[jayded]

I believe the Duster is going to be the single biggest casualty once the Creta hits the roads. With it's overpriced tag and those basic interiors, there is no single reason why anyone would go for a Duster unless Renault pull up their socks and overhaul the interiors to a more upmarket feel without a price increase. Test drove a Terrano last month and was totally disappointed with the interiors. The rear AC vent is very intrusive to the back seat passengers and the rotary knob looks straight out of a 90s radio. With the Ecosport, S-Cross & the Creta taking the premium feel to a whole different level, Duster & Terrano stands no chance, being the priciest of the lot.

[BNM]

Originally Posted by desdemona

The question is something else. <snip>

It is probably true though that the Creta will sell very very (too?) well!

Very nicely written. In your opinion which manufacturer/brand is currently the best buy/VFM in terms of all the things described above in this sub 20 lacs bracket ?

[modisan]

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/h.../1/449696.html

This doesn't mention any official quoting but seems that have some insider info. The price range looks too broad from 7 till 13. I wonder if any other car has that wide a range! I hope it is okay to post sch links as I see the pricing mentioned for the first time with such confidence till date for Creta.

In line with debates on this thread, the pricing seems to be both above and below Verna/City.

[civic-sense]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Since Honda City diesel's launch, Verna has been hitting new lows month after month on sales front. Even a face-lift did not lift things up. So, may be, Hyundai thought since it is not selling much anyway, why not slip in Creta at same price slot and rake in moolah.

I agree that most Hyundai cars are not great at handling. But that did not prevent them from creeping up the sales ladder and close gap with market leader MUL. The rate at which Elite i20 is increasing its tally, we shouldn't be surprised if it starts snapping at Swift's heels. Most of average Joes do not bother about handling. If it were so, then Polo and Punto would have been chart toppers, as someone has rightly pointed out.

Handling notwithstanding, I'd spend my money on the Hyundai Creta than say the Maruti S-Cross. I trust Hyundai more when it comes to maintaining structural integrity.

BUT (a big one), if the do price it at par with Verna, I'd suspect that they would have cut corners to achieve that price. They simply cannot "price" it low without affecting margins. I hope the cut is not on the structure, in which case (if we ever find out), I'd look away.

[Whichcarnow]

People complain when something is overpriced. People also complain when products are priced right! After making such big announcements for safety, I don't think they will cut corners there. And the rest of the parameters have already been found to be nice in the preview. Hyundai's aim is to annihilate the competition, and they are willing to forego some profit for that. Ecosport has seen a price rise of ~1.5 lakhs. Duster and Terrano were overpriced from day one. If you compare this pricing with the original pricing of the Ecoport, just add the additional taxes and we get pricing similar to the Creta(actually lesser, but add the additional features and size to the pricing). So it is not as if such killer pricing has not been done before. And, Hyundai is better equipped to handle that pricing as well

[aroonanand]

Lot of speculation on prices, so here's my 2 cents:

- If the prices quoted by Ravenavi are right, Creta is priced below / at par with Verna. While this is mouth watering and might appear baffling, Hyundai might have a few tricks up their sleeve.

- Verna is facing the heat after the City / Ciaz launches, so perhaps they may cut prices of Verna so that this is below City. Verna is anyways a reasonably old platform and hence they can afford to do this. By pricing Verna ~25-50k below the City, they will try to lure the sedan buyers to Verna

- By pricing Creta ~50k more than the city, they are clearly targetting those with a slightly bigger ticket size and craving for an SUV to go for the Creta. They can also target the Duster / Terrano twins and base XUV with such a pricing

- Such a move will also ensure Creta / Verna do not cannibalize each other.

We will know the truth on pricing in a few weeks !

[patil]

I am totally disappointed after its almost confirmed that the Automatic Transmission Variant will not have top of the line features and more importantly side and curtain airbags.
In fact I am very safety conscious and that's the reason why I bought the i20 way back in 2009. I recently sold the same as I have been finding it uncomfortable to drive a manual transmission car. Now I want to buy a fully safe automatic transmission mid size SUV and I had great hopes with the Creta.
How do we convince Hyundai that there is a big market existing for a fully loaded automatic transmission vehicle.
I also hope that in the times to come Hyundai may come with a fully loaded automatic Creta. Any information or guesses...........................

[BNM]

Originally Posted by patil

I am totally disappointed after its almost confirmed that the Automatic Transmission Variant will not have top of the line features and more importantly side and curtain airbags.
In fact I am very safety conscious and that's the reason why I bought the i20 way back in 2009. I recently sold the same as I have been finding it uncomfortable to drive a manual transmission car. Now I want to buy a fully safe automatic transmission mid size SUV and I had great hopes with the Creta.
How do we convince Hyundai that there is a big market existing for a fully loaded automatic transmission vehicle.
I also hope that in the times to come Hyundai may come with a fully loaded automatic Creta. Any information or guesses...........................

Apparently the training for the technicians is starting at the plant today. Dealer has promised to provide all details including variants - first hand this week.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by modisan

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/h.../1/449696.html

This doesn't mention any official quoting but seems that have some insider info. The price range looks too broad from 7 till 13. I wonder if any other car has that wide a range! I hope it is okay to post sch links as I see the pricing mentioned for the first time with such confidence till date for Creta.

I seriously doubt India Today's credentials as the authoritative source on auto news. The pricing is off for sure: 7L is too low IMO. Also there is a clear error in that piece, highlighted in bold below:

Hyundai Creta will be offered in three engine options. The 1.4-litre CRDi diesel engine will give a power output of 89bhp and maximum torque of 220NM and will come with a five-speed manual gearbox, the 1.6-litre CRDi diesel engine will give a maximum power of 126bhp and 260NM of torque along with a six-speed manual transmission while the 1.6-litre VTVT petrol engine will give a power output of 121bhp and 155NM of torque which will come with 6-speed automatic transmissions.

[BNM]

Here is a video of the Creta caught testing on our roads.
As per the specs described looks like a SX+ (16 inch alloys, chrome door handles and shark fin antenna)

https://

[Rahul Rao]

The engine option is such that the car will remain in different exise duty categories.
1.6 Petrol as well as Diesel will go into the SUV category which attracts 30% exise duty.
1.4 diesel will be in the second category just after the sub 4M ones. so a large price variation is not surprising.

Rahul

[jha.shailesh]

Originally Posted by patil

I am totally disappointed after its almost confirmed that the Automatic Transmission Variant will not have top of the line features and more importantly side and curtain airbags.
How do we convince Hyundai that there is a big market existing for a fully loaded automatic transmission vehicle.
I also hope that in the times to come Hyundai may come with a fully loaded automatic Creta. Any information or guesses...........................

probably, a little too early to get disappointed, my dealer is keeping me optimistic about top-end with diesel automatic. And he gave me valid reasons too, though he did mention variant details with features are not yet out. Taking verna and elantra as benchmarks, then Hyundai will not miss the chance- but if we have to look at grand i10 then its different..

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Rahul Rao

The engine option is such that the car will remain in different exise duty categories.
1.6 Petrol as well as Diesel will go into the SUV category which attracts 30% exise duty.
1.4 diesel will be in the second category just after the sub 4M ones. so a large price variation is not surprising.

Rahul

Actually your second statement is partly correct. To be classified as a SUV (with its higher ~30% excise duty), a vehicle has to meet ALL the following conditions: Engines bigger than 1.5 liters in capacity AND length greater than 4 meters AND with a Ground Clearance (GC) higher than 170mm. GC here means the lower-most metal part of the car leaving aside the tyre rims.

Obviously the first two cannot be tampered with (at this point in time) for the Creta and especially the 1.6!

However, IF Hyundai manages to 'artificially' lower the GC of the 1.4 Creta using a metal engine guard etc. to below 170mm (like M&M did with the Bolero/XUV and Tata with the Sumo), the 1.4 can enjoy the lower 24-27% (I think) excise duty. Think one of the rumors was that the GC would be only 162 mm!

It remains to be seen if a global manufacturer like Hyundai will do similarly :-)

[kk21]

The new Honda Jazz got launched today - no automatic in the top end variant.

Seems like a new trend to not offer fully loaded automatics, at the time of launch at least.

[desdemona]

Originally Posted by BNM

Very nicely written. In your opinion which manufacturer/brand is currently the best buy/VFM in terms of all the things described above in this sub 20 lacs bracket ?

Why Tata of course! In the context of this thread: the updated Safari Storme.

In general I'd say for all-round engineering quality+reliability, yet fairly, honestly priced, and not just looks, feature-list etc: Ford, Fiat, Tata, Renault.

And....Maruti Suzuki, sometimes, not all the time. The S Cross sounds from all European reviews, to just be a fantastic all-round engineering effort, at a great price, esp with the multijet diesels, even more esp the 1.6 mjd. Hope the build and component quality is close enough to Euro-spec on the S Cross, though.

PS: Maruti Suzuki are going to really be sqeezing Hyundai hugely over the next year of launches, gaining a lot at their expense: S cross+ xAlpha + big 'premium' hatch. That makes the Creta-as-huge-hit vital for Hyundai, else they can see 2, maybe 3 years of sales offtake slowdown coming, what with Suzuki's NEXA product push.

MODS: please delete if deemed too OT. Thanks.