PS – I am trying to keep this report as short as possible, while you can expect a lot of pictures in this thread.
Well, this is going to be similar to my ecosport ownership report. To start off, this happened all too quickly, much quicker than my ecosport buying decision. Never planned buying a new vehicle as I was completely satisfied with ecosport. To be frank, I wasn’t even following the Creta thread on TeamBHP initially.
So what changed my mind? I generally use the car for 3 years and then move onto my next car. In our case, it’s always going to be an SUV. A butch suv is what we like but unfortunately, none of those (fortuner/Pajero sport) was within our budget. So coming back to the original question – What changed my mind? This new car bug slowly started affecting me and I started following the Creta thread. I always wanted a ride with a 6th gear and something that gives the SUV feel. Creta ticked all the boxes on my wishlist (although it aint the perfect SUV) but we expected the price to be within our range.
Requirements:
1) SUV within 15L on road.
2) 6th gear – I sorely missed this in all my previous cars. All my highway drives (majority being to Bangalore) was not all that fuel efficient. Want one in which I can effortlessly cruise without straining the engine. Fuel efficiency wasn’t my main concern here.
3) Goodies – Safety remained as the top priority
4) Boot space – I tend to dump all sorts of things in the boot so a big boot was a requirement. In fact, it was even considered more than the rear seats.
5) Easy to drive in city and highway. I use the worst stretches in Cochin city. So want one that I can easily tackle around.
6) And the main requirement – Better half should be impressed with the looks and feel comfortable sitting inside.
July 11th – Called my Ecosport SA who’s now with Hyundai and he invited me to the showroom (Creta was in the yard and said we could have a look). We went straight to the yard and was greeted by 4 Creta’s – SX+(petrol), SX, SX(O) and SX (AT). My initial reaction was – Yes, this is not so big and not so small, perfect for me. Although it had some hard plastics, it didn’t feel all that bad. The first thing I noticed was the 7” display. The touch screen was pretty responsive but the map was bit confusing (sorry, this is the first time I am using one. Only familiar with Gmaps on the phone). The instrument cluster was fantastic (reminded me of the Germans) and the buttons felt good. The steering was leather wrapped but I should say, it was very slippery. Didn’t even bother to seat in the rear seat as that wont be used 99% of the time but immediately went to check the boot as that’s pretty much used by us. I was happy when I saw the ecosport boot after coming from the swift and now, I was even more shocked. That’s one well laid out boot with very less intrusion. To add, the cubby holes on the side and the luggage net impressed me.
Few things noted during my first sighting
1) Perfect size – interior and exterior.
2) Ticked all my requirements list.
3) 17” alloys was fantastic while the 16” was all too plain and boring.
4) Leather seats were a comfortable place to sit.
5) Good visibility and I was able to find that sweet spot. Seat height range was good.
6) Hard plastics didn’t impress me.
7) Even though the vehicle was stationery, I could make out that the steering was light, even lighter than the ecosport. I just prayed that it wasn’t bad as previous hyundais.
8) The shark fin antenna looked like an aftermarket kit and I wasn’t all that happy with that.
9) Tested the headlights and immediately knew those weren’t HIDs.
10) Loved the bosch horn – so much familiar with the Germans.
11) Cornering light – Nifty feature.
12) Armest was comfortable but no sliding mechanism – sorely missed.
13) All black interiors – fantastic
14) The chrome on the grille wasn’t all that bad and cant comment the same on the chrome on the rear number plate.
15) Spare wheel – fully size alloy wheel
July 11th – July 14th
By now, I was completely focused on the Creta and was glued to the TeamBHP thread but wife was not willing to part ways with the ecosport. She was in love with it and my idea on getting the creta wasn’t encouraged by her. Although she liked the Creta, this new car thingy was not to her liking, the reason being the ecosport was not even 2 years old. Few days into the week and she agreed to book the car. This was purely on the condition that if the price was beyond our budget, we would cancel it. Learned the hard way during the ecosport booking experience. We had booked after the price launch and we were late. This proved to be costly as many had already booked and we had to wait for 2 months. So didn’t want to go through that phase again, so decided to pre-book the car.
July 15th
Paid 50k advance and finished all the formalities. Opted for the 1.6D SX(O) white. As the expected price was within 15L, we decided to go for the top end. Went to the yard and showed the car to my wife. Although she said it was similar to the ecosport, she liked the size and the front grille of the car. Of all the things, she loved the 17” alloys the most. Anyways, she gave the green signal and the wait for the price began.
July 16th – July 21st
Countless sleepless nights later , D day arrived. When the price was announced, I was kind of disappointed. 13.6L ex showroom and I knew it would come close to 15L although that was the budget I had in mind. I expected it to be priced a bit lower. Called up my SA and he confirmed that the on road price would be ready later that day. The on road came to 15.92L for the SX(O), 1L beyond my budget. Then planned to go for the lower variant, SX+ but wife wasn’t too keen on that. Went for the launch at the dealership and was asked for the final decision. We then confirmed on the SX(O). Now the wait for the car started, The SA knowing me really well knew I would pester him daily,he immediately gave the delivery date as any day between Aug 1st to Aug 15th.
Price:
Ex Showroom - 1379338
Insurance - 51000
Road tax and registration - 138334
Handling - 8900
Warranty - 16031
On road - 1593603
Engine Specs:
1.6L crdi engine
Power - 128ps at 4000 rpm
Torque - 26.5 kgm at 1900 to 2750 rpm
It's quite obvious not to expect any discounts for a brand new launch. Happy that they provided floor mats and other goodies (chocolates, tissues, air freshener etc)
. In spite of Hyundai providing 3 years warranty, I decided to opt for an extended warranty.
Got a call on 24th July saying that the vehicle has been allotted and delivery will be on 29th July. Well, that was some good news. I decided to do the PDI on 28th evening. Got to see my beauty for the first time. Odo read 30kms.
Alternatives:
Like before, I really never had any alternatives, but when the price was announced, I did think of checking XUV500. This one had that proper SUV look and stance but the interior quality was really poor when compared to it’s rivals (pardon me fellow XUV owners). The car was really good to drive and the AWD advantage was certainly there. But XUV means, I will need to shell out additional cash since I was looking at either W8 or W10. Didn’t feel it’s worth that money since we will be spending most of the time inside and the niggles would slowly creep in.
The next obvious alternative would be Duster/Terrano. Brilliant to drive and comfortable, but 15L-16L for those dated looks? Sorry, I will pass.
Delivery and dealer experience.
Since I knew the SA for few years now (He was my SA for the ecosport) and his way of approach, I knew things would be smooth. Talking about the dealership, these guys were pretty professional (Popular Hyundai, Vytilla). In these two weeks of decision making, booking, and taking delivery of the car, all the guys at the dealership were extremely helpful. Right from the security who helped me find a parking space everytime, especially during the launch (the place was crowded and they managed it effortlessly) to Mr Alby (SA) and Mr Johnson (Finance) were really helpful. Also, during delivery they made sure that the entire process went smooth and wasted no time. I was out of the showroom in less than half an hour. All papers were in place, showed all the documents and then handed over the keys in typical fashion (photo opportunity, sweets etc). Then Alby explained all the features of the car and made sure I was prepared to tackle any difficulties. Excellent job!
Rivals 
Life after getting the car
To make it simple – loving it each day. We are happy that we made the right decision in going for this. Haven't really taken it out on the highways, but completely happy maneuvering it in the city.
Some observations:
1) NVH is good but I would say ecosport was better.
2) Gear shifts are smooth but tend to slot 3rd every time I want the 1st gear.
3) ACC mode has the same recirculation problem experienced in the ecosport. Everytime you switch the AC, you will need to press the recirculation too.
4) So you keep the key fob in your pocket, start the car and drive. You reach your home, get down to open the gate. Since the key is still in your pocket and car is running, there’s this irritating beep outside the car for some 5-10 secs. This is a warning indicating that the key is outside the car. Ecosport didn’t have that problem.
6) Phone Bluetooth phone connection works fine and the voice clarity is also good.
7) Horn – Sweet!
8) A nice beep outside the car when the car is locked/unlocked.
9) Hill hold feature – This holds only for 2-3 seconds after which the car starts rolling back. But a very useful feature.
10) I noticed that even if the ac and fan is off, there’s a small amount of air coming from the vents.
11) I can say this is purely a 4 seater (adults). The bulge, thanks to the rear armrest is so uncomfortable (tried it out yesterday with 5 adults with few tbhpians and I was in the back seat). The back seat is pretty comfortable but not as good as the front seats. Also, it aint bouncy as previous hyundais.
12) And finally, this is seriously turning heads. Just like the ecosport, it’s attracting a lot of attention and I see people staring at the car.
Missing features:
1) Automatic headlights
2) Distance to empty, average etc - come on, how hard can that be?
3) Vanity mirror light
4) Rain sensing wiper
5) HID's
6) Sliding driver armrest
7) Cooled glove box
8) Rear disc brakes
I know some of these features are expensive, but there are many basic features expected in a 15L car. Add those, and it would make it more appealing.
Creta Vs Ecosport:
Here are some of my observations made between the creta and ecosport. This is purely based on my personal experience. Some might not agree to this :D
1) Looks:
I would say Creta looks better here. No questions asked. Can call this a proper suv (appearance). But girls still prefer ecosport (few of my relatives had this comment). Since I wanted a suv look, I would go for the Creta. The front tends to stand out thanks to the chrome on the grille and those beautiful yet menacing projector headlights. The rear end is typical suv with that sloping boot. My wife think it resemble the Audi SUV range. The roof rails looks cheap but adds to that suv look.
2) Steering and Handling:
That would be the ecosport mainly due to the steering. Although both are light, ecosport steering was a tad heavier when compared to creta. And also, as mentioned in the Autocar review, after taking an U turn, it’s hard to bring the steering back to it’s position. Hyundai, you got to do something on that. But that light steering is a boon when it comes to city driving, but as pointed out the leather on the steering is very slippery. A word of caution there. Took it for a small highway run and the steering did weigh and felt much better. But ecosport wins here hands down. Managed to engage the 6 gear couple of times and the rpm was close 2k with speeds of 90kmph. The car was planted on the road and did handle pretty well. Couldn’t take to any winding deserted roads to test it’s handling but I would say it isn’t all that bad. A giant leap forward when compared to the previous cars from Hyundai.
3) Power/Torque:
No need to mention that here. Although there’s a slight turbo lag in the creta, it’s much better than Ecosport. I could easily drive around in 2nd and 3rd gears in the city without having to shift down. Havent really opened up the taps. Waiting to clock 1k kms but had a small hint of torque yesterday and it was amazing. It really pushes you back into the driver seat. The turbo lag is slightly visible before you hit the turbo band. But nothing to tamper your buying decisions.
4) Equipment:
Ecosport is pretty loaded but you get many other features in the creta that attracted me. Mainly, the 6th gear, Auto folding ORVMS. But auto dimming IRVMs, auto lights etc could have been added for a premium car. The touch screen unit also feels premium and is very responsive. I would say that creta meets all my requirements in this department except for few things which I had already mentioned but wish they added the distance to empty feature, tyre pressure sensor. Few things which would have made life easier.
5) Comfort:
Still in the early days, but Creta feels comfortable mainly due to the fact that it soaks the potholes pretty well. But you still get that “THUD” feel when you take over big potholes but I can say that it feels better than the ecosport. It glides effortlessly over small broken ad bumpy roads. There’s a major improvement here when compared to other cars from Hyundai. Took for a small ride over the weekend with 5 adults and the rear seat wasn’t bad. But the rear seat is best suited for 2 adults. The arm rest on the rear seat makes it uncomfortable.
6) Mileage:
Too early again, I would say. For the ecosport, I was able to manage 11-12kmpl in city and around 16-17kmpl in highway. Expecting something in the similar lines and after all mileage isn’t my main priority. 15-16 in the highway and 12-13 in city considering the kind of stretch I cover would be good.
7) NVH:
I would say Ecosport was better. I think that extra engine damping helps here. Creta lacks that. Wonder why they avoided it. Hyundai too confident on the NVH? But it’s pretty good but definitely not better than ecosport. Also, my wife commented that she could hear people talking when we were waiting at the signal. I feel the thin glass and lights doors are the culprits here. Ecosport door felt heavy and kept all noises out. But this shouldn’t make anyone think twice when it comes to buying the car. It’s definitely good.
8) Headunit:
Although the Creta’s audio system is packed with features and sounds pretty for an OE system, the ecosport’s audio quality was better. But add the extra features available in the creta and you will forget all. No upgrade required for an ordinary guy like but for an audiophile, an upgrade will be on the cards. The maps are provided by mapmyindia and as per the manual there’s an update during the service which is free of cost. But when I talked to my SA he said they would charge a nominal fee for the update. Will wait and see what happens when I go for an update. Need to get used to the features of the navigation unit as this is the first time I am using one other than the good old google maps on the phone. But so far so good.
Was I satisfied with the ecosport? Yes, definitely. It was one car I enjoyed a lot but with creta coming in, I feel this should be better and am already getting that feel.
Now for some pictures. More exterior pictures in a better location
:) The chrome on the grille isn’t all that bad. The entire slats are not covered in chrome. It does look like a mini Santa Fe. 
But not so on the rear. I quite didn’t like the chrome bit here. The lights are basic and looks like LED's but not so (I have attached a night picture of the rear light further down). The rear is typical SUV look with that sloping boot. 
Simple but an elegant headlight unit but also busy. 
Wonder why I called it a busy unit?, LED’s 
.. Cornering lamps, indicators etc. The cornering lamps have theatre dimming effect and this light is pretty useful. Along with the headlights and fogs, this light covers a wide area. 
And with the headlights switched on. Wish they had HIDs. But the lights are pretty good for an OEM setup. The high beam is pretty bright and covers a wide area. I will be upgrading the lights to HIDs in the coming days. 
A mini headlight unit here. The fog works well. Seeing the design I wondered whether this would work, but does a good job. A nice spread. 
Love those diamond cut alloys. 
Tires are pretty good – Bridgestone Dueler (215/60/R17). Provides a good grip and very less road noise. More on this after I get to test the car on the highway. 
Shark Fin antenna, looks aftermarket! The GPS unit is housed in this antenna. 
Piano black on the A pillar. Looks cool, but not cool when it comes to cleaning – Finger print magnet and prone to scratches. 
Rear parking camera neatly hidden 
Request sensor on the driver side. Available only on the driver side. Ecosport had on the passenger door as well. 
Wiper water nozzle hidden from view. The action is a mix of spray type (ford) and water jet type (maruti). 
Wheel wells partially cladded. Good thing that they have provided with a plastic cladding unlike the cloth type material used in the Ecosport. That used to soak up water and dislodge itself. 
Engine bay 
No damping under the hood. Although the NVH is good even without any damping material, they should have added this to make the noise nil. 
The front seats – the leather seats are pretty good. Although not pure leather, the perforated type makes the seating more comfortable when compared to traditional leather seats. Reminded me of our old Fiesta seats. Good choice hyundai. 
Close up of the leather seat. 
Rear seat – Strictly a four seater for adults. The center armrest spoils the fun here. But the other two seats are cocooned and you will comfortable. 
And here’s the rear legroom (front seat adjusted to my height5’11”). The leg room is pretty good when compared to the ecosport. And as mentioned, these seats are not used 99% of the time. 
The rear arm rest. Enough padding to make you feel comfortable. But when upright, the middle person wont feel comfortable thanks to the armrest sticking out. 
Rear AC vents and a power outlet – A nice touch. 
This small addition makes life easy. Holds the rear seat belts in place and avoids rattles. Old school knob to fold the rear seats. 
Switch gears borrowed from i20. The buttons are of good quality. 
(contd) Hearty congratulations, Naveen! Very apt title to your thread too. Loving it!
The Creta SX(O) is a pricey option but kudos to Hyundai to have loaded the topmost variant with most of the bells and whistles usually found in the Hyundai lineup. Ah, those absolutely drool-worthy diamond-cut alloys!
Wishing you plenty of happy miles ahead with your steed, my friend.
Also on a side note, I am really happy for both of us because of one more common factor - our better halves approved of our choices as well, eventually! :thumbs up
Here is wishing you many many happy smiling miles in the car that is creating a history for Hyundai's Indian arm. Nice that you could lay your hands immediately upon launch.
Hoping to see your new car in flesh, sometime.
Congrats Naveen. Thanks for the crisp and valuable review. Wishing you many happy miles !
If possible please could you take a picture of a full size luggage piece in the boot. Do yo think 2 pieces will fit lying flat on the boot floor ?
From your signature, it is seen that the Ecosport has been sold. Where and how did you part with it. Hope that you will sign off your Ecosport ownership thread with a selling experience.
What an impulsive buy ! I wish I was like you, but I usually use the cars as long as possible.
Did you take any loan when purchasing the ecosport ? How did you sell it off within a short period ?
Congratulations on new purchase, Swift-->Vento-->Ecosport-->Creta. Am I correct ?
Thank you for a superb report & congratulations on your Creta. Wish you many years of safe, enjoyable driving :thumbs up.
Crisp pictures & detailed observations - between your diesel's report & RavenAvi's petrol thread, you guys have the Hyundai Creta covered. I think I'm going to hang up my official review boots :).
This thread is going straight to the homepage! Rating it a well-deserved 5 stars.
Congratulations Naveen, Well portrayed I should say, with all that pictures around.
I thought DTE/FE was part of the MID in Creta. Still not ? And does the door lock automatically when the vehicle is on the move ? These are two things I miss on my Xcent, the latter one being sorely missed.
The reversing camera output on the infotainment seems to be a good option, than in the IRVM - just not only because the picture frame being big. I've noticed the glare is too much on the IRVM integrated display when it's a bright sunny day.
Is there any indication on who makes that Head Unit ? For my car, VTJ Hyundai offered a possible company approved AVN upgrade, but that was from Caska - I had my apprehensions about it, particularly map coverage - Also we still use CDs, so that would be missed too.
