Top 3 Competitors of Hyundai Creta that should enter the Philippines market

The Hyundai Creta has certainly made a splash in the sea of samey looking crossovers across the world. Its understated styling and value for money proposition have made it a great choice for the urban car buyer. If other companies are to challenge the Creta, they have to up their game. These three cars, if they make their way into Philippines could make things difficult for the Creta.  

Toyota C-HR

Toyota  has sold more than 117 thousand units of C-HR in the Japanese market. This astonishing figure makes it the bestselling compact SUV in Japan. C-HR stands for Coupe High Rider – basically a coupe like body that’s also tall.  The engineers have strategically designed it with a low center of gravity to give it better handling than a tall coupe. Style wise, it has to be the most refreshing take on the crossover. It looks mad from every angle, but not in a Nissan Juke way. It’s almost the same size as the Creta but the interior is a bit less practical due to its design, especially the sloping coupe like rear. The C-HR does gain back some points with its comfort, refinement and equipment levels. The dual tone interiors are also a big plus. Frankly, the C-HR is not really meant to be a family car. It’s more about making a statement for the individual than being a practical family mover. And as a statement- especially a fashion statement- it performs very well.

Nissan Kicks

The Nissan Kicks almost certainly coming to the Philippines and hopefully, replace the ghastly Juke. That being said, it is going to up the ante for the Creta in every respect. While the concept version came out back in 2014, its global production was announced very recently in January this year. The news gets better when we find that it carries over a lot of design elements from the concept. Its floating roof, sharp body lines, restrained yet muscular haunches and striking front give it a very contemporary look. The dual tone interior and the futuristic dashboard carries the design aesthetics inside too. Nissan has squarely calibrated this car’s performance for the urban environment. It shares its platform with the Captur and the engine from the Terrano. Nissan has given it better handling characteristics along with all around cameras and moving object detection to provide more safety on busy city streets. All these characteristics would make it a very strong competitor against the Creta. Nissan has very high hopes from it, and we don’t see why it shouldn’t live up to them.  

Kia Stonic

Being a subsidiary of Hyundai, the Stonic might make things a bit awkward between them. Being based on the i20 platform, this will compete with the Creta head on. Honestly it looks so similar to the Creta that you’d be hard pressed to tell them apart on a traffic stop. Much like the Kicks, this too is aimed at urban car buyers. The crossover has been set up to be dynamic with fairly light steering and a low center of gravity. This should make it effortless if not sporty to drive around town. Engine options are also comparable to the Hyundai and mostly taken from the Kia Rio. The interiors are thoughtful and well-appointed in the way Kias are, with the welcome addition of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.  While stability control and hill start assist is standard, the autonomous safety features are not. Overall if it did come to the Philippines car market, it will pose a solid challenge to the likes of the Creta.

The Creta has been an inspiration to many of these cars. But very soon it might end up facing them in battle for the crown of the Crossover king. May the best crossover win.