Hyundai Creta Shakes Up the SUV Market in its Latest Avatar
Hyundai Creta is an immensely popular nameplate in the Indian automobile industry. It has been at the top of the sales charts in the mid-size SUV segment for time immemorial. In fact, it is the benchmark that everyone tries to achieve. The success of this SUV is obvious – Hyundai India is adept at understanding the mindset of the Indian customers and designs its products to suit their needs and want. In sync with this, Hyundai cars have almost always offered various segment-first and segment-best attributes that help them stand out. The latest avatar of the Creta is no different. Here are some key areas which make the mid-size SUV shine.
Powertrains and Performance
In times when carmakers are ditching diesel mills due to emission concerns, Hyundai sells the Creta with two petrol and one diesel engine. On top of that, there are various transmission options, including manual and automatic to pair with these engines. This ensures that car buyers from all walks of life have a perfect engine-transmission combination to choose from. The 1.5-litre MPi naturally aspirated 4-cylinder petrol mill generates a familiar 115 PS and 144 Nm, while the 1.5-litre 4-cylinder diesel engine produces 116 PS and 250 Nm. Meanwhile, the 1.5-litre 4-cylinder turbo petrol engine is the most powerful of the lot with 160 PS and 253 Nm. In fact, it’s even the most powerful in the entire segment, thereby giving the Creta an immediate advantage. Wait, there’s even more – its 7-speed Dual-Clutch Transmission makes the Creta among the most serious performers around.
SpecsHyundai CretaEngine1.5L (P) / 1.5L (D) 1.5L (Turbo P)Power115 PS / 116 PS / 160 PSTorque144 Nm / 250 Nm / 253 NmTransmissionMT / ATSpecs
Features that Leave Competition High and Dry!
Hyundai is one of those car marques which makes it a point to bring all sorts of technological advancements to its vehicles. No wonder, then, that, the Creta comes replete with features that are conspicuous by their absence on many of the rivals. These segment-first or segment-best features ensure the buyer gets the best bang for the buck. A myriad of such highlights on the latest Creta include:
10.25-inch Connected Supersceen Infotainment Screen
10.25-inch Digital Instrument Cluster
64-colour Ambient Lighting
Touch-based AC Controller Unit
Leather Upholstery
Hyundai Bluelink Connected Car Tech
Voice Recognition
Over-the-air (OTA) Updates for Maps and Infotainment
Home-to-Car (H2C) with Alexa Support
8-Speaker Bose Premium Sound System
Drive Modes – Eco, Normal and Sport
Paddle Shifters
Cooled Glovebox
Half Crystal Polished Passenger-side Dashboard
Voice-Enabled Panoramic Sunroof
Level 2 ADAS Active Safety – Hyundai SmartSense with 19 features
Dual-Zone Automatic Climate Control
Blind Spot Monitoring
360-Degree Camera
Ventilated Front Seats
8-Way Powered Driver’s Seat
6 Airbags
Hyundai Creta N Line Interior and Features
Top Notch Safety
Safety is one aspect of modern cars that customers have become conscious about. In the last few years, people often take into consideration the safety ratings of a car before making a purchase decision. Taking cognizance of that, Hyundai now offers 6 airbags as standard across all trims of all its cars on sale in India. That is a huge boost for safety and showcases the carmaker’s focus on improving safety across the board. The Creta takes things even further with Level 2 ADAS to boost the active safety prowess. This feature is gaining immense popularity these days.
India is, unfortunately, home to thousands of car accidents each year. Most of these crashes take place due to the negligence of the drivers. Hence, an electronic system, that can intervene during emergency situations where the driver is not able to react quickly enough, can be a lifesaver. For instance, the Autonomous Emergency Braking feature can bring the car to a halt in case the driver fails to do so. It can prevent critical collisions or reduce their intensity considerably. Apart from that, in the latest iteration of the Creta, the monocoque has been strengthened to improve the structural rigidity. Hence, passengers are cocooned with a solid cabin and loads of active and passive safety elements.
Conclusion
The Hyundai Creta has been selling like hotcakes since forever. It is, in essence, the one product to beat in this space. In fact, Indian car experts and customers call the mid-size SUV space the ‘Creta segment’ due to its popularity. What helps even more is the widespread touchpoint network across the nation. People get that peace of mind knowing that if anything were to go wrong, a Hyundai touchpoint is in the vicinity. This has a catapulting effect on the resale value of the car. Since people get access to this fact, they are willing to invest in Hyundai cars in general. All these factors make the Hyundai Creta a true segment leader from one of the biggest car marques in India.