5 reasons why I opted for Hyundai Creta facelift over Honda Elevate

I am a sedate driver and have kept all of the ADAS features enabled. They are non-intrusive and provide peace of mind on the occasional highway driving.

BHPian capnemo recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I was in a similar boat, except that I also threw in the MG ZS Astor and the XUV700 AX5 for good measure. Talk about tractability in budget and segments! I finally opted for the Creta SX(O) IVT.

What tipped it in the favor of the Creta:

1. IVT

It is so smooth to start that it almost feels like a hybrid - this is the feedback that came from friends who sat in the back seat. Not so with the Elevate, even its CVT gearbox felt a little crude to operate for me.

2. Enough space

The visibility is pretty good in most cars and let's face it - after some time, you get used to your car and have a pretty good idea of what to watch out for. One thing that I didn't like was the Elevate's seating position - I took 2 test drives and couldn't find a good position. I also took a test drive of the City and everything simply fell in place there, but not so in the Elevate. The Creta, with its powered driver seat, helps you find a good seating position.

3. Auto-hold & 360-deg camera

In Bangalore's traffic, this needs to be a must-have. I have driven a few automatics and I'm usually a nervous wreck even after all these years of driving. The auto-hold just makes it so relaxing in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Close-shave manoeuvres are a daily thing and the 360 camera does a fantastic job in helping me judge the narrowest of spaces well. This needs to be a must-have in all cars in this price range. Would very strongly urge you to reconsider a car with these 2 features.

4. ADAS and passive safety

Hyundai claims to have beefed up the Creta's structural integrity with AHSS, but unless the crash test results come out, there is no objectivity there. The Elevate might trump there. I am a sedate driver and have kept all of the Creta's ADAS settings enabled. Reversing is the only time where the braking is a little harsh, but all of the other ADAS features are non-intrusive in the Creta and provide peace of mind on the occasional highway trip.

If you're going for the Elevate, do go for the variant with Adaptive Cruise Control - I didn't know highway cruising could be this relaxing. The Creta also has this and it works very well for me.

5. NVH

This is a high priority for me, with our noisy streets and my high anxiety levels - I wanted the cabin to be as quiet as possible and the Elevate fares very poorly here. The Creta trumps here.

People bash Hyundai and Kia for focusing on features. To each their own, some people like the driving pleasure more and some people like the sense of comfort, and the convenience of gadgetry more. I do find merit in the point that after paying north of 20L, you do need your money's worth and all of the features provide plenty of bang for your buck in the Creta. The Elevate felt like it ticked most boxes, but there was nothing special about it. Just felt plain utilitarian.

I won't talk about the AX5 and Astor - that's a separate discussion. But hopefully, my inputs provide some food for thought.

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