Find out why the new Hyundai Creta is all the rage

Hyundai India has revealed its highly anticipated Creta compact SUV which is expected to take the compact crossover segment by storm Prospective customers are already making a beeline for Hyundai cars and dealers are unable to quote a definitive delivery timeline for the vehicle owing to high demand We were present at the grand unveiling ceremony for the crossover organised by Hyundai at its Chennai plant followed by a short drive within the companyrsquos production facility photography however was strictly prohibitedSo here we have it the first impressions of the new Hyundai CretaWhat is itThe Creta is a slightly tweaked international version of Hyundairsquos China specific SUV the iX25 The new compact SUV puts Hyundai into the highly lucrative compact SUV segment where products like the Ford Ecosport and Renault Duster have turned fortunes of respective carmakersGood ground clearance along with a rugged appeal to appear more suited for the notorious Indian road conditions and a perceived sense of comfort and safety about SUVs have made this category extremely popular Hyundai has established itself successfully in the up to the Rs 15 lakh price category a segment where most other lowcost car manufacturers have not been able to prove their mettle People rate the Korean brand highly for quality durability and premium appeal mdash and are ready to pay a fair premium for its productsHyundai has localised the Creta to keep costs low and while we cannot expect it to beat the attractively priced though smaller Ecosport on the price front it is expected to take the Renault Duster Nissan Terrano and the Mahindra XUV500 headonDrive impressionsThe Hyundai Creta is being offered with a choice of one petrol and two diesel engines with each engine variant getting four trim levels mdash Base S SX and SX O Petrol power will be provided by a 16litre Dual VTVT engine Diesel power comes in the form of a 14litre CRDi and 16litre CRDi VGT engines The engines are said to have been tuned for high fuel efficiency though no fuel efficiency figures have been revealed yetThe 16litre CRDi diesel apart from a sixspeed manual transmission also gets a sixspeed automatic gearbox mdash a segmentfirst for a diesel engine The 16litre Gamma Dual VTVT petrol produces 123 PS while the 16 CRDi dishes out 128 PS of peak power The power output of the 14 CRDi Diesel has not been officially specified though it produces 90 PS on the Elite i20 hatchback and is expected to be more or less the sameWhile in the driverrsquos seat you realise that the dashboard is highset and the feel very carlike The height adjustable steering wheel is leather wrapped feels nice and soft to hold and has mounted controls on top variantsDuring the brief drive the 16litre diesel seems to have a mild turbo lag Even while featuring a variable geometry turbine the engine spools up fully only at 2000 rpm Having said that the car drove reasonably well in low revs and there wasnrsquot any noticeable gasping or spluttering The gear shifts on the sixspeed manual transmission are smoothThe automatic transmission on the Creta is quite snappy too and shifts with an alacrity hitherto unseen in other similar auto boxes from Hyundai Attempts to confuse it by modulating the throttle were responded to pretty wellWe cannot have a conclusive opinion on the gearbox based on such a short test though initial impressions are very good The turbo lag which was quite noticeable in the manual version wasnrsquot apparent in the auto variant where the electronic brain did the cog swapping for us in a rather deft mannerThe 16litre diesel engine in its AT trim goes all the way up to 4300 rpm at full throttle before upshifting In the sixspeed manual version however the engine is redlined at 4800 rpm and revs all the way up to 5000 rpm The engine gets slightly noisy after 3000 rpm though it still remains smooth and none of this noise translates into any irritating drone inside the cabinOn the move body roll is noticeable but not to a level where it turns into a bother though the Creta definitely rolls more compared to say the Duster or the Ecosport Ride is supple though and should be rated as one of the highpoints of the Creta The vehicle we drove was riding on large 17inch wheels with low profile tyres mdash the versions with 16inch wheels will possibly have a softer and more pronounced body rollBraking is taken care of by disc brakes up front and drums at the rear The car scores high in terms of safety with its much drummedup HIVE body structure up to six airbags ABS electronic stability control and Hill Assist functionsCabin comfortThe front seats on the Creta are nice and well scooped out They would fit a slim to medium build person snugly with nice lateral support Those seats however might turn out to be a tad small for people with a larger build The driverrsquos seat is height adjustable though it doesnrsquot feature lumbar support Power window buttons are well finished and have an auto function for the driver side windowFeaturing a double din LCD multimedia touch screen about 5 inches the central console on the Creta looks featurerich The resolution is good and the screen is responsive to touch The audio as always is good too For the top SX O variant the Creta comes loaded with features such as a satnav system rear view camera push button start and static bending headlights The instruments panel features a trip computer with details like distance to dry average efficiency and other important data Sockets below the centre console include USBAux mdash in and a 12V power socket The shark fin antenna on the Creta aids reception for satnav radio as well as for Bluetooth ORVMs are power folding and feature mounted turn indicatorsThere is no dearth of storage space inside the Creta The car has space for big bottles on all four doors along with map pockets and also features a decent sized glove box There is also generous storage space under the front armrest Thereis additional small storage ahead of the shifter stick to put your small belongings inFit and finish is quite nice and overall the interior looks good though itrsquos not totally devoid of hard plastics There is some hardness to be felt on the rear door panels and the upper black part of the dashboard But this isnrsquot much to complain aboutAt the back the shoulder space is more than adequate to seat two adults in comfort though fitting in a third occupant would be a bit of a squeeze Legroom at the backbench is great though the seats could have done with a bit more thigh support Rear seat features a centre armrest with integrated cup holders though it doesnrsquot have any lid covered storage space There are also twin AC vents for the rear seat occupants mdash no controls for fan speed or temperature here thoughFirst opinionOverall the Creta comes across as a nicely made car both on the inside and out It is reasonably spacious with a premium looking interior The engine options on offer are good that automatic transmission is a revelation of sorts and the car rides well too So while we really canrsquot give our conclusive opinion on the car without knowing the prices and without driving it for a few hundred kilometres mdash our first impression is positive The Creta in the first look appears to be a finely balanced package made with a sharp focus on the Indian audienceWith inputs from Arjun Dharve