Team-BHP - 2018 Hyundai Creta Facelift : Official Review

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Originally Posted by GTO (Post 4423813)

I have a bone to pick with Hyundai though. The Korean company has always been at the forefront in providing features, be it the new Verna & its ventilated seats or the 1st-gen i20 and its 6 airbags + rear disc brakes. But man - the Creta is perhaps the only Hyundai where the company is counting its pennies. Just look at the number of missing features that you would take for granted at this price point (auto-folding ORVMs, telescopic steering, rear disc brakes, LED headlamps & tail-lamps, auto headlamps & wipers, vanity lights on the sunvisors, illuminated power window buttons, gas struts to hold the bonnet, paddle shifters on the AT….the list goes on). What makes it worse is that the cheaper Verna gets some features (e.g. ventilated seats, hands-free boot) that the Creta doesn't. Why do this to your most important car, Hyundai?

Sometime back I had a word with someone who used to work in a Hyundai showroom. According to them, they have two sub-segments for sales. The premium cars start from Verna up to the now discontinued Santa Fe but it doesn't include Creta. The company categorizes it as flagship of the other sub-segments which has eon, i10, i20 etc. I guess that's the justification for missing features in Creta Hyundai can provide. Though the logic is out of my head anyway.

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Originally Posted by PrasunBannerjee (Post 4425175)

That is odd since they have two different factories. One where they manufacture their expensive cars starting from the Creta up, and one where they manufacture their cheaper ones from the Verna down. I wonder what logic they followed there.

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Originally Posted by IshaanIan (Post 4425178)

Don't know that, but their sales team is trained and segmented that way. Creta wasn't a part of their premium segment but verna was. Maybe with the current facelift it may have. Just my guess.

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Originally Posted by bhpfaninblr (Post 4424860)

I think the clutch longevity is a function of driving style. My first car Swift clutch was replaced at 20K. I had complained about the poor clutch quality in Swift. My second car Ritz diesel's clutch was as good as new at 40K km when I sold it - the evaluator said so.
I realize that in my driving journey of 10 years, I had become a better driver. We all like to believe we are the best drivers and that car manufacturers have poor clutches. (For all you know, someone who had a clutch replacement at 3k kms might have driven with handbrake for 100 km without knowing).

Clutch longevity is mostly a function of the driver and the driving conditions.

I cannot agree to this point when considering Creta. My Creta has run 55K KMS and the clutch was replaced 4 times so far. When the service engineer tried convince me that it is a driving style issue, I challenged him to give me the best driver he has for 15K kms drive within Bangalore city (I drive 40 KMS per day in peak traffic) and prove that it is the driving style issue.

He even examined my style of driving by sitting next to me in the car. Finally he told me that "Creta cannot be driven for everyday office commute in such a heavy traffic conditions". Obviously no service engineer will give this statement in writing!

My point is that the diesel clutch in Creta cannot withstand heavy traffic conditions beyond 15K KMS however best you drive. I have owned Swift and clocked 90K KMS with just one clutch replacement at 80K KMS. So it is the same driver with a different car. Only the car is the problem here and not the driver.

A suggestion;

All reviews, though very detailed, only concentrate on the very top end of each vehicle, which I'm sure will aid only a very small proportion of buyers. While I understand that the manufacturer will only part with the top end model for review, can I suggest that the pictures also include those from a mid/low variant, which will be really useful in a buying decision?

My sister bought the new Creta a couple of weeks back. A black Petrol SX. I am in awe of the vehicle ever since. It feels so silent inside. Road noise and engine noise are significantly down from Brio. The Crysta does an OK job but the engine noise and harshness is always going to be there since it's a diesel.

The music system is a great upgrade to the one found on Crysta. It's a joke of a setup in the Toyota.

The DRLs are a sight to behold. The cornering lights work as intended and the bi-functional projectors are neat.

The design of the alloy is a major improvement from the old version. The silver alloys were a sore point (for me) in the older variant. This one resembles the XUV's design a little bit.

I am happy that we made the decision to stick to the facelift. It's a looker especially the wide grill. Would have been greatly happy if there was a fifth alloy as well. But it only has 4. Tires could have been from Bridgestone (saw Potenza in the display vehicle I think) but I guess we'll have to make do with Goodyear for now.

The high window lines gives a feeling of security. Like we are cocooned inside the car. The rear seats have a relaxed back rest angle and it helps increase the passenger comfort as well.

I used to wonder what people saw in this car to buy it in such huge numbers, but I got my answer now. It's not too huge nor too small. It seems the perfect size for the roads be it highway or the streets. And gets a lot of creature comfort with a comfortable ride as well.
The XUVs and Hexas might me closer in price but they are dimensionally very different to the Creta and make sense only on the highways. Especially the Hexa. It's a behemoth on street roads.

Hyundai once again have hit the ball out of the park with this upgrade.

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Originally Posted by kmsithan (Post 4425243)

4 clutch changes in 55K kms seems a bit too much. If you drove the Swift for 80k kms without clutch replacement, should be similar in the Creta. I am wondering if there is some other problem in the vehicle like some slave cylinder or so. Might be good idea to get that checked

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Originally Posted by GTO (Post 4424274)

The petrol vs diesel price difference has always been significant with Hyundai's cars. Both engines are top class - buy based on your running, budget and love for torque. When budgeting, do factor in the diesel's superior resale & FE too.

2L difference is quite a lot. With a running of around 1000-1200 per month at the max, I am quite happy with the petrol motors. Would have liked the AT, but will probably give priority to 6 air bags this time around.

There are other issues with Hyundai now since they know Creta is already selling well and their sales people too are cocky about it. The showroom has displayed a banner that they don't charge any handling charges, but they shamelessly still mention that as other charges in their price chart and refuse to waive it off. They have even refused to book the vehicle if insurance is not taken through them (which is inflated by at least 25K). They have absolutely no qualms about a customer walking out of the showroom.

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Originally Posted by aviraj (Post 4425875)

I just bought the Creta facelift and the dealership said the same that insurance must be bought from them.
Called the customer helpline and they immediately took the customer RM from the dealership online and the story changed instantly that 'we only recommend you buy insurance from us and it is not compulsory'.
I suggest you do the same.

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Originally Posted by cmody (Post 4425951)

What about "Other" charges of Rs. 3000? The dealer even showed me the Hyundai booking form where it is mentioned that the dealer can charge "other" fees of Rs. 3000 but will have to provide the dealer receipt for the same. Earlier it was called handling charges, but they have cleverly renamed it

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Originally Posted by aviraj (Post 4426038)

I paid that Rs. 3000 amount. Was not able to get that waived off. But getting almost 40k off on insurance was the big difference so let the smaller amount go.

My father-in-law is in a bit of a dilemma right now. He has booked a facelift SX (DT) Petrol in Delhi but the delivery is getting delayed day by day due to lack of availability. The dealership has a pre-facelift SX Diesel AT which they are willing to give away for some discount (the exact amount has not yet been finalized).

I needed some inputs as to whether it makes sense to go for the pre-facelift version over the already booked facelifted Petrol Manual. Father-in-law usually prefers the refinement of petrols and the only diesel car he has driven is the i20 that I had before. He did like the drive but is not biased to any particular fossil fuel as he is a pretty sedate driver.

I think the facelifted Petrol Manual would make more sense as he'll end up getting a few more features like the Auto-dimming IRVM, DTE, Android Auto/Apple Carplay combo and better looks (IMO) over the older variant. He doesn't care about the performance or the transmission anyway and the Petrol's refinement is stellar as always.

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Originally Posted by tweaker (Post 4426349)

I needed some inputs as to whether it makes sense to go for the pre-facelift version over the already booked facelifted Petrol Manual.

1. Get the VIN and check the pre-facelift model's manufacturing date.
2. Calculate the discount and check the difference.

I would suggest you to wait for the facelift model as you get more features. Moreover, the dealer will definitely push unsuspecting customers to go for the pre-facelift model as they would want that disposed. I experienced the same when the dealer tried to push a Swift that had 10k bucks worth of accessories.

Keep calling the SA frequently asking for an update. I did that for the Ecosport since the wait was for 3 months.