Hyundai Creta – 13,800km report

It’s a year since we had our first go in the Creta, a year since I first drove TN 21 BZ 0769 on the media drives from Pune to Lonavala in the peak of the monsoons. And it’s a year since I’ve been recommending the Creta to anybody looking for anything in this price bracket – my dad, my uncle, three of my cousins, six of my close friends and countless others included. That’s not the surprising part, considering the Creta won our Soft Roader of the Year at the OFF ROAD Awards and also the prestigious ICOTY, what’s surprising is that even after a year we continue to recommend it. That doesn’t happen often. These days car manufacturers are so dynamic, so quick to react, that it takes barely a few months for new benchmarks to be set, but despite new launches in this segment the Creta is still, firmly, the best in class. And Hyundai have had a full bag of tricks to deal with every new incumbent – new variants up and down the range, a petrol automatic (two months after Dad bought a diesel automatic, aargh!), and special editions with more stickers. Smart product planning, but what the Creta really needs are small additions. It needs a distance to empty read out. The mirrors don’t fold in when you lock the car, even though it happens on my sister’s Grand i10. There are no automatic headlights or wipers. The infotainment requires you ‘Agree’ to the disclaimer every time you start it (why?) and needs you to be in Park otherwise won’t connect to your phone even if it is paired beforehand (by the way, my Dad got a call to send in his Creta for an infotainment upgrade, will keep you posted on that). And you still can’t get the automatic Creta with six airbags and 17-inch rims.

Small things, but stuff that will ensure the Creta continues to be the default option for many, many more months to come.

Date acquired: November 2015
Duration of test: 10 months
Total mileage: 13,800km
Mileage this month: 1,247km
Overall kmpl: 11.5kmpl
Costs this month: Nil

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