[BNM]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Quite easy.

To give you an idea of the Creta's width, this is the parking space where Lazarus is parked in my home. The marble step on our front door takes up around one-and-half feet of space, and the columns on the other side take about a foot's space. That leaves around 8½-9 feet of space (in width) inside the garage section for Lazarus to enter and park himself.

Can you actually get out of the car, without the door touching the wall on the driver's side ? Since the doors open wide, it would be a tough isn't it ?

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

Excellent mileage you are getting from the Creta. It will shame some of Hyundai's own small cars. I had to coax and cajole my Civic to get 11-12 kmpl in the city.

Crossed 1200 kms on the ODO earlier today, and the tank shows a little over half-full. Pretty sure Lazarus is around 11-12 kmpl inside the city as well.

Let us see if this Korean hunk surprises all of us eventually.

Originally Posted by BNM

Can you actually get out of the car, without the door touching the wall on the driver's side ? Since the doors open wide, it would be a tough isn't it ?

Yes. The door is very near the wall, at around 55-60 degrees to the vertical when I get out. I make sure it doesn't touch the boundary wall.

Will post some snaps tomorrow of my ingress/egress inside the garage space.

[johy]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Quite easy.


Seriously though, the Creta is quite good in this aspect.

Thanks RavenAvi, we will try the Creta for a test drive in the narrow streets and then decide. Thanks!

[RavenAvi]

It's been 25 days since Lazarus came into our lives, and in the 1250+ kms I have driven him around till now, I have been a very happy and contented chappy. Granted, the Creta comes with it's set of positives and negatives, but one cannot deny the tremendous feel-good factor this Hyundai compact SUV gives you.

Add to that, my whole family absolutely loves him, plus my little 3-year-old Princess is completely smitten by him. So much so, that most of her dolls are usually found littered in his rear seat.


Here are some observations so far:

- The cabin shakes lightly when the Creta starts up first thing in the morning. Engine is also gently growling and vocal during this very short period. RPM is around 1300, which drops to around 1100 RPM within 12-15 seconds. That's also when the cabin shaking disappears, and the engine goes quiet. Diesel owners can clarify if this happens upon their cold starts as well (seeing as I am the only Creta petrol owner in our forum till now).

- Steering-wheel is a bit too light at low speeds. One needs to be careful of making any sudden twists and turns while backing out of narrow spaces.

- Clutch travel is long, and it will cause some discomfort for shorter drivers. Me being on the taller side (6'0"), have quickly adjusted to this. No complaints.

- Pickup in the 2nd gear, from an almost standstill position, is very sluggish. You have to drop down to the 1st gear to make any real progress, but since the 1st gear ratio is very short, shifting back to 2nd quickly is quite important, specially at traffic signals.

- Gear upshift indicators: 2nd at 20 kmph, 3rd at 30 kmph, 4th at 45 kmph, 5th at 60 kmph & 6th at 70 kmph. 1st and 2nd gears are short and have almost minimum pull, while 4th, 5th and 6th gears are like overdrives. Even if you don't upshift, the 4th & 5th gears can easily pull the car to almost 100 kmph, even further as well.

- Suspension is soft, yet taut. The car glides over breakers and potholes, but the thuds are transmitted inside the cabin. Thankfully the suspension isn't too "bouncily" soft like the Ssangyong Rexton, or it would be very unsettling. No longer fearing the breakers, potholes, rough or uneven roads now. A 4x4 option is sorely missed in the Creta.

- Wish there was a way of shutting down the cornering lamps when not needed. Many a time they light up when the steering input is more for a turn in the main roads, and I hope that doesn't startle or annoy the incoming drivers from the other direction.

- Driver door panel is completely in darkness except for the driver door's window switch (marked "Auto"). Really now, Hyundai!

- Central locking is via the driver door buttons only. Pressing the driver door lock doesn't lock all doors.

- Child lock on rear doors isn't easily accessible like a Honda or a Maruti.

- The Head Unit has a problem reading large USB drives. My 16GB Sandisk used to be very intermittent in picking up from where the song left off (even after switching the HU power off before shutting down the car) and almost every time, started all over again from the same 1st song. Had to switch to a 8GB Sony USB, and thankfully it's not caused this continuity problem yet.

- The legibility of the HU under direct, bright sunlight is poor. Under grey, cloudy skies, it's clear as crystal.

- The FATC is remarkably effective, despite the huge cabin area which needs to be cooled down. I keep it at 23°C, which is near about perfect.

- Cleaning the central part of the roof is a pain, more so because of the roof rails. My Jopasu duster doesn't reach the exact central part, and it causes some arm pain and discomfort by the time I am done with the entire roof.

- The fabric used for the seats is of average quality. I can see a small thread coming out from the central part of the rear left seat section, which means that the fabric might not last long. All the more important for the seat covers to be fitted.

- The front seats are not wide enough for a very healthy person. A medium-built person will sink into the front seats with those gentle body-hugging sides, but a heavyset man/woman might struggle.

- The brakes have some serious bite. Stomping on the brakes and sudden braking are not recommended for the Creta. One has to learn gradual braking and driving with a light foot, to extract the best out of this Hyundai machine.

- The bonnet edges and their visibility from the driver's seat give you an impression of it being a big car. Get down and have a look in the front, and you will notice that there was still a few extra inches left in the parking slot where you could have driven forwards a bit more before stopping.

- The paint quality is absolutely top-notch. But now that it's been exposed to the elements (sun & rain intermittently), it will be a true test of the shade's endurance.

- I am totally in love with the horn! It's loud (read that as "L-O-U-D", it's annoying and it scares the nasty (read 2-wheelers) traffic in front. They sway right out of the way, sometimes turning back with plenty of visible annoyance on their faces.


Also, Lazarus received his first scratch in-between - a deep, straight gash on the bonnet towards the driver's side (above the headlamp). Judging by the location and the length/straightness of the scratch, it seems like some idiot didn't like the shining white and clean surface of the brand new car and decided to take a key/pebble to it, to teach the over-zealous Creta owner a lesson.

A job for the Waxpol Scratch Remover, come tomorrow morning.



As promised, here's how I get into my Lazarus in the mornings:

The maximum the driver door is opened without touching the wall.
It may seem narrow but it's quite wide actually.


Wide enough to slide into the driver's seat for a medium-sized bloke like me.
That's a Jopasu Microfiber cloth in the driver door storage.


Distance between the door and the wall. You can see sunlight.

I am very careful when opening and closing the door, lest I bump the door into the wall.


Also, I ordered a Black Smart Key Cover (Silicone) from eBay a few days back (thanks BNM!). Should get it by Tuesday. Haven't heard back from the Star 3D Mat guys, and I will be dropping them a reminder email after I am done with this post.

Still on the hunt for suitable seat covers. I am told options will be available in the market soon.

[coolboy007]

Though i am late to come to this brilliant thread, congratulations to you for owning this wonderful car. I love your reviews as you cover even the minutest of details. Am sure that Lazarus will keep you happy for a long long time.

My father is also smitten by Creta and is willing to trade in our 1.5 year old Ecosport for it , am more interested in the upcoming Endeavour or Fortuner, let us see what the outcome is.

How is the steering weight and feel of Creta compared to I-Dtec? Had rented a City from Zoom and the steering was unusually light though pretty accurate even at high speeds, maybe the tyres were overinflated.

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by coolboy007

How is the steering weight and feel of Creta compared to I-Dtec? Had rented a City from Zoom and the steering was unusually light though pretty accurate even at high speeds, maybe the tyres were overinflated.

Thank you, my friend.

Regards your query, both steerings are light at slow speeds, but the City's steering picks up weight sooner and gives you some more feedback from the wheels working over the road surfaces.

The Creta's steering is quite light at low speeds as well (thankfully not super-light, as the toy steering from the "fluidic" i10 Kappa generation which was a complete joke!) and weighs up sufficiently as the speeds go up. It's best to term the steering feedback as neutral - not totally toy-like, nor brilliant like the European/American machines.

But as regards direct feedback from the front wheels, it's still a step behind the Honda. The Fiesta & the Linea are the absolute benchmarks in this regard. Hyundai still needs some catching up to do, but in all their recent offerings in the past 2-3 years, they are headed in the right direction.

[BNM]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Also, Lazarus received his first scratch in-between - a deep, straight gash on the bonnet towards the driver's side (above the headlamp). Judging by the location and the length/straightness of the scratch, it seems like some idiot didn't like the shining white and clean surface of the brand new car and decided to take a key/pebble to it, to teach the over-zealous Creta owner a lesson.

Hi RavenAVi, Thanks for posting those pictures for me. Very sad to hear that somebody put a gash on the car. Wish you had caught and thrashed him !
Hope you were able to get it off with the waxpol.

[thatsdileep]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Neat party trick with the unique "Mood
Lazarus, let's ride!
[/left]

Hi Ravenavi,
I've been following Hyundai Creta on team-bhp and I definitely agree with a lot of people here that you are indeed the Creta man and this thread you started proves it yet again. Awesome write-up to share your journey in procuring Creta.
After seeing this I thought there is nothing more left for team-bhp official review. But yet again our team-bhp reviewers surprised all of us with yet another excellent review as they covered every nook and corner of Creta.

Thanks for sharing your experience with Creta and keep doing so.

I myself am looking to replace my 2009 Verna CRDI SX and Creta is definitely one of the top contenders. I'll hold off until end of the year to book a new vehicle so that I can get the 2016 model in Jan.

Congratulations on your new ride and keep revving. Safe driving!

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by thatsdileep

I'll hold off until end of the year to book a new vehicle so that I can get the 2016 model in Jan.

Thank you for the kind words, Dileep. Hope you get your car by New Year's!

Originally Posted by BNM

Very sad to hear that somebody put a gash on the car. Wish you had caught and thrashed him !
Hope you were able to get it off with the waxpol.

Yes, the Waxpol composition did work it's wonders on the gash.

Will post clear pictures when the sun is out (been raining heavily here for the past 3 days, amidst really gloomy and dark-grey skies).

Also, the heavy rains meant I had to wade through some really deep waters earlier in the afternoon today, after a huge burst of torrential rain had left the roads completely clogged. The water levels were around 2 and half feet deep for about a distance of 20 feet, and it was swiftly moving downwards as well. I am happy to report that Lazarus, along with a couple of Scorpios and a Bolero, waded through it all very easily in the 2nd gear and came out completely unscathed.


It's been exactly a month since Lazarus came into my life, and to commemorate the occasion, I bought him some small gifts today. As if by coincidence, the eBay parcel also arrived later in the afternoon, so that was an additional gift for my contemporary Korean hunk.

Intex mobile charger unit & original Samsung mobile-charging USB cord.


Close shot, showing wattage details.


Separate 1 Amp & 2 Amp charging slots.


Hooked into the 12V socket up front.


Emanates a blue backlight, on top and inside the charging ports.


Ebay parcel containing the Smartkey cover.


Smartkey inserted into the cover.


Looks original and neat, and beats the brown coloring of the keyfob in looks.


Got this premium-looking "Hyundai" keychain for Lazarus as well.


The entire key section now. Yes, Lazarus "got BHP" alright!

ODO is at 1,334 kms.

Fuel tank shows 2 bars below the Halfway mark.

[thatsdileep]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Yes, the Waxpol composition did work it's wonders on the gash.

Glad to know that you got the scratch cleared and restored your Lazarus to pristine condition.

Also, the heavy rains meant I had to wade through some really deep waters earlier in the afternoon today, after a huge burst of torrential rain had left the roads clogged. The water level was around 2 feet deep for about 20 feet distance, and it was swiftly moving downwards as well, and I am happy to report that Lazarus, along with a couple of Scorpios and a Bolero, waded through it all very easily in the 2nd gear and came out completely unscathed.

Does it mean we could safely assume the water wading ability of Creta is atleast 400-450 mm? I dont understand why hyundai wouldn't release such numbers as there is nothing so secretive about it, just the way they didnt disclose the kerb weight.

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

It's been exactly a month since Lazarus came into my life, and to commemorate the occasion, I bought him some small gifts. As if by coincidence, the eBay parcel also arrived later in the afternoon today, so that was an additional gift for my contemporary Korean hunk.

Smartkey inserted into the cover.
Attachment 1407928

I've even found some premium leather key fob covers on aliexpress, although you may have to wait for a couple of months after you place the order before it shows up at the door step
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/high-...08.3.25.iCbPjT

[Shakensoul]

Hi Avi,

Did you find the 3D mats for Creta? There are lot of mats floating around on the internet, but the quality is doubtful.

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by thatsdileep

Does it mean we could safely assume the water wading ability of Creta is atleast 400-450 mm?

Definitely. Maybe more, too.

This is the sole section inside our colony which leads to the exit.
The road is sloped down towards me:


And this is on the way to my office:

Waters had receded a bit when I took these pictures. The levels were too high day before yesterday evening, when two-wheeler drivers weren't risking going through it and were turning back.

Originally Posted by thatsdileep

I dont understand why hyundai wouldn't release such numbers as there is nothing so secretive about it, just the way they didnt disclose the kerb weight.

Maybe they aren't hiding it, but are simply too lazy to bother with such "trivial" stuff such as kerb weight, water-wading capability in mm, etc.

Originally Posted by thatsdileep

I've even found some premium leather key fob covers on aliexpress

Made an account there a couple of days back. I will be getting some stuff from there for my Lazarus soon.

Originally Posted by Shakensoul

Hi Avi,

Did you find the 3D mats for Creta? There are lot of mats floating around on the internet, but the quality is doubtful.

Not yet.

I am planning to visit the shops during my first service date (due up soon) and see what all are on offer, before finalising a set. Haven't received a reply from Star 3D mats.

Also zipped an email to the Maxpider Kagu 3D mats guys as well.

[thatsdileep]

Wow the roads in the pics seem to be designed for water logging there...😜

Either Hyundai thinks these numbers are trivial or may be they don't want to be dragged into courts if something goes wrong on the water wadding capability...not that someone can prove it as water will recede within no time. So they just might be avoiding claiming/reporting such numbers.


Good luck with your purchases on aliexpress. You just need to be very patient; order and forget. It will show up some day.

[TVish]

Hi Raven Sir,
The Hyundai guys need to confer a special award on your reviews that are so minutely noted and shared.
By the way I'm too your partner in the sense that I too own te 1.6 SX plus petrol and have done 1150 kms till date. I share most of your reviews too.
The steering being light actually makes my drivinguch easier in city.
In second gear it still can take off.
Yes the clutch is bit long but that was the case even in the i20 elite.
The fabric for the seats is not up to Hyundai standards. The fabric in i20 was much better.
The volume on the radio cannot be set to a lower level. When you press the set button, the volume pointer goes back to the original mark. So the problem of high volume on radio switch on remains.

[RavenAvi]

Originally Posted by thatsdileep

Wow the roads in the pics seem to be designed for water logging there.

The drainage system in my city is pretty pathetic. All it takes is one harsh 1-hour shower for the roads to clog at several junctures. There are drains on both sides but apparently not high enough, and most of the time they are clogged shut with trash. Municipality maintenance is really poor.

Originally Posted by thatsdileep

Either Hyundai thinks these numbers are trivial or may be they don't want to be dragged into courts if something goes wrong on the water wadding capability...not that someone can prove it as water will recede within no time. So they just might be avoiding claiming/reporting such numbers.

Or it could be pure laziness on their part. All SUVs or SUV-based crossovers should mandatorily reflect their WWC (Water Wading Capability) in their technical specification sheets.

Originally Posted by thatsdileep

Good luck with your purchases on aliexpress. You just need to be very patient; order and forget. It will show up some day.

Thanks. Have ordered a few stuff from there yesterday. Interestingly, I got an email that I shall receive my ordered accessories in 10 days. Let's see how long they actually take.

Originally Posted by TVish

The Hyundai guys need to confer a special award on your reviews that are so minutely noted and shared.

Thank you so much for the kind words. I try. (but I still can't beat the Team-BHP Official Reviews!)

Originally Posted by TVish

By the way I'm too your partner in the sense that I too own te 1.6 SX plus petrol and have done 1150 kms till date.

Belated congratulations, my friend! Hope your steed serves you unflinchingly for all the journeys to come.

Originally Posted by TVish

The fabric for the seats is not up to Hyundai standards.

Nope, the quality is a letdown alright. Have ordered seat covers, so let's see if that makes a change in the interiors.

Originally Posted by TVish

The volume on the radio cannot be set to a lower level. When you press the set button, the volume pointer goes back to the original mark. So the problem of high volume on radio switch on remains.

I don't use the Radio much, so haven't noticed this. But the starting volume of the Media Center and the In-Call volume (in Bluetooth) can be adjusted.

Will get back to you on this.