[Naetik30]

Originally Posted by rvlkiran

Is a facelift of Hyundai Alcazar expected in 2023 with additional features like ADAS ? I see speculative articles on some websites. I am considering booking an Alcazar this week, but don't want to be disappointed that I could have waited for the facelift. There are no dealer offers at all on the 2022 Alcazar so far, my booking will be at the full price.

There have been reports of an updated Alcazar in South Korea undergoing testing. But, Hyundai generally releases an update once in 3 years. So, I doubt we will have a facelift launched in 2023. But 2024 is possible.

[rvlkiran]

Originally Posted by Naetik30

There have been reports of an updated Alcazar in South Korea undergoing testing. But, Hyundai generally releases an update once in 3 years. So, I doubt we will have a facelift launched in 2023. But 2024 is possible.

Thank you, the dealer also said there is no facelift expected for Alcazar, but possible for Creta. I will go ahead with my booking, I just wanted to confirm with folks on this forum as dealers always want to push their existing stock.

[Aviator_guy]

Originally Posted by rvlkiran

Thank you, the dealer also said there is no facelift expected for Alcazar, but possible for Creta. I will go ahead with my booking, I just wanted to confirm with folks on this forum as dealers always want to push their existing stock.

Entirely new facelift for Alcazar which is still fresh in the market is highly unlikely in next 1-2 years. There may be some minor updates on features which is part and parcel of a product life cycle and very difficult to plan purchase around that. As they say, one in hand is better than two in the bush. So buy the car as per your requirement /timing, enjoy the drives and make memories with your loved ones

[Ays7]

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

Yes, it's always good to know network garages and cashless options. FYI Last time I enquired with Acko, they couldn't give me straight answer about their network list. In fact, their website FAQs also has no list to share. Found something amiss and hence went with ICICI for peace of mind (it was still good savings over dealer quote).

From what I understand, Acko does not get the car repaired from the dealer, but have what they called "Network Garages" with which they have a tie-up and hence the repairing or work on your car happens at Third-Party Garages. This may be ideal if you car is outside the warranty period. But I really don't know if this is feasible for cars under warranty.

This is completely based on my understanding and my conversations with a few people, ofcourse my interpretation or assumption may be completely wrong, but there you are.

[automowheels]

Have a very specific question for Alcazar owners- what made you choose the Alcazar over the XUV700, if at all it was in your shortlist?

[rvlkiran]

Originally Posted by automowheels

Have a very specific question for Alcazar owners- what made you choose the Alcazar over the XUV700, if at all it was in your shortlist?

I'm not an owner (yet) of an Alcazar, but I made my booking this week - Alcazar Diesel AT, Signature (O) AT, 7 seater. We're a family of 2 adults + 2 kids, frequently joined by extended family members.

Requirements
- 5 seater car for the city which can double up as 6-7 seater when required.
- Should be very comfortable and feel premium (Seats, AC, entertainment)
- Diesel (Fuel economy, and I missed the diesel torque on uphill tricky situations with my current petrol Linea T-Jet) & Automatic (Clutch-free for the city drives)
- Want the latest bells & whistles (I'm upgrading after 7.5 years, and I intend to keep the new vehicle for another 7-8 years)

I checked & test drove the following cars:
- Tata Safari
- XUV 700
- Kia Carnival
- Hyundai Alcazar

Being a proper 7 seater with luxurious interiors & luggage space, I was interested in the Kia Carnival. However, handling a vehicle of this size in the city traffic drained all the fun out of the test drive. I felt like I was driving a bus. The automatic transmission was lagging by at least 2 seconds. I felt it was strictly for someone whose main usage is on 4 lane or above highways for 80% of the time.

Tata Safari was very easy to drive but I really wanted the 360 degree camera at least. Also, there was hardly anything in the luggage space with the 3rd row up. It was a really difficult / very high position for 3rd row passengers to enter/exit.

The XUV 700 seats did not feel luxurious at all. The dash was not soft-touch and we felt that engine noise was really loud (it was a test drive mule, but still). There was no luggage space with the 3rd row up. Again, a very high position for 3rd row passengers to enter/exit. I have read reviews that the ADAS features should be disabled in heavy city traffic in India and should only be enabled on proper highways, so we did not feel that we're missing the ADAS features in other cars. Add the 1+ year waiting period for the top end diesel AT, and it was not feeling like a good deal.

After this, I felt that may be I just need a 5 seater and large boot.

I went to Hyundai showroom to check the Creta, but the sales agent said Creta has 8 month waiting period and asked me to check the Alcazar. We liked the following:
- Comfortable leather seats, soft-touch material in the dash and doors
- Sliding & reclining middle row (both 6 and 7 seater options) which enables better 3rd row seating comfort
- Getting into the car & into the 3rd row is much more comfortable than Safari or XUV 700. For a family like ours with max height of 5'5", the 3rd row is really comfortable.
- There is slightly better luggage space than Safari or XUV 700 with all 7 seats up. At least it can hold a cabin trolley and a couple of soft bags.
- Driving it was a breeze in the city, and the AT responded well when pushed on the highway.
- Has a functional 360 degree camera
- The 6 seater offers 2nd wireless charger and USB ports, but we felt the 7 seater is better for us. When there are less passengers, we just want the option of 5 seats with the 3rd row folded.
- Readily available in other colours as 7 seater, or as 6 seater in our chosen colour Starry Night. However, we really want the 7 seater in Starry Night colour.
- The official waiting period mentioned 10-12 weeks in the booking confirmation, but dealership says realistic delivery expected in 6 weeks or less

[Naetik30]

Originally Posted by automowheels

Have a very specific question for Alcazar owners- what made you choose the Alcazar over the XUV700, if at all it was in your shortlist?

In early 2022, I visited Mahindra showroom to check out the XUV700. This was even before Alcazar was even considered by me. I liked the exteriors of the vehicle. Did a test drive and was really impressed with the power. The engine pulled and pulled. Test drove both diesel and petrol and really both had more than enough power and torque.

Coming to the stuff I did not like -
1. The interiors were a let down. Some how the dash felt like some amateur found a couple of big LED screens and tried to tie them all together in the dash. Felt the entire design to be odd. Again personal opinion. Especially did not like the way the top of the screens were connected to the dash.

2. During the test drive, the screen did not respond a few times. The sales advisor tried to ignore this. It was clear I would be a beta tester for the product.

3. From inside the vehicle, notice the point were the dash connects with the doors at the top of the window line. Now roll down the front windows, get down from the vehicle and check that area again. The inside of the door pad is several inches misaligned with the external door. This is a huge design flaw. Again it proved to me that multiple design teams were working on their own without talking to each other. In this case the dash and the door pads/door dimensions. Once you see this, you cannot unsee it.

4. The paint on hatch on the test drive car was completely faded out. On questioning the SA tried to brush it aside saying, they wash the car every day and what not. Just pathetic.

In all - felt like a great engine with bad interiors. Dropped it and very soon got the Alcazar.

[automowheels]

Originally Posted by rvlkiran

I'm not an owner (yet) of an Alcazar, but I made my booking this week - Alcazar Diesel AT, Signature (O) AT, 7 seater. We're a family of 2 adults + 2 kids, frequently joined by extended family members.

Originally Posted by Naetik30

In all - felt like a great engine with bad interiors. Dropped it and very soon got the Alcazar.

Thanks! Both of your inputs had a lot of important observations that even I noted. Frankly, I am more keen on the XUV than the Alcazar plainly for that powerful engine. Of course there's not much point having so much power on tap in a crowded city like Bangalore, but I would really like to feel that punch on the highways. I too found that interior quality, specially the gloss black finish on several pieces, very inferior. What are your comments vis-à-vis the following:
- Ride quality vs the XUV
- Diesel/petrol performance vs the XUV. Is there a substantial difference?

[rvlkiran]

Originally Posted by automowheels

What are your comments vis-à-vis the following:
- Ride quality vs the XUV
- Diesel/petrol performance vs the XUV. Is there a substantial difference?

- XUV suspension was a little harder, seems to be tuned for the highway. The Alcazar suspension is quite soft and probably tuned for city driving. The Alcazar absorbed the potholes / speed breakers in Bangalore city quite well, you won't feel the jerks inside the cabin.
- I test drove the Diesel AT on Alcazar (9700 km on the ODO) and Petrol AT on the XUV (12000 kms on the ODO). The petrol was the only one available quickly, the Diesel XUV had a long waiting period for test drive as well. The engine noise was really bad on the XUV test vehicle and was loud in the cabin as well. The sales agent said they did not do the periodic service after 10000 kms. I could not believe that. The petrol AT on the XUV was quite powerful & responsive. The Hyundai Alcazar Diesel was very quiet, not much heard in the cabin. The torque was sufficient for city traffic and though I did not drive on the highway, but on a clear stretch of the road the throttle response was very quick with the AT, and I felt that I can overtake fine on the highway with Alcazar (We were fully loaded for the test drive).

[callmeneo]

''

Originally Posted by automowheels

Have a very specific question for Alcazar owners- what made you choose the Alcazar over the XUV700, if at all it was in your shortlist?

I can add to this as I had these two models in my final list.

I went for the Alcazar as it had an overall positive in cabin experience when compared to the XUV. Be it the quality of switches , the dash color combination and its quality ,quality of touch screen ,the gear selector .I can go on and on. Also Alcazar has bigger boot with all 3 seats up

The thing that got on my nerves was the number of new XUV's with the plastic covers still on its seats waiting at the service center to solve its niggles.

I wanted a fuss free fill it ,shut it and drive experience. Am not saying the Alcazar is a saint but definitely better than XUV in initial quality.

The place where the XUV shines is internal space (the Alcazar isn't small though) ,power (Alcazar has enough to pull 7 people but cant match the 4xx Nm torque of XUV) and ADAS.

Some images of our Dark Knight during my Solo trip to Gujarat and Rajasthan .

[Hickstead]

Originally Posted by automowheels

Have a very specific question for Alcazar owners- what made you choose the Alcazar over the XUV700, if at all it was in your shortlist?

My reasons for going to Alcazar instead of 7OO. I have a strict dead end in my budget at 24 L OTR. I can get variants up to AX5 D AT for this price which is missing a lot of equipment. I have a bad test drive experience too. I drove two 7OOs with odo at 12000 and 8000 respectively. Both the cars welcomed me to the test drive with some niggles like struck sunroof, EPB not getting disengaged, hanged touch screen etc.

Alcazar is a smaller car with respect to engine, but it is an all rounder and perfect balance in meeting my needs. We are already spending a lot of money on cars. I started my search with 15 L budget and there should be a stopper set some where and hence I stopped at Alcazar as it ticked most of the boxes right. I went for diesel even my usage is less as I heard very few BS6 issues with Korean diesels and would like to enjoy that meaty torque, as I am coming from a 1.2 NA petrol.

[automowheels]

Originally Posted by callmeneo

I went for the Alcazar as it had an overall positive in cabin experience when compared to the XUV. Be it the quality of switches , the dash color combination and its quality ,quality of touch screen ,the gear selector .I can go on and on. Also Alcazar has bigger boot with all 3 seats up

Originally Posted by Hickstead

I can get variants up to AX5 D AT for this price which is missing a lot of equipment.

Just had a TD of the Alcazar this weekend and can agree to both of you. More importantly, Mahindra's TD vehicle was very ill-maintained, and Hyundai's was kept spanking neat even though many were TDing it that day. My wife felt getting in and out was much easier and she actually realised there was a sunroof on the Alcazar just because of its low height. The petrol engine felt decently powered, although not too quick on its feet. The diesel is not on my list purely because of prospects of stringent NGT norms in the future, plus the 'on-paper' lack of performance vis-a-vis the petrol. It may not be to Jeep/VW levels, but the interior packaging surely seemed 'tight' for the lack of a better word. I already drive a Hyundai and the car has remained intact for the last 7+ years, so I'm already very confident about Korean quality and reliability.

Another question: Do any of you find the headlamps to be underwhelming? From some owner reviews it appears that headlights are almost ineffective at night, especially during rain.

[Hickstead]

Originally Posted by automowheels

Another question: Do any of you find the headlamps to be underwhelming? From some owner reviews it appears that headlights are almost ineffective at night, especially during rain.

My car is just one week old and headlights are adequate for city use. Have to check on highways and during rains. I too heard a lot of negative feedback on headlights of Creta/Alcazar.

[callmeneo]

Originally Posted by automowheels

Another question: Do any of you find the headlamps to be underwhelming? From some owner reviews it appears that headlights are almost ineffective at night, especially during rain.

Yes the headlights are inadequate in rain and on roads where you have a car with better headlights following you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKP1SMafWSc

There is a guy in Hyderabad who has modified the fog lamps for a better throw. I do not have the stomach to make this modification ,lest the warranty gets messed up.

Regarding the quality : i believe they are up there or even better than the made for India VW's .

[callmeneo]

Originally Posted by callmeneo

Yes the headlights are inadequate in rain and on roads where you have a car with better headlights following you.

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=hKP1SMafWSc

There is a guy in Hyderabad who has modified the fog lamps for a better throw. I do not have the stomach to make this modification ,lest the warranty gets messed up.
.

Sorry the above link was for a Delhi based showroom.

The Hyderabad/Secunderabad one is below but is not as clean as the Delhi One.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Y_0zlTNUc