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2024 Hyundai Creta facelift replaces my used Verna Fluidic 1.6 Diesel

3rd April 2024, 17:00 by Brij Gawde

It had been about 9 years since we got our used Hyundai Fluidic Verna 1.6 CRDI - had got it in very good condition with 15K on the ODO, about 2.5 years old. It has served us well with 1.2 Lakh on ODO.

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2024 Hyundai Creta Facelift – Buying experience and Initial impressions….

It had been about 9 years since we got our used Hyundai Fluidic Verna 1.6 CRDI - had got it in very good condition with 15K on the ODO, about 2.5 years old. It has served us well with 1.2 Lakh on ODO through the daily short grind on the busy streets Bombay and the frequent Bombay-Pune runs on the expressway (back when it wasn’t as busy and more fun to drive, especially in the rains, but that is a rant for another time....)

Though the engine was still going strong, the body and suspension were beginning to show the age and the kilometers that it had under the belt, and in comparison to the current generation of cars, the kit and safety features were dated... Still looked good though - some pictures of an old girl.

The initial idea was to get the old car sold off to try to get better value before the year turned - started the process in Q3 23, finally getting it completed around Feb 24.It was now time to look for a new ride in earnest. With previous positive experience with a pre-owned car and the value it brings, the first choice was to get a pre-owned car with low mileage and a good maintenance record. The requirements I could come up with

Sedan or SUV, something that would be equal or an upgrade to the Verna
Manual - do like to DRIVE my cars (dropping a gear sometimes on the open roads ......heaven..l
Current in terms of kit and safety feature
Good mix of comfort and performance
Quick delivery timeline

Had been trying a few pre-owned ones, all this time, following the T-BHP used car buying guide

Gen 2 Creta: Had too many fix-ups and visible underbody issues which pointed to it being in a few scrapes, good drive though
Pre-facelift Seltos: Though seemed good mechanically, wasn’t as good as the Creta in terms of drive and kit
Enquired on a few others: Lots of niggles and too many compromises

Some observations with the pre-owned market

Majority of cars seemed to have ODO manipulations - even my car which I sold off had the ODO turned back
Re-badging - again my car was listed as a SPEC higher
Cars being marketed as younger - ditto with my car
You are never sure about the accident history

You expect these tactics from the Not-Really-Friendly neighborhood dealers, but it seems to be a somewhat similar story with the organized sector...it would always be a better option if you get a car from a reliable individual than a dealer, as was the case with my previous car. These challenges, and not having a lot of good options made looking at new car options also a necessity. Here are some of the contenders... (all based on personal biases...so please...gentle with the brickbats...)

The New Verna Facelift

Good:

Good drive, Hyundai seems to have sorted some of the floating suspension issues at high speed which plagued the earlier version
The KIT is good with ADAS2, 6 Airbags, GNCAP rating, FE number
The version I was looking at was the Manual Turbo SXO which came with a black interior that looked good (I not sure how it will fare in the hot weather)
The family liked the ride - the suspension seems to be tuned to comfort, the look, and the space in the back
Hyundai's reliability and breadth of service network pan India
The dealers generally mentioned 3–4-week delivery periods

Not as Good:

The GC is still a concern though Hyundai has made significant updates, was always a sharp pain in the head to scrape over the over-zealous speed breakers even with 4 passengers sometime
No rear disc brakes even in manual top spec
The polarizing looks - the back end is excellent, but the front has mixed opinions, and the symmetrical steering wheel...
Did not get to drive the manual in TD (apparently Hyundai has not made a lot available), and the salesperson was not able to demo the ADAS features

Honda Elevate

Good and Not as Good:

Great on the looks, Honda has nailed the strong front end, and the interior brown leather is very classy
Honda reliability
Decent drive, but the clutch and transmission could be more refined
Decent KIT, space seemed a little on the cramped side when compared to competitors, and the suspension a little on the stiffer side
ADAS features offered seemed to be not as refined as on others, turn assist camera views only on one side and does not get activated unless you give the full turn indicator (not on the partial touch), camera-based driver-assist features only, and no radar

Honda City

Good:

A known reliable entrant with all the right things, and a car that would probably serve me well into the next decade

Not so Good

KNOWN reliable entrant with not too many changes since some time
Not a fan of the front end of the last facelift

Kia Seltos

Good:

Good drive and better KIT than others in the segment, essentially introduced features have been moved over to the Hyundai cousins
Great looks, exterior and interior, especially the facelift, great looking center console
All One-touch window

Not so Good:

No ADAS in the manual version, you need to go for the Automatic
Higher cost for CVT G and X line versions to get ADAS features
Not as an extensive service network

VW Virtus and Tiagun

Good

Classical looks, European classic build quality
5 start GNCAP ratings and segment-leading GC
Discounts available from dealers on ex-showroom

Not so Good:

No ADAS and other features as compared to others in the segment at similar price-pointed
Though had heard great reviews on Drive (and even the sales person, the 1.0 L version, that I got to TD, did not seem as exciting, especially compared to the older and new Verna
The sales folks seemed to be coached to actively push the 1.0 L model as opposed to the 1.5 L liter due to the higher costs
VW after-sales/service and maintenance stories

Skoda Slavia

Good

The Skoda stable has always had good-looking cars and the few Salvia I saw on the road were definitely head turners and wanted to try that out
Copy and paste others from Virtus * since it is the same platform

Not so Good:

Copy and paste from Virus * since it is essentially the same platform
Could not get the TD scheduled, due to conflicts
One thing that should be added to at a personal level for VW and the family is the lack of localization on the wheel assemblies - hate the left-hand turn indicators. For a market as big as India with growth potential, it could be something I would like to seem

New Creta Facelift

Good:

The facelift was launched very recently, and definitely overcomes the polarizing views of the earlier version
Test drove the new version AT and it reinforced good driving experiences from the earlier version
Great KIT, and ADAS2 features seem to be the most refined and well-integrated
The updated two-tone interiors are very welcoming
The panoramic sun roof which was a special requirement from my nephew
The Creta has been on my radar since the first GEN Creta was launched, and I actually was quite fond

Not so Good:

No GNCAP or BNCAP rating as of now, older Gen did not have a higher rating
No Turbo option in the Manual
2-4 month wait times from the local dealers where I enquired
The gap in the front grill with an exposed sensor as pointed out in numerous forums

With all the above considerations, it seemed that the new Verna matched most of the requirements, and would be the way forward. This began the process of deal shopping, talking to the dealers close to me.

That is when I got an interesting call - from a dealer I was not leaning towards and whom I had asked earlier about the Creta - he had a car Creta available in the version I was looking for and the color I wanted - would I be interested? At first, I thought it was a ploy to keep me hooked, and there have been stories of delivery dates getting extended going around. Did not think too much about it, and was focused on Plan Verna.

A few days go by and the other dealer calls again about the Creta - if I had made any decision. Had to ask a few probing questions

Was the car available now/immediately?
Was it a TD vehicle or had any other issues?
What month was it manufactured and it wasn’t an older model?
Any other issues?

Along with the answers, the ask was to get a booking amount paid up and there was a 1–2-week delivery promised. However, given the high demand, it had to close quickly and certain value of dealer insurance and accessories buying were expected, but getting a new car which was high on the list in 2 weeks was an exciting prospect.

Things moved fairly quickly after that

Paid the booking amount
Got finances defined
Had asked for PDI - had to travel to the yard which was a little out of way - but tried to check as per the checklist - Some photos of the PDI

Paid the remaining amount (tried to negotiate the insurance and accessories, but that was the one negative experience with the dealership)
Got the extended warranty for 5 years and Sheild of Trust for wear and tear-prone parts the maximum duration (5 years)
1 week had already passed by then and asked for a Saturday morning delivery
Booking was done on March 1st week and was planned for 3rd Week of March which was quite a turn around
RTO and other processes got done in the meantime

Finally, after what seemed like an agonizingly long few days, the D-day arrived. Reached the dealership at the designated time. The process was fairly standard - with paperwork, puja, delivery ceremony, and demo. Some clicks from the day

Initial impressions...

It has literally been only a few days since the delivery and the ODO still reads ~100 KM with a couple of office and local runs, so the car hasn’t had any time to make a real impression, but some initial thoughts

Looks - Was already a fan and the facelift has moved opinion more toward positive
Interiors - The standard dual tone makes the car look spacious and should also help in the Indian summers
Electronics and infotainment - Hyundai does offer a lot of KIT, yet to explore all the options, but is towards the top in the segment, the Bose system seems quite good, Bluelink seems useful, and the ADAS features, in particular, are very well integrated, especially with wider and taller presence compared to the Verna, the 3d view and Driving assistance do their job quite well, the center console could have been a tad better by Hyundai for the cost on the road
NVH - Hyundai always had this sorted and this is no different, you are very well insulated from the outside world, but will have to observe this more with some highway runs
Engine and Performance - The engine does seem smooth and the power delivery is very uniform, however, the manual does seem to miss TURBO and the added power, especially coming from the 1.6 CRDI, it does seem to lack a bit of power, again will have to look at this over a longer period
Comfort - The front and back seats seem very comfortable, can’t wait to get into some long drives up

TODO - Need to look at PPH coating - have to look at the reviews, cost, and some good options nearby

Some additional pics from the first few days will add a more detailed experience review once the car has a few more kilometers under its belt......