First Drive: Facelifted Hyundai Creta

First Drive: Facelifted Hyundai Creta

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Of late, the Hyundai brand has gone through a severe changeover, steering consumers to a whole new design language worn by the likes of the current-gen i20 supermini and Hyundai Tucson. 

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It's also not difficult to see how the brand has invariably been playing it safe when positioning some of its vehicles. If we're frank, this has allowed the marque to ascend the sales charts by garnering serious sales hits.

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Enter the refreshed Hyundai Creta. It has recently been handed a mid-cycle makeover following the introduction of the second-gen Creta to local shores in 2020. Speaking of the first-gen Creta, the demand for that model remained strong to the end of its tenure, with 14,811 units sold in Mzansi since 2017.

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Unlike the outgoing model, the rejuvenated Creta is built at the brand's manufacturing plant in Indonesia, where the Santa Fe, a new MPV whose identity remains unknown at this stage, and the IONIQ 5 electric car are built.

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Subjective Looks

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While the look of the new Creta remains subjective, it isn't a bad-looking SUV either. If you are familiar with Hyundai's latest vehicles, you'll understand where Hyundai is headed with its contemporary design language. Anyway, looks are just looks, right?

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The Creta launches in two derivatives; Premium and Executive. The front fascia of the Creta features a new grille that is reminiscent of the one fitted to the current Tucson SUV with a parametric grille plus the DRLs that are neatly embedded. The Premium has halogen headlights while the Executive upgrades to LEDs and front fog lights.

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The rear didn't benefit much from the update and yet it gets neatly-pleated taillights and reverse lights completed by a black bumper. Regarding the bi-tone variants, they get lava-orange, black, polar-white and black colour themes matched with a total of seven body hues.

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The Hyundai Creta rides on 17" wheels with different styling for both variants.

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Subtle Interior 

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Changes to the interior remain subtle, yet, most significantly, the new model adopts an electronic parking brake that's freed up space in the centre console. The infotainment system comes courtesy of an 8" touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Bluetooth connectivity.

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Where you'd normally find a two-tone interior colour combination, Hyundai has replaced that with an all-black finish.

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There is now an extra 12-Volt power socket, three USB ports (two in front and one at the back), rear air vents, and a wireless charging pad for the range-topper. Besides having a roomier interior for passengers, there's sufficient space for sizeable items. This is further complemented by a boot space that can hold 416 litres, the same as the outgoing model.

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The interior quality remains ergonomic and comfortable despite the car's reasonable starting price of R409,900. The leather seats provide lavish levels of cushioning on longer drives, which were evident during our launch drive to Bronkhorstspruit.

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A Sole Powerplant 

I have some bad news to relay — Hyundai has ditched the predecessor's 1.5-litre turbodiesel and 1.4-litre TGDI engines for a lone naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre four-cylinder unit with 84 kW and 144 Nm of torque.

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First impressions? The Premium model fitted with an IVT automatic transmission we sampled at launch behaved as expected (from an auto) driving on the outskirts of Pretoria. This was paired with a stint off the beaten track.

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Point the Creta on the open road and it gets down to business with ease, thanks to an engine and gearbox that complement each other. As it's normally the case with non-turbo engines, it takes a bit of revving for the engine to build up any measurable overtaking grunt.

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The ride quality is positive at both highway speeds as well as off-road – when considering this is not a dedicated off-roader. There is only some wind noise that invades the cabin; hardly anything as far as warranting a complaint from us, though.

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Safety 

The new Hyundai Creta models come fitted with airbags, with the addition of side and curtain airbags on the Executive. Both models come standard with ISOFIX child seat attachments as well as three-point inertia reel safety belts with pre-tensioners for the front seats.

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Additional safety features include ESC, a tyre pressure monitoring system, and hill-start assist control.

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Verdict 

The refreshed Creta makes a decisive case for itself in the competitive crossover SUV fold as a vehicle that's difficult to fault. Hyundai has found an endearing recipe with the latest iteration of the Creta. Nevertheless, a turbocharged diesel powerplant would have been welcomed in this day and age.

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Creta 1.5 Premium MT: R409,900

Creta 1.5 Premium IVT: R429,900

Creta 1.5 Executive IVT: R469,900

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All Creta models are sold with a 7-year/200,000 km manufacturer's warranty; a 4-year/60,000 km service plan; and roadside assistance for seven years or 150,000 km.

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