The awesome example
Recently I was involved in a discussion – or possibly an intervention – where I was accused of being too critical of new cars. I’ll save you my whining retorts but promised all participants that I can indeed be positive about deserving automobiles. And wouldn’t you know it, the Hyundai Creta is a perfect example.
Launched on the same day as a more upmarket and expensive rival, the compact Korean SUV aims to capture more city dwellers with occasional soft-roading requirements. Buyers get the choice of three models – two 1.6L petrols in manual or automatic and our test car, the 1.6L turbo-diesel automatic.
Where the aforementioned premium competitor requires at least half a bar of your moolah, the Creta’s pricing ranges from about 330,000 to 375,000 dollars. Better yet, where other brands charge you an arm and three legs for niceties, Hyundai sends their cars to the showrooms with extremely generous specs.
Six airbags, ABS, rear park peepers with camera, leather trim and a whopping-great warranty are just some of the highlights and every single one is included in the price. The only optional extra I could find was metallic paint and that goes for all three models – they have identically awesome specifications.
The next big plus I discovered was the generous amount of space inside a Creta. My observations were confirmed by (a) a bunch of inquisitive friends with an ix35 owner in their midst and (b) the Hyundai Tucson we drove straight after testing this metallic red Creta.
Passenger space and comfort is admirable, as is ride comfort and luggage space. A Creta will take 402 liters of luggage (Tucson: 488L) with a full-size spare wheel and flat-pack rear benches for more carrying capacity. The smaller SUV also has the familiar Hyundai touch-screen CD/mp3 unit with optional navigation.
Power delivery from the 1.6L turbo-diesel is a tad noisy but otherwise smooth and relatively even; torque naturally drops off near the redline. Peak outputs of 94kW (128hp) and 260Nm mean that this model is not race car but will dispatch with 100km/h in 11.9 seconds (we managed 10.38 at sea level!) and hit almost 180km/h.
Hyundai claims that it will use an average of 7.4L/100km 50ppm and I can confirm that as highly plausible. Our test car hovered just under eight during a week of mixed town and highway motoring. Its headlights are commendable and so are the ABS brakes – our only measured emergency stop from 100km/h took 3.29 seconds and 43.22 meters.
Other drivers enjoyed the raised seating position, excellent trip computer, light driving controls and solid interior finish. With a ground clearance of 190mm, we even traversed a few dirty ditches with ease. Its frugal fuel use and snazzy two-tone leather seats meant that this Creta was always in high demand with our team.
In summary, I’m not just being nice to the latest Hyundai to prove a point. Other drivers agreed that the Creta does everything right and feels like a much bigger and more expensive SUV. Hyundai’s design and quality are reaching new heights and the Creta’s pricing is very competitive. Test-drive one today and tell me if I’m lying!
Press shots
Performance:
0-10km/h: 0,49 seconds
0-20km/h: 1,10 seconds
0-30km/h: 1,72 seconds
0-40km/h: 2,47 seconds
0-50km/h: 3,34 seconds
0-60km/h: 4,62 seconds
0-70km/h: 5,79 seconds
0-80km/h: 7,04 seconds
0-90km/h: 8,72 seconds
0-100km/h: 10,38 seconds
0-110km/h: 12,65 seconds
0-120km/h: 15,14 seconds
0-130km/h: 18,08 seconds
0-140km/h: 21,48 seconds
0-100m: 7,36 seconds @ 82,14km/h
0-200m: 11,21 seconds @ 104,29km/h
0-300m: 14,46 seconds @ 117,44km/h
0-400m: 17,39 seconds @ 127,79km/h
100-0km/h: 3,29 seconds @ 43,22 metres (once-off)
——————————-
0-10mph: 0,86 seconds
0-20mph: 1,89 seconds
0-30mph: 3,18 seconds
0-40mph: 5,11 seconds
0-50mph: 7,09 seconds
0-60mph: 9,79 seconds
0-70mph: 13,27 seconds
0-80mph: 17,71 seconds
0-90mph: 24,02 seconds
1/4 mile: 17,46 seconds @ 79,56 mph
Maximum acceleration G-force: 0,54G
Altitude: 60m
All data captured by Racelogic® Performance Box
Thank you for this information.