[vattyboy]

INTRODUCTION

I bought Creta last month, after driving both my cars inside the city and out on the highways, I am penning down a side-by-side comparison of my Jeep Compass Limited Optional Vs. My Creta SX Optional Diesel AT.

I have Driven Creta close to 4000 km as I want to give myself sufficient time before comparing both cars.

Looks-

I noticed that Creta looks bigger from the front while Compass looks bigger from the rear. The design language of Compass feels more subtle with straight lines due to which, its design is still looking good in 2024. Creta feels more modern and sporty.


My Pick- TIE


Dashboard and Centre Console-

Creta's feels more premium to look at while Compass feel more premium to touch, due to a lot of soft-touch materials.

Creta's big 10.25-inch infotainment screen, use of piano black finish around the gearbox area and new steering design make its cabin feel 1 segment above the Compass in looks. But compass aces in soft touch feel department i.e whole dashboard and top half area of front doors are made up of soft-touch leather. Although Creta don't have soft touch points but the plastic quality touch and feel is good.



My Pick- CRETA


Boot Space-

On paper, Creta has 433L boot space and Compass has 5L more i.e. 438L, but in reality, Creta's has better space management so it takes approximately 1 more Cabin Bag than Compass.


My Pick- CRETA


Door Thud, Feel and Ergonomics

Compass- doors have so much weight in them. They give a reassuring thud and make me feel safe like I am Sitting in a Solid Tank.

Creta- Ergonomics is better in the doors of Creta. The door armrest is placed at a better angle than the Compass. The weight of doors is sufficient I would say which I can find in most of the cars on sale so nothing special about it but,
Hyundai focuses more on the Silent closing of the doors i.e. according to the weight they have, they could give a more thud but instead, they close very silently.



My Pick- COMPASS


Front Seats-

Front Seats are equally good in both cars. One difference is Creta's seat holds me tighter from the back and is ventilated.

The size of the compass Headrest is too big which is a deal breaker for the person sitting at the rear because it blocks the view of the road for rear passengers but in Creta, the rear seats are placed slightly higher than the front seats plus the headrest size is decent so I can view the road while sitting at the back.


My Pick- CRETA


Rear Seats-

Creta- Rear seats have a 2-step recline so the recline angle is better and the cabin also feels wider at the rear.

Compass- Seat cushioning is better in Compass, it also has better legroom and knee room but less shoulder room than Creta.


My Pick- Compass

[vattyboy]

Music System and Infotainment Screen-

Creta has a BOSE sound system with 7 speakers and 1 subwoofer while Compass comes with an ALPINE sound system with 6 speakers.

Creta's BOSE sounds better than Compass ALPINE.

Each individual speaker's sound quality is comparable in both cars but Creta's subwoofer and front-center dashboard speakers make their presence felt and give Creta a better sound.

Talking about the infotainment screen, the Creta has 10.25 inches and the Compass has a 7-inch screen.

Creta wins here by a big margin. Along with the bigger screen size, the resolution and touch and feedback timing are very fast and without any lag.

Compass 7-inch screen is very laggy, the touch and response has a delay of 2 to 3 seconds.

The USB port for Wired Android Auto/Apple car went kaput in 4th year of ownership, its quality is very bad.



My Pick-CRETA


Steering Feel and Feedback

Steering Feedback is similar in both cars.

Creta's steering feels better and premium to hold, The Compass steering wheel has dummy buttons on the right side which shouts cost cutting, also it doesn't come with a Cruise Control.

Compass steering is harder at city speeds than Creta, so it requires more effort to drive in the city. At high speeds both steering are good.

Creta has the advantage that it comes with 3 driving modes i.e. Eco, Comfort and Sport and in each mode the steering hardness/softness changes.

Compass has 2 negative points i.e
1. Whenever I drive over rough patches it transfers the vibrations to the steering wheel.

2. At slow speeds like 20 kmph, on rough patches potholes make its steering direction change, so I have to correct it again and again.



My Pick- CRETA


IRVM and Interior Lights-

Creta has auto-dimming IRVM with Bluelink, Roadside assistance and an emergency call to the Hyundai call centre and it feels more premium.

Compass has manual IRVM but has good quality, no complaints.

Creta has a white interior LED while Compass has yellow halogen bulbs. The front interior light of Creta has good focus down there and has no scattering like Lights inside aircraft, this has its benefits like whenever is sit in the dark and when I turn on the interior lights the light doesn't come on the face and goes straight to focus on the object like mobile or books, while compass yellow lights scatter and don't have good focus.

Creta also has a Sunglass holder + Sunroof which are missing in the Compass.



My Pick- CRETA


Suspension, Tyre size and Alloys-

ROBUST- Compass. Compass suspension feels more robust and solid, it can take more abuse and is more off-road friendly.

COMFORT- Creta. Creta has the most sorted suspension. Not too hard and not too soft.

Tyre Size- Compass has 225/60 R17( one thing to say here is this tyre size is very odd and there are only 2-3 options available in the market with this tyre size) and Creta has 215/60/R17.

Alloys- Creta has better-looking alloys.

Lugnuts- Major Issue in Compass. https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...p-compass.html (Left stranded on the highway due to the alloy wheel lugnuts of my Jeep Compass)



My Pick- CRETA according to my usage type.


Window Glass and NVH Inside the cabins-

I don't know why HYUNDAI has given such a thin window glass, the thin glass is there in Kia seltos also.

Compass has strong thick window glass with UV Cut.

NVH inside the cabin is good in both cars, but due to the less engine noise of the Hyundai CRDI, Creta's cabin feels more silent.
Outside noises are well controlled in both cars but the compass has a slight edge( 10%) thanks to its thicker metal body on doors and thick window glasses.



My Pick- COMPASS


ORVM's

Compass gives a wider view of the rear traffic.

Creta ORVM is also good, no complaints but yes compass has an edge here.


My Pick- Compass

[vattyboy]

Headlight Looks and Performance-

The Headlight performance of Creta is criticized by many but still, they are more powerful and brighter than Compass.

Talking about the looks, the Compass headlight gives the vibes of the iconic old-gen Grand Cherokee and the Creta gives more modern vibes.



My Pick- CRETA


Ground Clearance-

You can see in my pics how low the front wind deflector is placed by JEEP in the Compass. For reference, it tends to scrap even on the speed breakers/ bumps from which my 2 sedans CLA and Ciaz pass easily. It tends to scrap everywhere, even on a slight incline/decline.

In Creta, there is no such problem. It gives a true feeling of driving a CSUV.



My Pick- CRETA


Sunroof and Antenna

Creta has a big PANORAMIC Sunroof which upmarket it's cabin. It brings a lot of light and an airy feeling inside the cabin during the night drives. During the chilled winter mornings, I love to get some fresh sunlight, the cloth material below the sunroof which closes it, is very thick so when the sunroof is closed it doesn't allow any sunlight to filter inside the cabin.
Compass didn't have Sunroof. I think Jeep should have offered it because the vehicle was close to 24-25 lakhs on-road but later they introduced the Limited Plus variant in which they gave a sunroof but that variant used to come at 27 lakhs on the road.

Creta also has a good-looking shark fin antenna.




My Pick- CRETA


Legroom and Kneeroom-

Front

My height is 6 ft. The legroom and knee-room in front are similar in both cars.




Back

As you can see, Compass gives 1 inch more knee-room at the rear with the front seat adjusted to my height i.e. 6 ft.
The reason is, that Compass has 26 mm more wheelbase ( 2636mm vs 2610mm in Creta).
Also, Creta has ventilated seats and due to this, the Seats are thicker than regular seats to accommodate the fan mechanism inside the seats.



My Pick- COMPASS


Keys-

Compass key holds no competition with Creta's key fob, it looks very cheap in comparison with lot of dummy button's without any features.

Creta's key looks more premium, sleek and with extra features like boot open and engine start/stop.



My Pick- CRETA

[vattyboy]

Performance and Handling

My Jeep Compass has 171 bhp and 350 nm of torque produced by FIAT's 2.0L Multijet Diesel Engine with 1562 kgs kerb weight,
while
Creta has 114 bhp and 250 nm of torque produced by Hyundai's in-house 1.5L CRDi Diesel Engine with 1370 kgs of kerb weight.

1. Case 1- Full Throttle

I did several 0-100 runs in both cars-

Compass takes - 11.25, 11.52, 11.37 seconds.
Creta takes - 10.47, 10.72, 10.31 seconds.

Yes, Creta's AT tuning is perfect which helps it to go 100 kmph faster than Compass.

Compass gear ratios are bad, the 1st and 2nd gears are very short while the 3rd gear is high Compass starts to show its true power after 3rd gear and due to all this while on full throttle it is already at 70 kmph when I shift it to 3rd gear and at that time it had already fallen behind the Creta.

2. Case 2 - Highways-

Till 120 kmph performance and handling are similar but after that Compass outshines Creta.

This is the place where the compass feels at home.

1. Creta does 100 kmph at 2050 rpm while Compass do at 1750 rpm.
2. Creta does 120 kmph at 2500 rpm while Compass do at 2100 rpm.
3. There is an increment of 500 rpm with every 20 kmph increase in speeds in both vehicles.

Compass feels more relaxed on 120+ triple-digit speeds.

Yeah, but Creta is no slouch either. With a compass, I have only the advantage of 10%. A driver with the same driving skills can give a tough competition on expressways.

3. Case 3- City

Creta is the boss here, it feels powerful and nimble. Changing lanes and passing through traffic is very easy, its light steering and gearbox tuning complement it.

Mileage

Both cars have similar mileage.

City- 13 to 15 kmpl.

Highway- 18 to 20 kmpl.

I was expecting Creta to deliver more mileage but I think its gearbox tuning is the culprit here like It never drives below 1500 rpm. The moment the rpm goes below 1500 rpm, the gearbox downshifts to a lower gear and again rpm goes above 1500 rpm while in the Compass manual, I can drive at any rpm like 4th gear 44 kmph at 1100 rpm.

Maintenance and Reliability

Compass-

The compass is unreliable. It needs to visit ASS every 3- 4 months for one problem or the other. It is the most unreliable car that I have owned to date and on top of that, the parts Mercedes Level are expensive.

1. Engine mounts die in every 40k kms. ( Cost-
Approx Rs 30000)

2. The battery dies every 1.5 years.

3. According to my driving style, my other cars never demanded clutch change before 1L km, but in Compass clutch needs to be changed every 45k km and it costs a whopping (Rs 90k.)

4. Injectors started to leak at 75k kms. ( cost Rs 80000)

5. The alternator went kaput at 85k kms. ( Cost- 90000)

6. The USB socket and charging socket went bad in just 2 years.

7. Each service costs between Rs 15 to 20k.

8. AC automatic climate control sensor went bad in 3 years.

Creta/Seltos-

I have driven my seltos close to 55000 km in 2 years and based on my experience, It only needed just a regular service which costs Rs 5000-7000 in every 10k km.

As Creta and Seltos both are mechanically the same cars, so I expect the same thing from Creta

[vattyboy]

Resale Value

I have been in the market for the last 1 month to evaluate the resale value of my Compass and I am not getting more than 8 lakhs for it.

1. Local Dealers-

50% of the local dealers are saying, we don't buy this car, remaining 50% took pictures of the car and said they would let me know but they never reverted back to me.

2. OLX/FB Marketplace-

Didn't get a good response from there also.

3. Cars 24/ Spinny -

I opened a Spinny website to book an appointment for a compass and the Site Said
" We don't buy this model".

Cars 24 is giving a value of only 7.5 lakhs, which can be increased by a few thousand bucks with a little bit of discussion.

The local dealers + Cars 24 guys told me that Creta is the most demanded product in the used car market and the Same 2018-19 model top-end Creta can fetch 10 + lakhs resale value.

Conclusion

1. I paid 5 lakhs more ( 23 Lakhs for Compass vs 18 Lakhs for Creta in 2018-19).

2. I am getting 2L less resale value ( 8 lakhs for Compass vs 10 lakhs for Creta).

3. I have spent close to 5 lakhs on maintenance in these years ( regular service + parts failure like engine mounts, injectors, alternator, vacuum pump etc.) vs ( Based on my experience with seltos, Creta will take 1-1.5 lakhs rupees on maintenance for 1L kms).

So, I have 10 lakhs rupees less in my bank account by buying a Jeep Compass 5 years ago instead of a Hyundai Creta.

Is it worth spending 10L more?

With my experience, NO.

Now, I am thinking that I should have gone for the Toyota Fortuner at 37 lakhs on-road back in 2018.
With less maintenance + reliability + low service cost + best Resale value), the Fortuner was overall a better option as an extra amount paid while buying it can be recovered from better resale value and a lot of money is also saved in maintaining it.

OR

I should have settled down with the Hyundai Creta SX (o) CRDI in 2018, at that time it came with a raw 1.6 L CRDi engine which even reduced the performance gap between the current BS6 phase 2 1.5 CRDI and the 2.0 multijet.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[SpaceInfinite]

Originally Posted by vattyboy

The USB port for Wired Android Auto/Apple car went kaput in 4th year of ownership, its quality is very bad



6. The USB socket and charging socket went bad in just 2 years.

There is a discrepancy in the two entries, If there is is any change in parameters, could you elaborate?

[Shyam92]

Very good and practical comparison. Thanks for sharing. Shows again why Creta is the leading Compact SUV in the market today.

[Pancham]

Few questions:
1. What is the current ODO reading of the Compass ?

2. Did you get extended warranty ?

3. What about the ride quality?

We all know the Creta is high on the features game and that when we compare it with an earlier pre-facelift Compass, it is bound to win hands down. The pre-facelift interiors were quite a let down. Heck, it will win even when compared to the 2021 Compass.

Do keep this thread updated on the Creta maintenance costs.

[saikishor]

I wouldn't say this is a biased review, but I would rather say you really love your Creta. I have read your Creta ownership thread as well. I feel the love towards Creta is even more because of the immense peace of mind factor it is giving you, especially after all the headaches that the Compass caused. Nevertheless, both are good cars in their respective segments.

Also, your Compass looks superb with the white cladding paint.

Regards

[d3mon]

Vattyboy, your primary complaint seems to be that the compass is expensive to maintain and has a lower resale value than the Creta. Don't forget that the low 8L resale value is partly due to the serious accident that you had with it, without which you may have gotten much better value for it.

I'll suggest you read your own quote below and thank your stars that you were in a Euro NCAP 5* rated Jeep Compass and not in a Creta at that time.

Originally Posted by vattyboy

The bull was of full size with approx weight of 900kgs.

I would like to praise my Compass build quality and Thank Jeep India for bringing such a strong good looking car to India. No jerks were felt within the cabin, it felt like nothing had happened. The car absorbed all the jerks and collisions with ease.

The weight of a compass is close to 1600 kgs, in comparison to some similarly sized 4.2- 4.3m other Cars are 1200 kgs approx. I don't know what would have happened in other cars.

[vattyboy]

Originally Posted by saikishor

I wouldn't say this is a biased review, but I would rather say you love your Creta. I have read your Creta ownership thread as well. I feel the love towards Creta is even more because of the immense peace of mind factor it is giving you, especially after all the headaches that the Compass caused. Nevertheless, both are good cars in their respective segments.

Also, your Compass looks superb with the white cladding paint.

Regards

I love my Compass, you can guess from the pictures that it is maintained in top shape by me.
And I am not selling it, I will give it the maintenance it will require in future also. .
Maybe, You have a love for the Compass more so you are thinking I am inclined towards Creta, here I have simply stated all the real facts brother.

Originally Posted by Pancham

Few questions:
1. What is the current ODO reading of the Compass?

2. Did you get an extended warranty?

3. What about the ride quality?

We all know the Creta is high on the features game and that when we compare it with an earlier pre-facelift Compass, it is bound to win hands down. The pre-facelift interiors were quite a letdown. Heck, it will win even when compared to the 2021 Compass.

Do keep this thread updated on the Creta maintenance costs.

1. Odo- 95000 km

2. Yes, I bought it. ( 4th and 5th-year extended warranty is not given by Jeep, instead, they do it by 3rd party company) and that company doesn't want to give claims easily.

3. The ride is still as good as new. It is still running on stock suspension and Compass has a very solid suspension.

Originally Posted by Shyam92

Very good and practical comparison. Thanks for sharing. This shows again why Creta is the leading Compact SUV in the market today.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by SpaceInfinite

There is a discrepancy in the two entries, If there is any change in parameters, could you elaborate?

Oh! By mistake posted the same point twice.
I want to say that is USB port + Charging port both went kaput.

Originally Posted by d3mon

Vattyboy, your primary complaint seems to be that the compass is expensive to maintain and has a lower resale value than the Creta. Don't forget that the low 8L resale value is partly due to the serious accident that you had with it, without which you may have gotten much better value for it.

I suggest you read your quote below and thank your stars that you were in a Euro NCAP 5* rated Jeep Compass and not in a Creta at that time.

Nope.

1. Received low offers from buyers from OLX and Marketplace. They didn't know about the accident.

2. The local dealers seem disinterested, they didn't know about the accident.

3. Cars 24, The agent so came to survey the car but didn't know about the accident.

[Kashi053]

Originally Posted by vattyboy

Steering Feel and Feedback

Steering Feedback is similar in both cars.

Creta's steering feels better and premium to hold, The Compass steering wheel has dummy buttons on the right side which shouts cost cutting, also it doesn't come with a Cruise Control.

Compass steering is harder at city speeds than Creta, so it requires more effort to drive in the city. At high speeds both steering are good.

Creta has the advantage that it comes with 3 driving modes i.e. Eco, Comfort and Sport and in each mode the steering hardness/softness changes.

Thanks Vattyboy for the comparo. For me one thing which shines in compass is Steering feel and feedback. It is one of the best well tuned steering which I experienced in compact SUVs.

[OpenRoads]

Originally Posted by vattyboy

I should have settled down with the Hyundai Creta SX (o) CRDI in 2018, at that time it came with a raw 1.6 L CRDi engine which even reduced the performance gap between the current BS6 phase 2 1.5 CRDI and the 2.0 multijet.

Great comparison and extremely realistic. I am more or less aligned with your conclusion. And if given a choice (if I had the money to buy Jeep Compass) I might have still gone with Creta.

As a middle class consumer I might compare between luxury branding and VFM cars. Both are capable enough and Compass might have an edge over Creta but how much that edge should cost me?

For a day to day travel Creta/Seltos or any other sub compact SUVish vehicles (less than 20 lacs) satisfies my needs with all the necessary features included. Occasional highway trip is also not bad.

The only reason I would like to shell out additional 7~10 lacs would be to feel a little more accomplished among my colleagues or friends with a brand seen differently (more luxurious) and slightly better driving dynamics during occasional 3 digit speed runs. That might just not be enough for me. I would want more. People buy Merc or BMW or Audi not just for the performance alone. Its also represents brand, luxury, status and so on. So for me Jeep Compass is a great car but still feels unnecessary unless I need it for the other aspects.

[fawad0222]

Originally Posted by vattyboy

1. Received low offers from buyers from OLX and Marketplace. They didn't know about the accident.

2. The local dealers seem disinterested, they didn't know about the accident.

3. Cars 24, The agent so came to survey the car but didn't know about the accident.

Vattaboy,

Nice practical comparison. Creta definitely appeals to practical Indian psyche and it proves why it sells so well and has good resale value.
Compass' s reliability is definitely lower than Japanese and korean ones. Rest both vehicles have their upsides and downsides, but where compass outscores and that too big, is occupant's safety in terms of an accident which trumps any and how so many advantages creta or any other similar vehicles have over it. Once that happens, then we all know in which car we would like to be in. You had one and thank God you are safe.

I accept reliability, maintenance cost and ass support are important and are the bane for Jeep compass. It's true you can't have everything. I feel Elevate Honda is a vehicle which has good balance of every thing we look for but then quality of interiors and only one petrol engine option is adjustments it too asks for.

Regards
Fawad