[Behemoth]

Got the chance to Test Drive the Creta today 1.6 CRDI SX version and here are some pics for comparison sake, with my Yeti parked next to the Creta in red outside.



When Parked together, you can see both cars are almost equal in size in Height as well as length. The Creta appears a bit more squat in its stance in width (Probably due to its design). The wheels on the Creta are bigger 215/60 R17 and 205/65 R16 and fill the Wheel Arches better. The Wheel Arches also get cladding by default.
In the Pic below you can see the higher window sill line in the rear in the Creta.
The Dimensions of Both cars are:
Yeti : Length 4222mm Width: 1793mm Height: 1645mm Wheelbase: 2578mm
Creta: Length 4270mm Width: 1780mm Height: 1630mm Wheelbase: 2590mm



I had a chance to drive the Creta for around 10 min on a smooth road and a short stretch of completely potholed road.

The seating position in the Creta seems to be at least 2 inches higher than in the Yeti and it does feel as if you are sitting inside a mini SUV.
The engine is substantially quieter than the Yeti - at Idle there is absolutely no noise inside the cabin. Even at higher speeds 80+ and 2500 rpm, the noise is extremely well controlled and there is barely any diesel rattle which can be heard - the only noise heard is from the Common rail injectors which sound like a child's rattle, far off in the distance. Other than that there is no noise at all! The Vibrations levels are very well controlled and there is no vibration in Steering / Gear Lever / Clutch pedal at all, even till 3000 rpm. The Gearbox is quite slick and short throw and slots in very easily (I drove the manual version).

The suspension is quite unlike other Hyundai cars and is firm and not at all wallowy. It has a good planted feel to it and can take broken roads well too. Though it is not as good as the Duster's suspension on broken roads, it is 90% of that and has a good balance between firmness and ability to absorb bumps. Hyundai have done a commendable job in the suspension tuning in this one and it is just right for Indian road conditions.
The only bugbear in the whole driving experience is the disconnected steering - it is way too light and completely lacks feedback. Guess this one is also aimed at women drivers and hence is designed to be completely effortless and without feedback.

In the engine response (in the 1.6 CRDI) the engine is mild till 1800 rpm and then picks up pace. You don't quite get that rush of power which I feel in my Yeti after 1750 rpm (mine is the 140 bhp 320 Nm version). My gut feel is that the 1.4 Diesel version may be more driveable for city stop start traffic than the 1.6 CRDI one.
I was quite pleasantly surprised by the engine's quietness and refinement - when compared to my Yeti, it seems almost like a Generation gap of 5 years! Hyundai has really developed the Creta engine well and it is almost as quiet and refined as the petrol equivalent.

One good thing about the Creta - It has good Airconditioning which chills quickly - (probably also helped by the lesser Greenhouse and smaller windows) compared to the Yeti's which has always been an Achilles heel for the Yeti and even the Laura.
I tested the Audio system in the SX version - it is OK in audio quality, and may need at least speaker upgrades to sound better.


Overall quite happy with the suspension tuning, the engine performance and interiors, AC of the Creta. The only challenge is the lifeless steering which does not really make it a "Live to Drive" car, yet ! In my opinion Hyundai should reduce the steering over assist a little bit so that there is still engagement left with the road in the steering!

Regards,
Behemoth

[sathya_g_m]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Slightly OT, interesting to note that Renault has discontinued the Duster 85 RxL+ model (ex-showroom BLR ~ 10.3 after 50k discount) which came with ABS/EBD & dual airbags as standard.

When did this happen? It is in my shopping list.

[maven]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

The only bugbear in the whole driving experience is the disconnected steering - it is way too light and completely lacks feedback. Guess this one is also aimed at women drivers and hence is designed to be completely effortless and without feedback.

...

This is what i was very keen to know all this time. I had test driven the Yeti and found the steering to be awesome. was waiting for the creta launch to know how close would that be to the abominable snowman.

[soumen.blore]

Saw the creta in flesh and to me the white looks the best of the lot . Although the interiors are much better compared to my duster it doesn't feel like from the next segment. And the interior finish within the variants are quite different . The SX-O definitely feels superior compared to S or SX versions . The front seems are very accommodating but the rear feels cramped in comparison to the duster.

I didn't opt for a test drive as I have no intention of buying and there were lot of potential customers waiting .

[souvik6]

Originally Posted by nkghai

Great to hear that.Please do share your thoughts about the SX+ Petrol TD.
Am also waiting for Ravens input on the same.
In my post i never mentioned about TD fiasco with the same dealer. I had requested a TD and was told by the manager, that since Creta is selling like hot cakes there is no chance of a TD in near future.

Just came back from test driving both the petrol and diesel variants and here's my thoughts. First I got the drive the petrol which felt about the same as the city's petrol although the clutch and steering were much lighter. I did floor the pedal to see the torque and although it is more than satisfactory for such a heavy car it didn't really excite me as I had hoped. Now if I am really unable to stretch my budget by 3 lacs to be able to get the SX(O) I wouldn't be as disappointed with this petrol engine as it is sufficient for city driving which i'd be doing most of the time. Although first thing to do would be to get leather seats as the standard ones in SX+ are quite boring.

Got good 15 mins to test vehicle then tried the diesel. The first and only diesel car I have ever driven is the punto so you can say I am not really experienced with diesel motors. But lemme tell you that I was surprisingly shocked with the torque. Mind you that my point of comparison is with dad's a6 2.0T. The clutch is as light as the petrol and the gears are also short for what i was expecting in a diesel. My head is screaming to get the petrol sx+ but my heart is crying for the diesel sx(o). I know i will be satisfied with the petrol motor but I would regret only not having ESC & VSM. Taking the wifey for TD tomorrow and keeping fingers crossed Hope to finalize and make booking by early next week..

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

The suspension is quite unlike other Hyundai cars and is firm and not at all wallowy. It has a good planted feel to it and can take broken roads well too. Though it is not as good as the Duster's suspension on broken roads, it is 90% of that and has a good balance between firmness and ability to absorb bumps. Hyundai have done a commendable job in the suspension tuning in this one and it is just right for Indian road conditions.
Regards,
Behemoth

Behemoth, you are the first to comment directly on the ride vis-à-vis the Duster. This is what most TBHP-ians have been thinking of! Thank you.

[arun.kulkarni]

Hello friends

I TD creta yesterday in Bangalore, though it wasnt for too long was in smooth road with few pot holes in the last 400 mts overall impression was good specially in areas of handling, ride quality and suspension.
Interiors fit and finish is fantastic.
The steering lacks feedback, i have driven i20 and was expecting this will be better but it isnt all that great the disconnect exists.

one question for people who have taken a TD:
- did you notice the bulked up center porition of the rear sit, it is very hard for a passenger to sit there and strains your back, i wasnt impressed with this at all - deal breaker for me.

I am strongly thinking of 2015 model Duster now, will take a few days to finalize.

[CkmGowda]

Originally Posted by GTO

Top end diesel to top end diesel, the Creta costs a lakh more than the Duster. I think it's totally worth it. You get a far more modern car (Duster is based on the old Logan), interior quality that's 2 - 3 levels better, way more equipment, more power, refinement, ergonomics etc. Hyundais are also more reliable and offer a superior after-sales experience.

Of course, it's a different matter that the Duster is already premium priced. But the Creta is definitely worth a lakh more than the Duster. Where the Duster feels cheap & old, the Creta is premium & contemporary.

Sorry, but I beg to disagree here. Many times we tend to be sold for the words like "modern", "high end", "next gen tech" etc. But what really matters is the user experience. Just to give an example from smartphone industry: We see a lot of Chinese companies giving extremely high end specs but failing to deliver the user experience that iPhone can deliver with very low specs. What I am trying to tell here is, it’s not technology that matters, but customer experience. It’s all about how the whole product is put together to deliver an experience centered around customer.

I took the test drive of top end diesel Creta yesterday in Banergahhta road and I was really disappointed. My friend was waiting from past few months to buy for this car she was even more disappointed (currently they own i20).


Factors that dint work:

1. Seat adjusts don’t work for my friend’s height (5.1feet - in her i20, this works like charm). She was trying to see the road through the steering wheel with seat adjusted to full height.
2. Design:
   • OMG that rear is so ugly. The rear door edge (opening side) is so low that it almost looks like it’s tucked with difficulty. It’s so Chinese.
   • Side profile looks sturdy and European.
   • Front is Korean.
   • Overall whole thing doesn’t gel well and doesn’t fall under a single design language.
3. Interiors: Interior size (not the quality) is just better than i20. It just doesn’t really give a feeling of 17 lakh SUV. It’s small even by compact SUV standards.
4. Visibility: View from the front was not great. Dashboard is set high, front pillars are thick and there is lot of distraction from the A pillars.
5. Seating position: This is really bad. Both front (passenger side) and rear are so low. There is no feeling of sitting in a SUV type vehicle and seeing the outside world.
6. Power: I can’t see where those 130 horses are sitting. It feel my terrano (110 ps) has better punch.
   

What works:

1. Engine is really really refined. Especially by diesel standards.
2. Loaded with all equipments you can think of.
3. Safety features.
4. Music system and navigation.
5. Controls are really smooth to operate (streeing, clutch, gear).
6. Trying hard to think .

Neutral factors:

1. Ride quality - comparable to competition.
2. Space - Leg space in the rear is better that terrano but the seat length and width are small.
3. Boot - Little smaller than terrano but can be compensated because the space wheel is located in boot (which is a convenience if there is a puncture).

[nkghai]

Originally Posted by CkmGowda

[*]Power: I can’t see where those 130 horses are sitting. It feel my terrano (110 ps) has better punch.

You are the first one to compare with the Terrano.
Would tend to agree with some of your views. What is the weight of Creta. Any Idea?
On our long drive back after seeing the S Cross and Creta, my wife and self were trying to compare the looks and the the sheer SUVish feel of Creta and Terrano for both driver and passengers and we were did agree that Terrano scores better over here.
We also agreed that would Nissan have had a better network and ASS, we would have still gone for Terrano.

[Rajeevraj]

So decided to drop in to a Hyundai Showroom to see the Creta and do a TD.


Showroom: Advaith Hyundai, Outer Ring Road, Belandur.

• Showroom Experience
  • Since it was Friday evening, it was not very crowded.
  • Met by an SA: An earnest lady but with absolutely no knowledge.
  • Was taken to the display car. This was an SX version.
  • Asked the SA about the Automatic. She first did not have a clue about the AT.
  • Said I wanted to TD the AT variant. She said only manual is there for TD and there will be no AT available for TD.
  • Later another SA said that AT will come next week.
  • Cars available for TD were the SX(O) Diesel and the SX Petrol.
  • SA was not clear on the variants. Initially said that the TD vehicles were also SX variant.
  • Note: There is no indication externally that it is an SX+ or SX(O). The cars are labelled SX. So we need to make out from the features (Like Alloys) which the SA did not know.
  • The SA said the wait period is 6 months. Another SA said 4 months. When I questioned him for more details, he said nothing is clear yet on the supply and availability. So they have no real picture on delivery times.
  
  Overall average showroom experience. Quite poorly informed about the car.
  
  
• About the car
  • Externally was impressed, looked big but had a compactness about it. Liked the design and appearance.
  • Was a little disappointed with the interiors and dashboard. Maybe my expectations were very high. Of course it looked good and everything seemed to be of good quality. But did not get any wow feeling.
  • Comparing to an i20 we have in the family and my own Vento, the interior quality seemed on par with both.
  • Not a big fan of dark interiors, so that was also a downer for me
  • Seating position is excellent. Very SUV like. Good commanding view.
  • The high window line on the rear was not to my liking.
  • Rear space was pretty good. Was able to sit comfortably after adjusting the front seat to my liking (I am 5'11).
  • Boot space was decent. The wheel arches seem to be eating into the boot space.
  
  
• Test Drive
  • Since the AT was not available asked to TD the diesel. This was the SX(O) variant. Had to wait for ~15 min.
  • In spite of the additional leather wraps and features, my impression of the interiors did not change too much.
  • I have not driven diesels much and expected it to be a little loud. But was pleasantly surprised. Superb refinement.
  • Steering was super light. Overall felt at home in a few seconds.
  • Felt the gearshifts were not very smooth. In the i20 (Petrol) the gearshifts are butter smooth. Not sure if this is because it is a diesel.
  • View from the driver seat was excellent. Felt like a proper SUV
  • The TD was supposed to be very short, but the SA forgot to tell me to take the U Turn that I was supposed to. I also went ahead as if I did not know. Hence was able to drive for ~5KM (Normal TD is not even 2KM)
  • Car felt planted on road. Was able to do a short burst of speed and felt good
  • The turbo lag is definitely felt, but there is a nice surge when the turbo kicks in. I assume the AT will be able to handle this better.
  • Once in the power band, it is a breeze to drive and moves pretty well. The refinement at higher speeds is also excellent.
  • Braking was good and no surprises.
  • Was able to take it through a bad stretch of road also. Seemed to absorb the bad stretch pretty well. I have briefly driven a Duster and this was not in that league (With the Duster, even on a short trip, you feel that the ride quality is special). Seemed kind of similar to how my Vento tackles bad roads.
  
  
• Post the TD, spent some time fiddling around inside the Petrol SX+.
• The touch screen unit is very nice and responsive. It is said to be 7 inch. But it looked smaller.
• Tried to figure out the vendor for the maps, but was not able to.
• The control, switches etc all seemed very solid and chunky. Nice.
• The center console seems similar to the i20. Looks like the Creta also misses Avg trip Mileage indicator.
  
  
  
• Conclusion
  • Overall walked out a little underwhelmed. Definitely a good product from Hyundai, Looks good, typical Hyundai quality, drives well. You feel at home in this car in no time.
  • But coming back to the pricing. I kind of felt it is not worth the price. As mentioned earlier, my relative's main wish list is an SUV kind of vehicle. I felt that is the sole USP of this car. But that too it is not a real SUV.
  • Even if you keep that aside, considering the the rest of the package, would I be willing to pay 17L OTR for it. Not too sure.
  • In comparison, the Vento TDI DSG Highline costs ~14.8L OTR. Apart from the SUV looks, it offers most of what the Creta offers and then some more.

I believed this was the car for my relative when the details came out. After the pricing came out, I was less sure. Now after experiencing it, I am even less sure.

[jha.shailesh]

Just test drove Creta AT. Here is my quick take:

I think lot has been said about exterior styling and interiors, and broadly I agree with the majority, that interiors are good and feels well-built - but definitely not in the league of Q3 or yeti or even Elantra, as some may have suggested. As for the most important point how does it drive. I was disappointed, it is definitely not as sure footed as Duster, not even close. The steering is typical Hyundai, light and lifeless, devoid of any feedback. For people like me, coming from Fiesta it was a downer, and was feeling nervous when I tried to accelerate rapidly. However, the engine + tranny, combination works well, and there is no noticeable turbo lag and engine silent. The suspension seems better than early verna's, but again nowhere close to duster. So, broadly, if you want an elevated sedan this is good, but definitely not a mini-SUV.

[supertinu]

Originally Posted by CkmGowda

[*]Power: I can’t see where those 130 horses are sitting. It feel my terrano (110 ps) has better punch.

I haven't seen Creta in person yet so cannot comment on your points, however wrt to the power I believe its purely because of the way power delivery happens which might make you think Terrano has more punch. As far as I know and from having driven Verna CRDi, its fairly linear in power delivery and does not really that push from turbo boost. The same is very evident in 110ps Duster. So that might give the impression of more punch.

I have a Figo and a XUV with XUV having double the horses of Figo, but I still feel Figo has more punch primarly cause XUV's diesel is as linear as NA petrol.

[geeash]

Originally Posted by Doge

Why is everyone critical of the pricing? I do realise that it's higher than justified,but look at the face lifted thar and it's complete VFM! Granted,the thar is a proper off roader with lockable diffs now but a gypsy is quite a lot cheaper and better made. You don't need the lockable diffs for pot holes in the urban jungle anyways. The Creta is better than the XUV IMO,it should be safer,a lot more niggle free,faster,better interiors and more fuel efficient. The XUV will also be a lot more polluting than the Hyundai and is frankly too big for the crowded city. No matter how easy it may seem to drive around town,the fact is that SUV'S take up more space on the road for no practical reason. If I'd had to chose a Mini SUV, I'd get an Avventura.

Having a XUV500 in the family, though the first generation I beg to differ from your opinion. I haven't had any niggles with it touch wood until now. Faster and better interiors ?. You cannot compare a 2.2 MHawk to a 1.6 and say it is faster. XUV is one of those cars that packs a punch in its drivability both in highways and in city if u can cope up with its hard and pushing back clutch. It is one of those big cars which can UTurn even in medium roads which has surprised me many times. And steering weighs up in higher speeds. And it breezes in the city like none other. Regarding the interiors even my previous generation XUV was in the league of its own with many segment firsts. Be it touch dash AVN console to midrow legroom space. I bet the newer XUV will be if not better atleast on par with creta. I use it mainly for city drive and it is indeed a breeze to drive if u make a few adjustments which you need to do with every other car in the market. XUV is a proper suv and it will take a bigger space on the road. And not to mention its VFM pricing even now for the newer generation. I don't think in anyway the pseudo SUV can be a worthy competitor to a proper SUV except in the price point of view

And being a Linea emotion pack owner I will put my foot in the mouth before I suggest any other fiat cars for the niggles and nightmares I have had with the after sales.

[BunnyPunia]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Got the chance to Test Drive the Creta today 1.6 CRDI SX version and here are some pics for comparison sake, with my Yeti parked next to the Creta in red outside....
Regards,
Behemoth

So that was your Yeti!

I was there at the same time. Did you see the steel grey Creta with the bonnet open (we were shooting the car before we took it away)?

Small world

[jvk84]

Originally Posted by BunnyPunia

we were shooting the car

in your review, can you add shots of lower trim levels also? like SX, SX+ and S+.

would be much helpful