[slicvic]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

The brakes performed as expected. No issues when braking from 100 kph. The pedal's soft feel is similar to that of the Verna.

The soft brake feel is the only thing i don't like in the Verna. The Steering feel can live with, but the soft brake puts me into panic mode at times.

Was hoping that the brakes would be better. Plus they have removed the rear disc brakes when compared to the car in other markets.

Originally Posted by madhu33

Expected price of Diesel with ESP and Airbags to be around Rs 14 Lacs ?

Ironically , a teambhp preview is still far better than many comprehensive reviews from other forums and magazines.
Hats off to moderator team for maintaining high standards.

My sentiments exactly. Have been following the previous thread of this car as well as other forums. But this preview stands out!!

[sarav87]

The Creta looks great and the interiors are even better. Not offering the AT in SX(O) is a huge disappointment, a top of the shelf AT diesel with all the bells and whistles for an on road price of 15L would have been mouth watering. Too bad Hyundai is repeating what Honda did with the Jazz.

[k_ajay]

Good preview and excellent coverage; the kind of quality we've come to expect from T-BHP.

Looking forward to the Creta launch with baited breath. Disappointing to learn that the AT won't come on the top SX(O) variant. Why should a buyer not get a chance to buy AT & 6 airbags?

Also keen to know if:
a. cruise control is available on any trim?
b. rear seat has arm center rest?
c. dead pedal is available in AT and Manual trims.

Steering not adjustable for reach and rear seatback rest won't split fold 60:40, in this day and age, seems very weird exclusions. That's like Hyundai taking 5 steps forward overall and 1 step back.

Rear disc brakes would have completed the package. I suppose this, cruise control, AT in SX(O) trim will all feature in a face lift 2.5 - 3 years from now, when competition firms up to similar standards.

Can't wait for 21st July and T-BHP review.

[swiftnfurious]

Thanks for a nice preview. Another winner for sure. Hyundai doesn't bother to go the budget way - quality, size, price nor features. And they make products which don't offend the most.

Eagerly waiting to see the established products feeling the heat & offer VFM products in future.

[MaserQ]

The definitive preview of the Creta. Great job as always! This Hyundai has the looks of a winner. The diesel AT is the pick of the lot. An AT SX(O) variant should quietly make its way into the mix at a later date. Hyundai probably does not want to scare away potential customers with its top end pricing at the time of launch.

[pannags]

A few weeks back, the ix25 wasn't even on my shortlist, and after all the hullabaloo and a fantastic preview, I'm actually seriously considering the italicized H.

Just think of what would've been the fate of the Dusters, the Safaris and the Terranos, if they were to be launched alongside the Creta, the S cross and the Ecosport. Duster had the sales chart shooting simply because of the early mover advantage, followed by the Ecosport.

Although those who have bought the former lot (Duster, Safari, Terrano etc. - absolutely no offense) in recent years would not switch loyalty, the prospective buyer is seriously spoilt for choice, and why not

[BNM]

Thanks Anshuman. Quoting from your review of the Santa Fe AWD AT from March 2014 below , I see very similar drive characteristics on the Creta AT too.

Unfortunately for manual gearbox fans, the MT is only available in the 2WD avatar with a lower level of equipment. The automatic is sold with both, 2WD & AWD layouts. We drove the AWD AT for this review. The 6-speed automatic transmission has regular P-R-N-D modes, along with tiptronic controls to manually shift gears. There is no 'sport' mode or paddle shifters available with the Santa Fe. The transmission is a traditional torque-converter type unit.

With the smartkey in your pocket, simply press the brake pedal and hit the engine start / stop button to fire up the 2.2L diesel. NVH levels at idle - including clatter - are superbly controlled. In fact, when driving about at city speeds, passengers won't even know that there is an oil burner under the hood.

The best thing about these torque converter transmissions is how well they mask turbo lag (compared to an MT or DSG). The Santa Fe moves in a smooth, seamless manner. Gearshifts are very smooth; with light accelerator input, the SUV shifts up early, absolutely devoid of any jerks. As is the case with other Hyundai cars, all driver controls are light, making it a surprisingly easy UV to drive in urban conditions. A lady who hadn't driven such a large vehicle before had absolutely no trouble behind the Santa Fe's wheel. Stay at lower rpms with a relaxed driving style and the impressively low NVH makes it comfortable for passengers. Owners are going to love this trait. On the move, the engine is as silent as some of the more expensive cars from Europe. What's more, at higher speeds too, overall noise levels remain low, and the suspension does its work in an unobtrusive manner. The single fly in the ointment is excessive tyre noise on imperfect roads.

With a laid back driving style, the gearbox & engine combination comes across as competent. Gearshifts are executed well and there is no unnecessary holding of gears either. Driveability all through the rev range is satisfactory. Its only when you start pushing this vehicle aggressively that you come across the flaws. While the engine is powerful & eager, the slow gearbox takes its own sweet time to execute shifts. Floor the accelerator and it takes a second or two before the Santa Fe starts accelerating furiously. Initially, it makes some noise typical of torque converters. Once past this delay, the Santa Fe feels quick and the speedometer climbs with a rapid pace. Gearshifts in manual mode (via tiptronic) are slow, and the transmission doesn't hold onto gears either. As soon as the needle hits the redline, the gearbox will upshift. This can catch you out in a fast corner.

[itwasntme]

Body-roll at highway speeds (especially at the rear axle) sounds ominous. Was it like the Xylo which currently takes the cake for the worst ride quality? Not that Hyundai lacks the SUV pedigree. I found the Tucson and Terracan to be very worthy vehicles.

I met a Tucson owner in Ooty a couple of years back who had one with 110k+ km which was superbly maintained and rode like a 30k km vehicle.

Will they still dial in tweaks into the vehicles or are these 100% production vehicles which are not going to improved further prior to the 21/7 launch?

[sidzzone]

Looks like a winner - all depends on the pricing though. Hyundai has really changed its image in India with its all new design language and interior quality. Kudos to Hyundai - their build quality is always a notch above their competitors, importantly MSIL. Going by the preview, I am eagerly waiting for the official review - and judge whether this can be my next car

[Hemant_Joshi]

Wow, Nice preview - Up's the interest of all potential buyers,. How I wish, this vehicle was launched a year back! Although the news of it has been doing the rounds from quite some time.

[.anshuman]

Guys, I know all of us are curious about the spec sheet and feature list, and on what will it be like to drive on normal roads and how does it compare to others?..... This is just a preview, we were only allowed a few minutes each on a small patch of road just to give us an idea. All what I could observe and was released by Hyundai has already been mentioned here.

Now just because the Automatic car was in a lower trim, all of the media have already declared it won't be offered in top end trim. Hyundai has not released any details of variant wise specs, and what specification get which trims and all. Page 1 has a mention whatever all we know.

Originally Posted by reihem

Does the Zigwheel reporting of the SX Auto and the SX manual having different spec sheets hold true ?

Hope they know, SX Option variant even in other Hyundai cars does not come with "Option" mentioned anywhere, the badges just say "SX".

Originally Posted by thealtoman

A few queries from my side,
1. Does the door pads/ dashboard have leather inserts/ stitching like seen in luxury cars.
2. Curious to know about the instrument cluster display - whether its a normal two colour display as seen in the verna or a better display as seen in the santafe with service reminder and other such info.
3. Any confirmation about the already suspicious cruise control

Please wait for the full review.

4. Are the front seat backs scooped to give more rear legroom.

No they are not, but i did not see any need for it, the legroom is good enough for me (I am 6'3")

5. Is the boot intrusion free from the shocks of the rear wheels.

Yes it is intrusion free but the full size 17" spare eats up almost all of the depth.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

1. How do you rate ride comfort of the Creta vs Duster vs Yeti?

The small section on we drove was perfectly level, please wait for the full review.

2. Since you say the equipment and trim and interiors feel premium, how does this vehicle compare overall with the Yeti?

Space for Passengers might be even more than Yeti. I prefer the dashboard design in the Creta, many of the Interior components like Steering and Stalks are at par, while other parts may not be as premium. Overall in terms of Interior quality, Creta is close to Yeti than either Duster or Ecosport.

NVH is comparable. Yeti has better choice of gear ratios and more punchy engine.

Handling & Steering and overall Dynamics are not even close but we should not even be comparing, Yeti comes with a much more complex and better tuned Suspension and Chassis. And ofcourse, that Haldex AWD is missing.

3. Can you share the size specs of the vehicle?

Not shared by Hyundai yet.

4. Would you compare it favourably against say the Audi Q3? I know they belong to two different classes but this might well be the beginning of a revolution here - with vehicles like the Creta even taking some market share away from these base level trimmed premium segment vehicles.

Character, dynamics and mechanical complexity apart, it can be compared. Both are similar size, have similar interior space, Creta tries hard to match the interior quality but some of the components from Creta won't feel out of place even in Q3.

5. Lastly how would you compare it size wise and trim wise to the erstwhile Tucson?

The first gen Tucson is just too old a car to recall now. The new 1.6 CRDi is better than the old 2.0 CRDi(i drove a Elantra 2.0 CRDi till 150k kms), Passenger space must be better in Creta. Cannot say about Suspension and Dynamics. Tucson was bigger in size, almost CRV sized.

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Body-roll at highway speeds (especially at the rear axle) sounds ominous. Was it like the Xylo which currently takes the cake for the worst ride quality? Not that Hyundai lacks the SUV pedigree.

Comparing a ladder frame chassis based 7 seater, which has the worst Ride and Handling combo in segment to a light weight compact Monocoque SUV is like comparing a Pushrod engine to TSI engine.

I met a Tucson owner in Ooty a couple of years back who had one with 110k+ km which was superbly maintained and rode like a 30k km vehicle.

I drove a 2006 Elantra till 1,50,000 kms, but comparing Tucson or that 2.0 CRDI here is not fair. Tucson was released some 10 years back, that engine was directly sourced from Detroit Diesel. Hyundai have come a long way in this one decade, so has the car industry.

Will they still dial in tweaks into the vehicles or are these 100% production vehicles which are not going to improved further prior to the 21/7 launch?

I guess not, Creta has already started filling stockyards in Hyundai's factory premises.

[niv26]

Does anyone know the longevity of the 1.6 diesel engine? This is one of the factor when I bought Duster. The feedback from Meru taxi walas was excellent, there were many taxes still driving at ~350K or ~400K kms with little maintenance.

Can we expect the same from Hyundai ?

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by sarav87

...... a top of the shelf AT diesel with all the bells and whistles for an on road price of 15L would have been mouth watering....

Yes. At half the price of nearest diesel AT SUV (Fortuner) with at least twice the features of Fortuner. Ok, agreed This is also half the size of Fortuner but to most, who are not into off-roading, this should be more than enough. Hope good sense prevails over Hyundai, and they launch an SX(O) AT.

[v6kgang]

As the other thread is closed, replying to the last post here.
As a duster AWD owner, I am following this thread closely, this car has the potential to make it to the Top. But,would I have chosen this car above duster, can't say right now without test driving Creta. But if Elantra's steering and driving dynamics are anything to go by (No offense to owner's). I would have definitely gave this car a miss. Strangely, I can live with No kit but not an average driving car. If Maruti can get the EPS implementation right, it beats me what is eluding Hyundai from doing it right.
That being said will definitely test drive this beauty once's she is out. But there ends the flirting.

[jha.shailesh]

First of all, excellent review and it just continues the legacy of this forum of providing best and neutral reviews. I liked Anshuman's take on Sx/Auto, and hopefully Hyundai will launch top of the line Auto as well. However, going with other hyundai cars which have been launched recently sans Elantra and Verna which are refreshes, auto hasn't aligned well with the top end. Like in grand i10 auto(Asta) doesn't come with airbags, and i20 didn't have an auto as well. But, hopefully Hyundai have taken a feedback particularly from this forum.
Ashuman , one question is the space at the back more like C1 segment or C2?