[Sabareesan]

IMO, I feel that Hyundai is trying to provide the Alcazar as a viable option for someone upgrading from the Creta. Buyers when purchasing a new car tend to shop a segment higher than their existing car and due to familiarity and some form of brand loyalty, they first look at what their current brand offer. Also the customers want more features, seats, popularity, bling and whatnot from the manufacturers without a drastic bump in price.

Eg.
A Swift/Ertiga owner might upgrade to a Nexa offering such as Baleno/Ciaz/S-Cross/XL6.

VAG owners move from Polo/Fabia to Vento/Rapid to Jetta/Octavia to Passat/Superb as they upgrade.

Taking the case of Jetta/Octavia owners as an example, they are facing it difficult to upgrade from their car without moving to another brand.

Similarly, in the case of Hyundai, many of the existing Creta owners do not have a better car to upgrade to within the brand. The Tuscon is there, but it is considered overpriced for what it offers as the only major upgrade is the powertrain.

Therefore, those who are upgrading from the Creta, who have the money for for the Tuscon go ahead and purchase a XUV500 or a Crysta. I feel it is these customers are the target market of Alcazar.

Also Alcazar will bridge the ownership gap between Creta and SantaFe/Carnival while keeping the customer within the brand.

[Aniruddha_Ch]

I must say, today I enjoyed driving Alcazar Prestige (O) 1.5 l AT 7 seater (the only 7 seater available with automatic). I tried driving in Sports mode along with gearbox in sports and car pulled aggressively, shifts were really good. Comfort mode is something which I found sufficient enough for 90% of driving need and in no way I felt car to be underpowered. As with all Hyundai diesels, cabin insulation is great and this is great SUV to tour around. For my drive, car have returned me 15 kmpl on countryside roads with many start stop situations. I had a great time cruising around, the massive panaromic sunroof does let in lot of light inside the cabin to make the ride more lively. Ride quality have been flat on expansion joints etc., also steering have enough weight to aid high-speed handling (unlike Hyundai's of last generations).

As far as prestige (O) is concerned, which is base variant in diesel AT, car is loaded enough with enough gizmos to keep you entertained, sound system quality is decent and it is packed with more features than Creta's SX variant. It has instrument cluster similar to Creta's SX(0), by no means it's economy grade variant.

[Romeo_Mike]

Outstanding review as always guys!

But to me, like many others above, the Alcazar is a bit of neither here nor there. I am actually having a hard time figuring our who this product is aimed at.

Certainly not at people like me. The 1.5D engine option is out of question for me and I'm wondering how many will pick the 2.0P AT out of the two choices below-

[iamahunter]

I see that the front is too curvy, but the rear is sharp. Different design teams working on it may be..

I tried some photoshop to the rear in order to make things inline with the front design.

Original,


Tweaked.

[Jatin247]

Originally Posted by Romeo_Mike

Outstanding review as always guys!

But to me, like many others above, the Alcazar is a bit of neither here nor there. I am actually having a hard time figuring our who this product is aimed at.

Certainly not at people like me. The 1.5D engine option is out of question for me and I'm wondering how many will pick the 2.0P AT out of the two choices below-

Attachment 2171284

If you are just considering petrol then I would suggest you to definitely consider Alcazar. The car is pretty loaded as compared to base Innova Crysta and the petrol engine is quite good too plus you get no niggles Toque Converter gearbox.
If petrol has to be your choice of fuel then Alcazar makes more sense in this segment. Though you can consider MG too but personally I would prefer Hyundai over MG anyday.

[landcruiser123]

Expensive. Pricing shows hyundai is out there to make as much a profit per unit.

If I wanted a 7 seater, I'd rather buy an Innova Crysta. But I can understand why the Alcazar made business sense - a small investment opens up an all-new market. Hyundai + Kia also had good brand trust now. People might end up selecting Alcazar based on the process of elimination.

I know people would avoid the following cars for these reasons:
1. MG Hector: Personal reasons (A lot of people have told me this)
2. Tata Safari: Tata niggles and inconsistent ASS. (Hyundai niggles & ASS in the recent years is a topic for another thread)
3. Mahindra XUV500: Niggles, ASS, and feels too old (current-gen at least)
4. Innova: Taxi image

I still can't understand what's keeping Toyota(small SUV)/Honda (next-gen BR-V) from competing in this space?

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by Romeo_Mike

Outstanding review as always guys!

But to me, like many others above, the Alcazar is a bit of neither here nor there. I am actually having a hard time figuring our who this product is aimed at. I'm wondering how many will pick the 2.0P AT out of the two choices below-

Attachment 2171284

Here are some clues for those who might pick the Alcazar: 1) Those who need a comfortable 4-5 seat with occasional 6/7 seats, as opposed to a "people mover".
2) Those who need a vehicle with manageable driving dimensions and parking convenience as well as ease of handling
3) Those who need slightly better fuel economy.

But I would venture to say that people should at least pick the platinum variants because of the 6 airbags.

[Vizay]

With all the reviews across, its evident of the key drawbacks around space management and small diesel plant at this price points. Disappointed.
Will KIA release a parallel version by fixing some of these problems? An extended Seltos with better managed space for 2nd and 3rd rows?
Will Creta come with all these additional features in the next facelift and a better look? Think its for next year. Anyone? The wait continues.

[Godzilla]

My thoughts on Alcazar.

First, Kudos to Hyundai for bringing all the latest tech such as the fully digital instrument console and the blindspot monitor integration is so cool. Love the way they push other manufacturers in styling the interiors. Even the new launches from Tata/MG interiors are looking a bit dated now.

Importantly should appreciate Hyundai for giving ESP on all variants (finally!). Well done . Glad to see Hyundai focusing on safety. I really hope for the next platform they get a 5 star safety rating as well.

Now, If I were to choose a 7 seater I would stretch my budget and go for Safari. The reason being more cabin space especially due to the width of the Harrier platform. I really feel Hyundai with the Alcazar has hit a niche space in the Indian market. IMO, Those who want a true 7 seater would opt for Innovas and Marrazzos and those who like adventure travelling will go for the XUVs and Safari's. I feel this appeals to people who prefer a tech savvy city car which is a 5 + 2 seater, not sure how many are there? It would be interesting to see the sales numbers. There is a possibility that Alcazar may flop. However, it is always good to have more options in the market. Thanks to Hyundai.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by Godzilla

those who like adventure travelling will go for the XUVs and Safari's.

Dont you think that people who really want full on adventure would go for the Thar and those who want to blend some comfort in would go for the Compass 4wd?
In all other rough road ride experiences, the Innovas, Safaris, Hectors, Xuv(2wd) and Alcazars are more or less the same. They will get rather easily bogged down if you try anything more than mild /muddy/ gravelly routes. They are mostly good for clearing speed bumps and potholes, thats all.

[extreme_torque]

In a typical Hyundai fashion its loaded with gizmos's, some useful, other arent, designed to make you go Wow in the showroom but I have an overarching feeling that it hasnt got much substance. First thing first - its looks just okay, the rear is okay, the front too busy but the side profile isnt proportional, there is just something about it. Then are the interiors - fully loaded but the whole car is full of cheap hard plastics - that faux leather stitching effect on the hard plastic is just chintzy. Even if that part of the dashboard was soft plastic, it would have lifted the whole ambience of the interiors. The space also looks compromised, especially the middle seat which does look substantial enough and the rear seats are a joke. The safety aspect is suspect too with both Hyundai and Kia doing poorly as far as made in India cars are concerned.

Coming to the engines, that 2.0 petrol is just generic. Hyundai's NA engine are neither known for performance, nor efficiency and I am guessing with the automatic transmission, the petrol is going to be a guzzler in town. The diesel engine again is the smallest in its class and for car costing 20 lakh rupees is downright silly.

The top end pricing is too close to the Safari and if I was in the market with that kind of money, I would happily pay more for the Safari. Its more substantial, looks like a million dollar on the outside, has a proper diesel engine and looks far classier inside.

[RT13]

Gotta say, I’ve never ever been a fan of Hyundai as a brand or company, but they always get some of the driver/front row details absolutely right and they understand practicality more than most. I really like the

- 360 turn cam integration into the pod
- beautiful shift stick
- optional manual ac controls (OMG pure play touchscreen controls for it are so irritating!!)
- tumble second row
- decent boot space for a 3 row
- wireless charging unit for the second row (although I personally don’t like wireless charging myself - heats up like crazy I find)

I personally don’t like the idea of the common arm rest with the captain seats. Nothing more irritating than rubbing elbows with the person next to you over many hours. I like individual arm rests. I do get the decision from a functionality pov though.

Having said all of which, apples to apples, this makes me even more happy with our purchase of the Hector Plus petrol DCT top end, before the last price hike too. 6 months ago we briefly considered putting it off until this was out but I’m very happy we didn’t (albeit this was more due to Hyundai/Kia’s documented brake failures than anything else). Except for the lack of a tumble in the second row, it gets just about everything else right in a more nicely put-together package imo. That second row seating is unbelievably comfy. Not to mention lower sticker price and much lower cost of ownership (if you haven’t checked out MGs service packages, you should).

[charanreddy]

I dare say this car will be a success. The target customers for this car are the Salaried executives with small families but they fee they need a 5+ seater just in case. I mean why not get 6 seats after spending 20+ big ones on road. These executives are not BHPians with a clear understanding of needs and finding the right car. Sporty, good handler all of the words are just marketing speak and they care two hoots. So bottom line families that want to be seen in a relatively expensive car with no real need for more than 5 seats. The other brands in this space are a bit of a no-go for these guys. Below is the typical thinking.

Maruti Ertiga — Maruti !! Ewww . Isn’t this the cheap car which poor people buy. What will people say?

Tata Safari - isnt this the car for red necks with really cheap showrooms ?

Mahindra Marrazo - Taxi and no auto box.

Toyota Innova Crysta - super expensive + taxi !

MG Hector plus — name sounds kind of cool but haven’t heard a lot about this brand before.

Hyundai is what all other cool executives drive + plus it is seen every where .. hence the safe choice.

[RT13]

I personally think this is a brand play i.e. it allows those who really want to be/stay in the Hyundai ecosystem another option. Anyone who is brand agnostic has the Safari/Hector Plus to choose from for the diesel. Only if you specifically want a petrol 6/7 seater, want something nicer than an Ertiga/XL6, don’t want a van and dont want the MG, and don’t want the upcoming Mahindra XUV (for whatever brand image it may have) this seems to be the option. Narrowish maybe but for the low cost of investment for Hyundai though, it makes eminent sense as an offering. Don’t think anyone services the niche, particularly since Honda dropped the BRV. I’m sure it’ll sell. Still puzzling that they didn’t use that stonking turbo petrol engine though. Wonder why.

[gururajrv]

Honestly speaking - the stretched versions of crossover should be called as MPV’s than an “SUV”. Manufacturers are diluting the essence of an SUV and it’s true character. Miss those good old days when SUV’s were true to their name and character.

A big tyre and beefed up front with a large grille and a stretched rear makes an MPV falsely claiming it as SUV. Sad thing is, 6 / 7 seater is mostly an excuse to stretch their cars and position them above its segment.

Ok, enough of the rant. While the interior package is nice, I still can’t digest the fact how cars are getting uglier and uglier with headlights and indicators pushed down with grille taking over the entire face. This looks like a wide body kitted Creta with bulged side rear body not to my liking. Previous gen Creta was a looker man! Cant dig this iteration or it’s styling at all. But does remind me of its big brother Palisade styling for some reason with its face, while Palisade looks nice as it’s a big car with a big face and proportioned well overall.

But Hyundai will surely sell in good numbers. Current decade Maruti-Suzuki in the making!