel, which is a big plus. The Creta comes with a nice-sounding dual horn.
Hyundai Creta Engine, Transmission and Performance:
The Hyundai Creta comes with multiple powertrain options, like all Hyundai cars. This SUV comes with two diesel engines and one petrol unit. The 1.6-litre Dual VTVT engine generates 123PS and kicks out 151Nm of torque, this engine being mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox. The NVH levels on the vehicle are excellent. The petrol motor is barely audible even when you are driving at high speeds. Once you get past the mid-range, it does get a bit vocal. The petrol-powered Creta shines at low-end performance. It is best to short shift using the smooth shifting gearbox and the light clutch, with the not too-strong mid-range and the lacking top-end. The mileage claimed by ARAI is 15.29Km/L, with real world mileage being lesser.
Hyundai has 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre oil burners on offer, as diesels are a popular choice in this segment. The smaller diesel belting out 90PS and 220Nm, the Verna also has these two engines doing duty. Both the power plants are mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox, with the 1.6 diesel being considerably more powerful with 128PS and 260Nm. Aided by a very light clutch, Hyundai has tuned the transmission for absolutely smooth shifts. With a lot of lag in the low-end, one has to give it extra power in stop-go traffic, as the turbo runs splendidly past 1,900RPM. While the power fades off quickly post 3,800RPM, the mid-range is the strong point of the motor. For tackling city traffic, downshifts are needed to get speed. A 6-speed automatic gearbox comes with the 1.6 diesel mill. Even being a single-clutch unit, it is very responsive to throttle inputs. A tiptronic function on the lever takes care of shifts. The turbo lag is not very apparent with a slick performance, when driven in the ‘D’ mode. The 1.6 motor feels more direct in the automatic version. But you miss the solidity of the manual. The engine upshifts at around 4,000RPM and won’t stretch the motor all the way to the 5,000RPM redline which is encountered on the manual. 100Km/hr in sixth gear sees the tacho ticking in a shade above the 2,000RPM mark while the ton comes in third gear. The ARAI mileage for the 1.4 diesel is 21.38 km/l while the 1.6 diesel returns 19.67 km/l in manual guise and 17.01 km/l in automatic avatar.
The Creta being an SUV betters the ride quality of the already good Hyundai cars. Bad, run-down roads don’t deter the car at all, with not much impact being transferred inside. It did a terrific job at a low speed over some massive craters. Sharp bumps are felt by the occupants at higher speeds, but overall the ride quality is excellent. In spite of its height and ground clearance, the Creta feels firm and stable at high speeds. This Hyundai is best confined to the urban jungle, as there is no AWD on offer yet. There’s no defying physics, so there is some roll around corners. The Creta is by far the best yet with Hyundai working on improving the dynamics of its cars. The steering does weigh up decently well at speed, although it’s not quick or sharp, with feedback levels still not being great. It’s not even close to the segment benchmark, but you feel pretty confident driving this Hyundai.
A good grip comes from Bridgestone tyres. Braking performance is very good, with the car stopping with no problem even with sudden braking. Hyundai has payed special attention to safety and offered the Creta with ABS and EBD as standard across all variants, along with dual front airbags. Starting from the S+ variant, it’s the SX(O) range topping model that gets six airbags. The SX(O) further gets Electronic Stability Control along with Hill-Start Assist Control. There also is the Vehicle Stability Management system (VSM), which is an active safety feature that combines the ESP inputs with the electronic steering for emergency maneuvers included on the equipment list.
Hyundai Creta Verdict:
The Creta created a lot of hype before its launch being Hyundai’s first mini SUV, it has received huge number of bookings and has gone to become the best selling mini SUV in the segment outselling all other rival models together. The sale and the demand justifies the product, tons of features loaded typically Hyundai and engine options to choose from for the Creta gives it a USP over the rivals. The Hyundai Creta is one of the best buys currently in the segment with prices starting at Rs. 8.69 lakh Ex-showroom, Delhi
Hyundai Creta Photo Gallery:
Pics – Dr. Anand Narvekar
Related Posts