2017 Hyundai Creta AT: 8 likes & 8 dislikes after 5 years of ownership

The car has only run 20,000 km in the 5 years of our ownership.

BHPian CEF_Beasts recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Even we have an August 17’ Creta SX+, in Sleek Silver with the 1.6L NA petrol mated to the 6-speed torque-converter. Our choice was between the Sleek Silver and Passion Red, got the Sleek Silver because my friend had picked one up before us and didn’t want to copy his choice even though everyone in the family wanted the Red. Although 5 years down the line we feel the Silver was a much better choice.

In 2017, we wanted to move to our first automatic car due to the ever-growing traffic in Mumbai, the Honda City and Hyundai Creta were our top contenders. Although we liked the City a lot, the low GC was sort of a deal-breaker. The other Honda car looked at was the BR-V, a 7 seater for OTR ₹1 Lakh less than the Creta SX+ P AT was an excellent proposition, in 2017. But the dated, all-black interior and a very basic infotainment system were a downer, although the space on offer was great!

The Creta is driven by my mom on a daily basis for her office runs which is a 4-kilometre round trip, hence the car has only run roughly 20,000 kms in 5 years.

Listing down some Likes and Dislikes after owning the Creta for 5 years+.

2017 Hyundai Creta Likes

1. Very low NVH levels!
2. Excellent city-roundabout car.
3. Light steering and very ergonomic controls for city driving.
4. Comfortable ride within city limits, suspension rounds off bumps and potholes smoothly.
5. Even after 5 years the dashboard design and features available don’t make the car feel outdated at all!
6. Spacious and almost square 400L boot space, used to its full capacity several times.
7. Strong creep function is a boon in traffic
8. At part throttle, the car responds the best.

2017 Hyundai Creta Dislikes

1. The light steering just doesn’t weigh up at higher speeds.
2. The brakes are extremely poor for a 15 Lakh car.
3. The car starts feeling like a boat, almost floating at 70-80 km/h due to the soft suspension. All these three factors combined together make it a poor performer out on the highway. So we haven’t really taken it out on the highway at all! 60 km/h feels like 80 km/h in the car!
4. Press the throttle hard and the dimwitted 6-speed torque converter starts behaving like a CVT. Where the RPM just goes up without a subsequent rise in speed. Also wanted to point out that this AT box with the 1.6L Petrol engine takes 13.5 - 14 seconds to reach 100kmph from a standstill. The 1.6L Petrol MT reaches 100kmph in ~12 seconds, 1.6L Diesel AT reaches 100 km/h in ~11 seconds and the 1.6L Diesel MT is the quickest at 10.5 seconds.
5. The gearbox saps a lot of power from a 1.6L engine making it feel underpowered. The only solution is using the tip-tronic mode to make the car really move.
6. Cross-winds affect the car really badly! Was driving on the BW Sea-Link and the cross-winds were seriously shaking the car.
7. Hyundai’s lack of providing a top-end Automatic trim for the Creta back in 2015 to 2020.
8. Absence of Cruise Control.

I was only 16 when we got the car so couldn’t really notice these problems in the car, but after learning how to drive in 2020. I realised never to buy a car without test-driving it ever again. Since the Petrol AT Creta was launched in 2016, No Hyundai dealer had it available for a test drive in Bombay even after being 6 months into 2017.

And after learning how to drive in a Ford EcoSport, driving the Creta never felt good. The rock-solid stability, handling, sharp steering and stiff suspension were the exact opposites of what the Creta offers. And although the AT Creta was supposed to replace our MT EcoSport, the above reasons made us hold it on for longer, until 2021 when we had to make room for our other car.

Love the fact that even after 5 years, the exterior design, dashboard design and features available don’t make the car feel outdated at all, and it is the perfect sized car for going about in the city, a great option if someone is looking at a pre-owned Creta:

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.