[RavenAvi]

Wonderfully detailed preview despite the lack of real-world pictures, Anshuman! Thank you for a first-hand look at the Creta.

Having booked it on a whim back on May 20th itself (LINK), I kept wondering if I would have to regret my decision later and go for some other car eventually. But now it seems like my decision was right. My Hyundai birdies kept assuring me that the Creta is a great car and to wait for it, and I am glad that I did. Knowing Hyundai and their high standards for quality, fit and finish inside out, the Creta will be another model example of the same.

And Hyundai is building strongly to counter against the main weakness of it's offerings - handling and ride quality. Being a "SUV" with a generous ground clearance, it's heartening to note that the Creta handles well and has it's dynamics well-sorted out. A nice little contribution by Russelsheim, Germany, no doubt.

A little disheartened that the 1.6L petrol wasn't offered for the Media Preview, but if the 1.6L diesel is similar to the Verna's performance, I am satisfied that the petrol heart would be on similar terms.

Now I can't wait for the full-blown and detailed review once the car is launched. I expect to have the car in my hands from the first lot since I am one of the earliest bookers of the Creta in the country, which should be within a few days of the launch date (21st July). The official Team-BHP review will be the perfect icing on this delightful cake.

Rated this lovely preview a thoroughly well-deserved 5-stars!

[csateesh]

Originally Posted by niv26

Does anyone know the longevity of the 1.6 diesel engine? This is one of the factor when I bought Duster. The feedback from Meru taxi walas was excellent, there were many taxes still driving at ~350K or ~400K kms with little maintenance.

Can we expect the same from Hyundai ?

Interesting point you raise - The famed 3 pot Diesel Engine in Accent (CRDi) was famous for all the wrong reasons. I own one and clocked 1.2 lakhs and know someone else who has clocked 2.1 lakhs in the same period with just periodical maintenance. And these were supposed to be engines plagued with "issues" or atleast that is exactly what we were told when we bought them

To answer your question - All new generation engines can be expected to last for atleast 1.25 lakh kms with basic periodical maintenance

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by csateesh

Interesting point you raise - The famed 3 pot Diesel Engine in Accent (CRDi) was famous for all the wrong reasons. I own one and clocked 1.2 lakhs and know someone else who has clocked 2.1 lakhs in the same period with just periodical maintenance. And these were supposed to be engines plagued with "issues" or atleast that is exactly what we were told when we bought them

Accent 1.5 CRDI engine was derived from(1 cylinder chopped) Detroit diesel sourced 2.0 CRDI engine. Back then Hyundai was not at all experienced with Diesels, this engine was not reliable but the 2.0 CRDi on which it was based was known for long life and reliability.

Hyundai have come a long way now, i particularly like all of the newer 4 cylinder CRDi engines. They are quietest in the segment, revvs freely with proper 4 valves per cylinder layout and good torque spread.

[pgsagar]

Anshuman, very assuring to hear 1.6 crdi is better than old Elantra's 2.0L. Also, good to hear this car can, at least in some ways, be compared to Audi Q3.

Digressing here, can this car be booked through CSD? My F-in-L is retd. Army commissioned officer. Any idea how much off the retail will it be? If it isn't much, then it isn't worth all the extra effort and delays.

[anantu2001]

Will probably be my next car if Hyundai have sorted out the suspension and handling issues.

Regards,
Anant

[GTO]

Originally Posted by @KP

What's with this new trend of launching the AT in the trim just below the top-end and not in absolute top-end ?

Even Honda is doing the same with Jazz

The manufacturer has the fattest profit margin on the topmost variant, hence they'd love it if all their cars sell only in the highest variants .

That said, and I'm only guessing here, the reason for this silly strategy could be:

- To limit 'sticker shock'. There's a difference in saying 'the Creta costs between 10 - 14 lakhs' and 'the Creta costs between 10 - 15 lakhs'. 15 lakhs is hitting a psychological barrier (also the reason you see pricing like 9.99 lakhs).

- To stop the product from gaining an 'overpriced' reputation.

- To somehow control the notion that automatics are 'expensive'. We saw this with the Celerio AMT which was available in a poverty-spec LXi variant from the start.

Inevitably, if the AT gets strong customer interest, a top-end variant follows later (e.g. Celerio ZXi AMT).

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I know they belong to two different classes but this might well be the beginning of a revolution here - with vehicles like the Creta even taking some market share away from these base level trimmed premium segment vehicles.

Revolution has been around since a while. Yeti vs Q3, Jetta / Octavia vs A4 etc.

Originally Posted by k_ajay

rear seatback rest won't split fold 60:40

Studies show that less than 1% of owners ever use a splitting rear seat. This statistic was shared with me by a manufacturer.

Originally Posted by BNM

Quoting from your review of the Santa Fe AWD AT from March 2014 below , I see very similar drive characteristics on the Creta AT too.

We've heard of the family look between siblings. Now it's the family behaviour!

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Body-roll at highway speeds (especially at the rear axle) sounds ominous. Was it like the Xylo which currently takes the cake for the worst ride quality?

The Xylo is so bad that, even if a manufacturer tries, they won't be able to make an SUV behave as poorly.

Originally Posted by niv26

Does anyone know the longevity of the 1.6 diesel engine?

Any engine & transmission from the current time - including a cheap Alto K10 - will reliably serve for 2 lakh kms easily. The only exceptions to this rule are certain devils from Germany (e.g. DSG).

[RSR]

Great preview, .anshuman! Given the restrictions you were subjected to, this is as descriptive as it can get!

I'm glad Hyundai are offering something for almost everyone. 6 airbags + ABS + ESC + VSM etc. for the safety conscious, 6-speed manual transmissions with all engines, a 6-speed torque-converter for diesel + auto fans, a 128 PS CRDi for diesel heads, a 90 PS CRDi to keep the starting price low, sharp looks, loads of features and a 123 PS Gamma VTVT (with a 6-speed MT, unlike the Verna's 5-speed) for petrol heads!

I hope 6 airbags are made available on the top variant of all 1.6 litre engine-gearbox combinations. At least a driver airbag should be made standard even on the base variant.

The gaudy chrome lip above the number plate at the rear looks totally out-of-place on such a nice-looking vehicle. The lower variant with the body-coloured lip looks much better. The good thing is that the chrome can be made to disappear by using some 3M wrap.

I hope the lower variants with the 1.4 U2 CRDi and 1.6 Gamma VTVT come with irresistible price tags. Considering all possible engine-gearbox-variant combinations, the Creta can cover a wide price range and attract customers from several different segments.

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Rated this lovely preview a thoroughly well-deserved 5-stars!

Does the rating button work for you? Some of us are facing issues with it. Which OS do you use?

[iceman7]

Thank you for this preview. The Creta is going to step on quite a few toes... Let me correct that; it has already started doing so. The Scorpio AT?

While this is stating the obvious, but the need/demand for AT's in the urban markets is catching steam. The wave is coming!

Lastly, while I am not a very big fan of Hyundai, their product development and marketing strategy never ceases to amaze me. They have their ears firmly tuned to the ground and seem to be nimble in adapting to the market.

[itwasntme]

From the encouraging Elite i20 1.4L diesel review: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post3521700

Even after factoring in the heavier (assuming more than i20 at least) SUV body shell, performance should still be peppy enough. Possibly there will be a lot of similarity with the Duster 85ps variant which is peppy for city but loses out on the highway.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Even after factoring in the heavier (assuming more than i20 at least) SUV body shell, performance should still be peppy enough. Possibly there will be a lot of similarity with the Duster 85ps variant which is peppy for city but loses out on the highway.

Renualt K9k engine in 85 ps tune has altogether different power delivery characteristics compared to Hyundai 1.4 CRDi. Duster 85 has short gearing, peppy low end but weak top end and it hates to be revved. Hyundai 1.4 CRDi feels just like a scaled down 1.6 CRDi, behavior is exact replica of the bigger engine and Hyundai always uses tall gearing for this engine.

[dhall_gagan]

Mod Note : There are several spelling & grammatical errors in your posts. This negatively affects the forum experience for other readers.

Kindly ensure that you proof-read your posts prior to submission. Also, it would be a good idea to use a spell-checker.

[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by RSR

Does the rating button work for you? Some of us are facing issues with it. Which OS do you use?

The rating button doesn't work for me as well. Says something about ip address field having an invalid or null value.

Tried from office (Win7) and home (Mac OS) as well. Same behavior.

[mrinmoy_s]

Superb Preview . With the Creta and the much awaited S-Cross, the compact SUV segment is set to become a hot place. Would eagerly await a comparative T-BHP review of the Duster, EcoSport, Creta & S-Cross.

Just one question. How is the Build Quality of the Creta? I have felt the EcoSport is better than its French rival in this department. Does the Creta better both of them?

[Carpainter]

Great Preview Anshuman. Really good write up from the limited scope. You've done almost 30% of the review job without any pics or drive details. The car from Chinese market looks clean and if the same comes here, we are gonna have another good looking product from Hyundai. But after pricing the i20 Active 1.4 diesel at above 7.5L ex-showroom, this one will probably have a starting price tag of more than 9L to maintain the gap. If that is the case then it will be a bit expensive for the segment.

[noopster]

Great preview, .anshuman! I could almost sense your frustration at not being able to intersperse pictures in between all that text in places!

The SX(O) variant ticks all the right boxes and I'm hoping it's offered with the 6-speed AT. This is the first car since the XUV5OO that I am looking at seriously to replace the Vento in my garage, which is now nearly 5 years old. @BNM's post very astutely made the point that the Creta (gotta get used to that name! Saying it Cray-tuh helps ) is a baby Santa Fe. Considering the overwhelming opinion of those who've driven it that the Santa Fe is *the* SUV to buy if badge value isn't your prime consideration, I'd say this is a smart move from Hyundai. The choice of engines and trannies is another, a la the Verna.

Eagerly awaiting the official review now!