[vattyboy]

Likes

1. A gem of an Engine- Refined and Quiet.
2. Features- Loaded to the brim.
3. Gearbox- Very accurate and reliable Torque Convertor.
4. Performance- 116 ps with 250 nm offers good drivability and fun.
5. Mileage- This car loves to give a mileage of 15 in the city and 20+ on the highway.
6. Brakes- Brilliant braking performance with all 4 disc brakes.
7. Handling- No sign of nervousness at triple-digit speeds and slight curves.
8. AC- It is a chiller.
9. Good Noise Insulation inside the cabin.
10. Gorgeous Panoramic Sunroof.
11. Good Ergonomics for every passenger.

Dislikes

1. Price- 24 lakhs on-road is quite high.
2. No aerotwin wipers on a car worth 2.4 million bucks.
3. Power windows switches are not backlit.
4. There are no soft-touch materials in the car.
5. Rear Number plate bulbs are yellow.
6. Automatic wipers are not present.
7. No seat lumbar support.
8. High-beam throw headlights are not good.
9. Noisy Centre Console.

Need for A new Car -

- My Mercedes CLA and Jeep Compass maintenance are on the higher side, especially JEEP. Jeep Compass is proving to be unreliable and it asks for more maintenance than Mercedes. Jeep parts are also very costly somewhat comparable to the Big 3 Germans.

- Second reason is there are no ASS of Mercedes and Jeep in Udaipur.

- My reliable Kia Seltos is registered in Surat, Gujarat, so I can't drive it in Udaipur, I purchased it for driving in Surat whenever I go there for work. For almost 5 months a year, I have to live in Surat.

So this time I want a car which is-

1. Reliable.
2. Low Maintenance even after the warranty expires.
3. Good availability of Service centres across India.
4. Feature Rich.
5. Decently powerful Engine.

[vattyboy]

Test Drives-

1.Mahindra Xuv 700 Diesel AT-
This was the 1st car on my list. I made up my mind that I would buy this SUV only without even checking any other car. I and my family went to the nearby showroom and took a test drive of the top variant i.e. AX7 L Diesel AT.

Everything was good in this car- a lot of space, engine power, refinement and pricing. The showroom experience was also good. I and my family were happy after the test drive and left the showroom asking the SA - if we could book the car tomorrow and if he would provide discounts. I came home very excited even if the SA didn't provide any discount I would have booked the car as the delivery date was promised within the next 10 days.

However, my excitement came to a halt when I opened Team BHP and went through the forum of Xuv700. I saw many bhpians share their story of niggles they are facing in their xuv 700 like-

A glitch in the infotainment screen, sometimes the rear camera does not work, Hill Hold Assist not working properly, a sound coming from the airbag module, and a recent thread in which a bhpian shared that his Xuv 700 was not unlocking in the midnight at his friend's house, car going into limp mode while going to the office due to some sensor issues etc.

After reading all this I was very disappointed. But with a heavy heart, I decided to rule this car out because this time I didn't want a car with niggles and unwanted ASS visits.

2.Volkswagen Taigun GT 1.5 Tsi EVO -

This car is fast on the open road but at the city speeds, I experienced some turbo lag. The suspension is the best out there I have experienced in a car below 30 lakhs( except Innova). If you are hard on the throttle then mileage reduces to 8 kmpl. Acceleration is very good till 140 and high speeds are not felt inside the cabin.
Ruled this car out as it looks very small like a sub 4m car and due to the maintenance horror stories of VW and Skoda. Already there are 2 white elephants in my garage so I can't take the risk of adding another one this time.

3.Toyota Hyryder Hybrid-

Rejected it due to noisy 1.5 L 3 cylinder petrol engine. Till 40 kmph the car is in EV mode which feels great to be in but after that, the engine comes to life. I pressed the throttle more and the engine felt stressed and noisy which reduced the overall driving experience. I also felt the doors and bonnet were very light. The mileage it was giving was mind-blowing i.e. 24 in the city but on the highway mileage of this car decreased to 22 kmpl as the engine kept on doing its duties to maintain the highway speeds.

4. Honda Elevate-

I went to the Honda Showroom considering Top notch Honda's reliability. Took the test drive of Top Variant ZX Cvt with ADAS.
Honestly saying I don't like ADAS and I can't live with it, I don't like the artificial feel of a computer doing things for me.

Talking more about the car there is no wow factor in it, I did not like the quality of its interiors. Felt the suspension was too stiff even stiffer than my Jeep Compass maybe the tires were overinflated. On hard throttle the engine was noisy. Due to its low torque of 145 nm, there is a need for a medium to hard throttle for good pickup and due to this, the engine revs at higher rpms and becomes noisy which causes discomfort to the ears and mind, it feels the engine stressed.

I didn't take the Test drive of Tata Harrier as I owned a Tata Tiago and Tata Indigo in the past, these 2 cars gave me a lot of trouble. My friend owns the New Safari XZA+ Dark edition and he is also unhappy with the car due to frequent niggles so I was afraid of spending 25 lakhs on it.

I didn't take a drive of Mg Hector because I don't like its looks and its soft suspension which reduces high-speed stability.

Now only Koreans were left on the list. Since I have Seltos 1.5 MPi Htk plus. I decided to have a look at the Hyundai stable and Alcazar gained my attention.

5. Hyundai Alcazar-

I called the nearby Hyundai Dealer and asked them for a home test drive of the Alcazar Diesel AT. Within half an hour the SA was at my home with White Alcazar.

Loved its alloy wheel design. Sat inside the car and loved its interiors with a piano black finish in the whole centre console and around the Infotainment screen. I liked the nvh of the car and engine and took a 15 km long test drive in the city and on the highway.

2 things I didn't like in the Alcazar were

1. Power- Due to its sheer size the 1.5 Diesel is slow at picking up speeds.

2. 2nd Row leg space- To add the 3rd row in the car, the leg space of the 2nd row is compromised.

3. Looks- In my eyes it looks neither here nor there.

Bid goodbye to the SA during lunchtime and told him that I needed some time to think. Now I was disappointed that no car was meeting my requirements. Due to that Day being a Sunday, I decided to take a nap.

[vattyboy]

Booking and Delivery Experience

After waking up from a power nap, suddenly a thought came to my mind of the Hyundai Creta in the evening and I was like Why Not?

1. It will be quicker than Alcazar due to less kerb weight.

2. There is no compromise in the 2nd-row leg space.

3. Creta Top Variant Sx(0) has similarities with Alcazar Interiors like a piano black finish in the centre console which looks very premium.

Coincidentally at the same time, Hyundai SA called me asking me about the Alcazar. I picked up the call and told him that I wanted to have a look at the Creta too and as expected he told me about 6 months waiting on Creta.

I asked him if he could arrange the Top Model i.e. SX(0) Diesel AT if I bought the car at their price quotation without any negotiation i.e. their Insurance rate, accessories, warranty, the shield of trust etc.

He told me he would ask his senior and call me back. Within 5 minutes he called me back and told me he would arrange a car for me and deliver it in the next 5 days because the customer to whom this car was allowed was having a problem in the loan process.

I was on Cloud 9 after hearing this, I told him to give me in writing that he would deliver the car to me in the next 5 days to which he agreed but asked me to give him a booking amount of 25k first after which he can give me it in writing.

Immediately I transferred the booking amount to 25k to the dealer account and SA did what he promised. SA told me that he would receive the car in the next 2 days and provided me with the VIN.

As promised the car arrived at the dealer in the next 2 days. I requested PDI for which they obliged. I went to the showroom and SA took me to their stockyard in Nios CNG (an impressive car with lots of space and a refined engine).

I did PDI as per the team BHP PDI checklist and the car passed with flying colours. I was happy after seeing my car for the first time. After PDI we went back to the showroom and I transferred the amount to the Dealer's bank accounts by RTGS.

Ex-showroom price - 19,03,000 /-
Insurance - 93,500 /-
Shield of Trust 2yrs- 11,000 /-
Extended Warranty 5 yr/ 1.40 Lac km- 34,000 /-
Accessories - 15,000/-
RTO- 2,48,000/-
VIP Number- 50,000 /-
TCS- 19,000 /-
Ceramic Coating- 30,000 /-

Total Cost - 24,03,500 /-

After paying the full amount, I told the SA to deliver the car on 1 January 2024.

Delivery Day-

Reached the showroom according to my muhurat time i.e 6.30 pm. The car was parked in the delivery area in a neat setup with a blue cover.










I like the professionalism of the Monarch Hyundai, Surat. They did everything which was asked by me, all the accessories were fitted in the car and the vacuum cleaner etc were neatly placed inside the boot. Generally, dealers forget 1 or 2 items on the delivery of the car but things didn't happen by Monarch Hyundai Surat.

First, we completed our muhurat of Taking the delivery of the car and then did a 30-minute photo session. The dealer played a Nice Song in the background for the delivery. They didn't have a big duplicate key which the dealers generally have so they handed over a bag of Hyundai which carried all the documents like invoices, RTO papers etc. They also provided a pooja thali and a pack of chocolates.

After taking the delivery of the car, we went to a nearby Mahadev Temple for the mandatory pooja of the car.

[vattyboy]

Process of Buying a Car from a Different State and Registering it in Your Home State

I bought the car from Surat, Gujarat and I will register my car in Udaipur, Rajasthan because no dealer in Udaipur could arrange the car in 5 days. So I can tell the process involved.

Ask the car dealer to give you a CRTM ( Certificate of Temporary Registration) slip. This costs about Rs 300/-. In issuing CRTM, the dealer asks you these things before the car delivery-

1. In which RTO( City, State) do you want to register your car?

2. Your Address of the City of Registration.

3. Adhar Card.

All the above information will be uploaded to the Vahan portal before the delivery of the car and then they will give you the CRTM slip after which you are good to go. CRTM slip costs Rs 300/- but many dealers charge differently for this. My dealer took Rs 4500/- for CRTM.

Now, from the date of delivery, you will have 1 month to reach your home city and submit all the RTO documents and road tax. The dealer will give you a file of all the documents which are to be submitted in the RTO, you will have to hand over that file to your RTO agent simply.

Don't worry about insurance as the Dealer will provide you with the insurance on the vehicle's VIN and Chassis number so there will be no issues with the claims in case of any mishappening while going to your home city.

Drivability of Creta 1.5 CRDi AT -

Press the brake pedal along with the push button start and the 1.5 CRDi engine comes to life, it is so silent, and refined and feels like a petrol car.
The car feels very easy to drive in the city thanks to its light steering, good turning diameter and good visibility from the windows in all directions.

Release the brake pedal and the car starts crawling at 8 kmph. I noticed that the initial pickup is very strong due to the Torque Converter.
The engine and gearbox are match-made in heaven. There is no lag in the engine and the icing on the cake is the Perfect tuning of the AT gearbox which always keeps the engine in its turbo band.

-With a light foot, the gearbox shifts at 2000 rpm, and in no case, does it shift below 2000 rpm.

- If it senses that you want more acceleration and pickup it can stretch and delay the shifting till 4000 rpm.

- The gearbox in no scenario keeps the engine spinning below 1500 rpm. The moment engines go below 1500 rpm, the gearbox downshifts.

- In case you accelerate hard till 3000 rpm and you don't want to accelerate further and maintain that speed then lift off the throttle and the gearbox will upshift in 1.5- 2 seconds.


Mileage-



- Out on the highways, I tried testing mileage at various speeds. At 110- 120 kmph it gives 19.5 kmpl. Then I set the cruise control at 90 kmph and it returned 23.5 kmpl mileage. At 80 kmph cruise control, it gives 25 plus kmpl mileage and this is the max mileage Creta D AT can give.

-In the city depending on the traffic I am getting between 15 to 17 kmpl with very light input from the accelerator.

- With pedal-to-metal driving, the mileage can drop to 12- 13 kmpl.

Ergonomics and seating comfort-


The first things I notice after sitting in the car are comfort, wide seats and all the ergonomics in place like the door handrest, gear lever, Infotainment system, power window switches etc.

Attachment 2554383



I am 6ft, I Adjusted the front seats according to my height and there is a good amount of legroom left at the rear



The window glass is very thin.


Engine and Performance-

Hyundai's 1.5L CRDi VGT engine makes 113.5 bhp /116 ps power and 250 nm torque from a low 1500 rpm. It feels adequately fast and is faster than 90% of cars on the road.


I can say confidently that it offers a good amount of performance after driving Big 2.0 L and 2.2L Turbo diesel Engines in my Compass and Mercedes daily. Yes, the 2.0L multijet and 2.2 L CDI of Mercedes have an edge but that extra performance comes into use only 10 out of 100 times on the highway when you are in a mood to smoke other cars.

It cruises 100-120 kmph very easily and effortlessly, even 140 feels smooth without any strain on the engine plus the mileage I get at these speeds deserves a standing ovation.

At 100 kmph engine spins at 2050 rpm. So the engine in its turbo zone just presses the throttle and zooms past the vehicle in front.

One thing I noticed was that slight engine noise creep inside the cabin only after 3000 rpm and that too doesn't feel like A noise from a diesel engine.

The engine is city-friendly due to 250 nm torque from low 1500 rpm the car accelerates quickly for overtaking or reducing the gap inside the city.

Out on the highway, I had fun keeping the engine between 2k- 3k rpm for performance and I was ahead of almost 95% of cars on highways. And I kept the engine below 2000 rpm to get better fuel efficiency.

Notice the AGM Battery

[vattyboy]

DPF and AdBlue Level-
The car came with around 85% of the AdBlue level. And now after driving 1500 km, the level is at 65-70%.


I guess I have to top up the AdBlue in about 8000 km intervals which is decent according to me. I will buy AdBlue from the ASS when I will take the car for its 1st service.

The car is driven 1500 km out of which it has only 500 km in the city and the rest 1000 km on the highway and I didn't get any PDF warnings.

Steering and Its Response-



Steering is one of the best things I have experienced in Creta. It is a driver's delight. Very light at city speeds and weighs nicely with an increase in vehicle speed.

I am unhappy with the steering response of my Kia Seltos, it is dead in the centre and it has some play i.e. it gives no input till 15 deg rotation left or right. This thing is not in Creta, the steering is very German car-like. Even with 1 deg rotation, the car responds.

The steering centre itself be it after a turn or a curve of the expressway makes driving easier.

Driving Modes-

For changing the mode there is a dial located ahead of the gearbox. The car has 6 modes-


1. ECO Mode- The MID turns green when eco mode is applied. I noticed that the engine power gets reduced in this, the gearbox upshifts at 2000 rpm, the engine stays between 1500 to 2200 rpm and the steering becomes light. I didn't notice any increase in mileage in eco mode.


2. Comfort Mode- The MID turns blue when comfort mode is applied. I can feel the increase in the power and response of the engine from eco to comfort mode. Now the gearbox is not keen to upshift near 2000 rpm. If I am light at the throttle it upshifts but if am hard on the throttle then the gearbox can use all the range to provide power. Steering becomes 10% harder than eco mode and not much noticeable. Mileage is the same as eco mode.


3. Sport Mode- The mid turns red when the sports mode is applied. Now the gearbox keeps the engine above 2500 rpm to the redline. The steering gets rock hard and inspires confidence to push the car to its limits and hit the corners confidently. Mileage drops in this mode are 12 to 15kmpl.



Suspension and Handling-

It is rightly said that Creta's suspension is softer than Kia Seltos's and also softer than my Jeep Compass but not as plush as a Honda City Maruti Ciaz or Innova Crysta.

Front Suspension

Rear Suspension

Creta's suspension stands in the centre of what we call Soft and Stiff which results in good handling at high speeds and also good absorption of potholes in the city drives.

[vattyboy]

MID

I love the MID of this car, the combination of analogue and the -screen looks fabulous and way better than the single full-screen display which looks way more artificial. I request all the manufacturers please do not remove the analogue tachometer from the car, the feeling of redlining that needle is something else.




TPMS- It is very accurate. The dealer delivered the car with 44 psi which I reduced to 35 psi with my Tusa Tyre Inflator and TPMS matched the exact readings.





Accumulated Info is reset by us while Drive Info resets itself after after drive.







Auto Stop time- It is the total time calculated when the vehicle is turned off by the Auto on-off features of the car.





If Navigation is set then, all the directions are also displayed on the MID to help the driver. If you are at an intersection then it will tell you the exact way to exit it with the help of an image.

Infotainment System And Music System

This has a 10.25-inch display. I am impressed by it. It has a very sharp resolution and there is no lag.

The only point of disappointment is the wired Android Auto and Apple Car Play. I can't understand why Hyundai is giving it wireless in base models and wired on top models.

SX (o) variant comes with an 8-speaker BOSE Music system. It is very good and has a good amount of bass in it, the mids are also good. Overall a nice music system according to price. I have heard Harmon system in my Friend Safari but I didn't find it better.


Notice the glossy black finish all around, It only comes in SX(0).


Home Screen is customisable. We can select the 3 apps according to our choice.





Smart Air Purifier can be operated from here also, you can adjust its speed, turn it on or off and also lock or unlock its screen to prevent touches by mistake.

Things which could have made the Car More Complete-

1. More Soft-touch materials in the Car.

2. 360° camera.

3. A good high-beam throw.

4. Auto Wipers

5. Dual Zone Climate Control

[vattyboy]

1st Service- At 1500 km @ Monarch Hyundai, Surat

I booked the appointment for 1st service yesterday. Told my SA from whom I purchased the car to book the service from me. After 10 mins I got a call from the Service Centre for confirmation.

Today I reached to the ASS at 12 pm. The SA Mr Bhushan has good knowledge of his field and he is very polite. He came with a tab and opened the job in 10 mins. Inspected the car and took around 40 photos of the car from outside and inside from every angle.

Then he created a WhatsApp group and shared those photos in it.

Technicians checked all the fluids like brake oil, engine oil, coolant etc.

I requested them to top up the Urea, so the car 6 L of UREA from 65% level to too level. I asked about the total urea tank capacity as I can't find it on Google. Got to know it has a total 14L capacity.

ASS served me a Nice Veg thali as I was waiting in the customer lounge.

Washing of the car is done in front of my eyes and I am satisfied with it.

The bill turned out to be Rs 582/- for 6L urea.

Overall nice job done by Monarch Hyundai, Surat.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[nova.19_exe]

Congrats on the new ride vattyboy!

Honestly, I feel like Apple Carplay and Android Auto should be wireless, atleast in the top spec version of cars! Spending 20L and getting wired AC/AA makes 0 sense.

If you are really interested in converting it to wireless, check out Ottocast U2 or Carlinkit 5.0!

Wishing you many happy and fuss-free miles with your new ride!

[07CR]

Originally Posted by vattyboy

After waking up from a power nap, suddenly a thought came to my mind of the Hyundai Creta in the evening and I was like Why Not?
]

Congratulations on the Creta! It would certainly be much more reliable and fuss free than a compass!

Just curious any reason to go for prefacelift model since new Creta is to be launched on 16th of this month ? Also curious why not checkout the Seltos Diesel AT? It has all the misses sorted out from your checklist while also having all that the current creta has.

[IamGetz]

Congratulations and wishing you many happy ride miles @vattyboy

I took delivery of the same spec SXO AT trim in December, although in petrol, and echo similar thoughts on feedback shared by you

To answer @07CR on reasons for selecting prefacelift version include:

• Wanting to go with non ADAS SXO top trim
  
• Substantial year end discounts with vehicle availability in 5 days
  
• I have some niggling doubts about the width of the dual 10.25-inch linked displays in the new facelift. I personally prefer the current display size especially for map view

[ex-innova-guy]

Congratulations on the Creta. The polarising looks of this gen-Creta suddenly feels more appealing to me after the leaked pictures of the upcoming one.

Wishing you many happy and fuss-free miles with it!

[lightfootdriver]

Congratulations on your car!

Somehow I feel bad for the person who was supposed to get this car. Highly likely that the dealership simply sold the car to you instead of them because you offered to pay whatever they ask for.

It's high time manufacturers setup a process where dealers need to get written (email) confirmation from the perosn who's originally allotted the car if they are cancelling. Or If the original buyer is incommunicado for 3-5 days, then the dealership can reallocate.

Across the country, most dealerships are notoriously reallocating cars to others. The buyers are succumbing to unreasonable insurance quotes, unwanted accessories because of artificially created waiting periods.

[vattyboy]

Originally Posted by nova.19_exe

Congrats on the new ride vatyboy!

Honestly, I feel like Apple Carplay and Android Auto should be wireless, at least in the top-spec version of cars! Spending 20L and getting wired AC/AA makes 0 sense.

If you are interested in converting it to wireless, check out Ottocast U2 or Carlinkit 5.0!

Wishing you many happy and fuss-free miles with your new ride!

Thank you so much! I don't use Android Auto frequently but my Kia Seltos HTK Plus has it wireless so I am disappointed that why top models are having it wired.

Originally Posted by 07CR

Congratulations on the Creta! It would certainly be much more reliable and fuss-free than a compass!

Just curious any reason to go for pre-facelift model since the new Creta is to be launched on the 16th of this month? Also curious why not check out the Seltos Diesel AT? It has all the misses sorted out from your checklist while also having all that the current Creta has.

Thank you!
CLA is out of zero depp insurance, I have lost confidence in Compass so also I can't take it on the highways and have not opted for Seltos because I own it 1.5 Mpi HtK plus variant for city use. So had an urgent need for a car that's why I bought a current Creta.

1. There are 2 or 3 features like 360 camera and ADAS(I don't like the artificial feel of it) which the facelift will get so I thought I could sacrifice them.

2. The dealer told me there will be a waiting period for the facelift.

3. The current generation car looked ugly to me when It was launched but with time in these 2- 3 it has grown in my eyes and Now I like it. But when the public started accepting the design of the current car, Hyundai came up with a facelift. The design of the facelift is very difficult to digest

Originally Posted by lightfootdriver

Congratulations on your car!
Somehow I feel bad for the person who was supposed to get this car. Highly likely that the dealership simply sold the car to you instead of them because you offered to pay whatever they asked for.
It's high time manufacturers set up a process where dealers need to get written (email) confirmation from the person who's originally allotted the car if they are cancelling. If the original buyer is incommunicado for 3-5 days, then the dealership can reallocate.
Across the country, most dealerships are notoriously reallocating cars to others. The buyers are succumbing to unreasonable insurance quotes, and unwanted accessories because of artificially created waiting periods.

The dealer said he had some issues in the loan process process.

Originally Posted by ex-innova-guy

Congratulations on the Creta. The polarising looks of this gen-Creta suddenly feel more appealing to me after the leaked pictures of the upcoming one.

Wishing you many happy and fuss-free miles with it!

Thank you. I agree with you This gen creta is looking very beautiful comparable to the facelift.

Originally Posted by IamGetz

Congratulations and wishing you many happy ride miles @vattyboy

I took delivery of the same spec SXO AT trim in December, although in petrol, and echo similar thoughts on the feedback shared by you

To answer @07CR on reasons for selecting the pre-facelift version include:

• Wanting to go with non-ADAS SXO top trim
  
• Substantial year-end discounts with vehicle availability in 5 days
  
• I have some niggling doubts about the width of the dual 10.25-inch linked displays in the new facelift. I prefer the current display size, especially for map view

Thank you so much. But instead of a year and discounts, I ended up paying additional for 5 days delivery.

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

Wish you many happy miles on the new Creta

The price of 24 L caught my attention Then I realised that it includes extra optional items like SoT, extended warranty, ceramic coating and accessories etc. which adds about 1. 3 Lacs to the on-road price. Dealer insurance is also usually inflated. So roughly the on-road price would be about 22 L (give and take a few thousand) which is what I'd have expected for the Creta top model.

Actually, to get the car delivery in 5 days. The dealer made it mandatory for all these items to be purchased from them.
Instead of some year-end discounts, I paid extra money for 5 days delivery.

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by vattyboy

Dislikes

1. Price- 24 lakhs on-road is quite high.


.

Wish you many happy miles on the new Creta

The price of 24 L caught my attention Then I realised that it includes extra optional items like SoT, extended warranty, ceramic coating and accessories etc. Dealer insurance is also usually inflated. So roughly the on road price would be about 22 L (give and take few thousand and adding year end discount for outgoing model) which is what I'd have expected for Creta top model.