Why is the Hyundai Creta So Popular? » MotorOctane

The Hyundai Creta might be the most popular car on sale right now. Every manufacturer is trying to mimic the Creta’s success by launching their own mid-sized SUVs. Tata launched the Sierra recently and priced it quite aggressively, so it gets an edge over its Korean counterpart. It has gained a lot of competition over the years, and yet it remains the most desirable car at the moment. Today, we will try to decode the reason behind Creta’s success.

Looks

When first launched in 2015, the Creta was an attractive-looking car. It had the SUV-esque stance and a clean overall look, which people desired back then. But when Hyundai decided to give it a drastic makeover in 2020, people were sceptical. You either loved it or hated it, and it divided public opinion.

It was clearly a downgrade in terms of looks. The split headlight and taillight layout took people a long time to get used to. The basic variants, with the smaller wheels, look especially ungainly. It was not a pretty car to look at, and it still drew heavy attention from customers. Its design created so much debate that it gave the Creta publicity.

However, with the 2022 facelift, the Creta looks appealing again. There are no polarising design elements, and it seems like any other mid-sized SUV in the market. The new model looks much more proportionate than the older model.

Interior

Step inside and you will forget about its questionable looks. The first-gen Creta was feature-packed, but with the update, it was a whole new ballgame. The competitors stood no chance against the Creta’s feature-packed cabin. And with the facelift, they only kept increasing the distance from their competitors.

The XUV700 was the first vehicle to flaunt the dual-screen cockpit in the Indian market, and the Creta followed. The cabin was revamped in the facelift and now had an even more comprehensive feature list. In fact, on the official brochure, the feature list is almost 2 pages long. The outgoing Creta leads the segment in features, including ventilated seats, Level-2 ADAS, Wireless Charging, a panoramic sunroof, powered front seats, etc. It has a longer list of features than many cars in its price bracket.

Read More: New Mahindra XUV 7XO – What To Expect?

Powertrain

You get three engine options – a 1.5L petrol, a 1.5L turbo-diesel and a 1.5L turbo-petrol. These engine options may not be the most fuel-efficient, but they deliver impressive power. The turbo diesel produces an impressive 115 horsepower an 250 Nm of torque, while the fan-favorite turbo-petrol produces almost 160 horsepower and 253 Nm of torque. The transmission options include a 6-speed manual, iVT, 6-speed automatic and a 7-speed DCT.

Hyundai also released the Creta as a pure-electric vehicle, but with the decline in EV sales, it has failed to replicate the success of the petrol-powered variants.

So What Makes It So Special?

The rivals have caught up to the Creta in terms of features. Features like 360-degree parking camera, ADAS and ventilated seats have become the norm in the mid-sized SUV segment. The powertrain options aren’t that powerful either; Mahindra and Tata both offer much more powerful engine options on the XUV700 and the Harrier. So why does the Creta stand?

The Creta offers its customers an elaborate list of powertrains to choose from. You can choose from 3 engines and four transmission options and select the one that best suits your daily needs. You can get the DCT for a sportier performance, or the conventional automatic for city drives. For instance, its rivals, the XUV700, lack a DCT, while the Harrier is yet to be available with a petrol engine. Moreover, the Grand Vitara and Toyota Hyryder do not get a diesel variant. In all comparisons, the Creta offers the most diverse powertrains. The drive is also really smooth, and the cabin is refined, effectively blocking out engine noise.

Furthermore, the abundance of soft-touch materials and premium leather, matched with the panoramic sunroof, gives the cabin a plush feel. The cabin’s overall build quality is robust, unlike some of its competitors. There have been multiple reports from XUV700 owners that the display screens frequently freeze and glitch. Such issues on some of its units have hampered the XUV700’s rep.

Notably, Hyundai also keeps refreshing the Creta. Recently, they released the King edition, which adds to its already long feature list. These features include a retractable front row seat back table, rear wireless charger and powered passenger seats, along with many aesthetic touchups. Such editions keep the Creta fresh and competitive at all times.

Hyundai have created a positive reputation for its reliability. The prior-gen Creta and other Hyundai models have received mostly positive reviews for their robustness. It remains one of the most reliable cars on sale right now.

The following reason is the after-sales network. Hyundai may have the 2nd-best sales network after Maruti Suzuki. The car doesn’t usually go wrong, but when it does, you get excellent customer service from the service centres. Tata and Mahindra are infamous for their poor after-sales service, and it is possibly the biggest reason for the disparity between the Creta and its rivals.

Read More: Hyundai Creta Facelift – What to Expect?

Is the Creta Worth The Hype?

All in all, the Creta is the perfect combination of reliability, features and options. You get a reliable car with tons of features and many powertrain options. Along with Hyundai’s excellent after-sales service, it is a complete product.

The Creta is priced reasonably as well. The base variants cost slightly less than 13 lakhs while the top model can touch 25 lakh rupees (on-road, Mumbai). This starting price is almost a lakh rupees less than the newly launched Sierra. The Harrier and the XUV700 start at nearly 17 lakh rupees, which is almost 4 lakh rupees more than the Creta. It is difficult to justify spending nearly 4 lakh rupees more for a car that has fewer features and engine options, is less reliable and has a worse service network.

There are a plethora of SUVs upcoming in the market, and all of them have one aim – to dethrone the Creta from the top. The launch of Tata Sierra, Mahindra XUV 7XO, Renault Duster, Renault Bigster, and the Kia Seltos facelift are all indicators of that.

The only downside of the Creta is its owners. Creta owners are notorious for reckless driving, which gives the Creta a bad rep. Otherwise, the Creta remains spotless with very minor flaws. An average customer requires a robust car with many features and a solid engine, and the Creta ticks all these boxes while most of its competitors can’t, which perfectly captures why the Creta is so desired.

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