Hyundai Creta SX(O) Review - GLA IN A BUDGET

dhruvtalksstech
Nov 9, 2022
5 min read

Updated: Dec 5, 2022

This car is beyond words. I love this car so much and it is hard to find fault with any aspect of this perfect car. Nobody loves luxury cars more than me but I can safely say it is a GLA for 40% of the price. Everywhere you look, you will find a Creta. There is a Creta on every street in every city in India. They are that famous. The Creta is sold under a different name in China but is equally popular there. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out why people love it so much. Unlike Toyotas bought solely for their reliability, the Creta has the perfect ambiance. Sitting in the car once is enough to make one realize how luxurious it feels. It gives a very expensive feeling which is exactly what middle-class Indians are looking for. Who doesn't want luxury comparable to that of a BMW?

Starting from the exterior, the design was extremely polarising and unexciting when it came out and it seemed quirky and out-of-place. Since the car is a common sight now, the design is palatable but the Kia Seltos is better looking. I do like the split headlight and taillight design of the Creat though. On the higher-spec versions, you get daytime running LEDs and fully LED taillights and headlights. The halogen turn indicators in the front are a sore eye on an otherwise striking and curvy car. I am absolutely in love with the 17-inch dual-tone alloys that are available on the higher-spec versions and the standard alloys make the car look under-wheeled. I have seen all the available paint options in person and I feel black suits the personality and dynamics of the car the best.

The car has a reasonable 433L of boot capacity that is well-executed but could have been better if it stretched more vertically. There is a bose speaker in the boot and the boot lid can be opened using the release button on the outside. There is also a spare tire tucked away under the boot but let's hope we never have to use it. The door handles are chrome and feel very expensive and reassuring to pull. They do not get scratched like I thought they would. The rear doors do not open the widest and the opening is a little tight, so the elderly may find it a bit cumbersome. Once you are inside, it is no less than a C-class or a 3 Series. The headrests have cushions that can be compared to those in the E-class, and the backrest can be reclined manually and goes back substantially making it very comfortable. There are sunblinds to stop the prying eyes and the scorching heat of Delhi NCR.

The interior is a dual tone for the petrol CVT version - Ivory White and Black. The seats are perforated although not cooled or heated for the rear occupants. The door bins can accommodate a 750ml bottle and there are 2 cupholders in the armrest. The seats are wrapped in leather and they feel plush. Despite the panoramic sunroof which extends to the head of the rear occupants, there is good headroom in the car. Someone who is 5'10'' can easily fit with 3-4 fingers of headroom and 2-4 inches of legroom when the driver in front is also about 5'10''. In the rear, you don't sit in a knees-up position and the floor is relatively flat. You can squeeze in a third passenger but foot space could be a bit of a problem.

There are 2 Bose speakers in the rear and the door handles are aluminum which feels cold to the touch in winter. The panoramic sunroof uplifts the whole cabin and makes it feel very airy. The 2 AC vents in the rear promise to keep you cold. Even they have aluminum controls that make a satisfying click. The car gets even better in the front. There is a massive 10.1-inch infotainment screen and a part-digital speedometer. The rev counter, fuel meter, and engine temperature meter are analogs on the pre-facelift model but that may change with the facelift. The seats are ventilated (cooled).

There are steering-mounted controls for volume, cruise control, stations, controlling the digital speedometer, the fantabulous Bluelink voice assistant, and accepting and declining calls. The car has 3 modes - Comfort (Blue), Sport (Red), and Eco (Green). There are some off-road modes as well but no sane person is taking the Creta off the tarmac. The car has wired fullscreen Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Bluetooth is very strong and there are 5 speakers in the front. The driver's seat is 8-way electrically adjustable. There are buttons for Bluelink assistant, SOS, and tow service as well. What I like a lot is that there is just the right number of buttons. It is easy to operate functions without the car feeling dated.

The automatic gearstick looks like the landing gear in a plane and is very much like Audi's gearstick. If you are more of an enthusiast, you can also shift gears yourself using the steering-mounted paddle shifters. The horn is sharp but the is not the same as the 1st gen Creta's horn which sounded just like a BMW horn. The center armrest is deep and houses an air purifier and perfume. There is a huge wireless charging pad and 2 cupholders. 2 USB-A ports in the front and 1 in the back. There is a 12V socket in the front as well. A strip of blue ambient lighting in front of the co-driver lifts the cabin.

The 1.5 L 113HP engine produces 144NM of torque. But what I love the most about the engine is its sheer refinement. It is more refined and silent that the BMW 630D. It does not make any sound at idle and is barely audible while moving. The suspension is another great aspect of the car. The ride is not floaty but is astonishingly absorbent - it tackles all potholes with great pose and does not let anything filter and reverberate through the cabin. The steering is light and visibility is great. The driver's window gets a one-touch up-and-down function as well. I do wish though that the car felt more ferocious in Sports mode.

The 8-speaker Bose system is the best in the segment and because of the car's relatively less 1.2-ton weight, it stops pretty well as well. The fuel efficiency could have been better. In the city, it is about 12-13 Kmpl and on highways, it is 16-18Kmpl. Being a Hyundai, the car is reliable and does not need maintenance and check-ups every other month. The resale value is stellar and is hands-down the best car for 17-20 lakhs. I would not look another way. If you have got the money and don't have to wait too long, there is no better car than the Hyundai Creta. Period.