Hyundai Creta

The cabin layout of the Philippines-spec Hyundai Creta is shared with the global-spec version of the SUV, which looks and feels premium with commendable fit and finish levels for the price. The base-spec version has dual-tone black and grey cloth upholstery, while the mid-spec GL variant has full black woven leather upholstery. Meanwhile, the GLS variant gets the plushest-feeling dual-tone black and cognac brown leather upholstery.

In the GL and GLS variants, the cabin of the Hyundai Creta feels more premium with the contrast silver accents and finish for the inside door handles and inserts for the steering wheel and centre console. The multi-functional steering wheel has a flat bottom design and has both tilt and telescopic adjustability. 

The centre console in the cabin of the Hyundai Creta is slightly tilted towards the driver’s side while having the infotainment system below the sleek-looking rectangular AC vents at the top. The infotainment system has gloss black surrounds while having the panel for climate control below it in the lower centre console.

Meanwhile, the corners of the dashboard have vertical AC vents with silver surrounds. The lower centre console behind the transmission lever has cup holders, an electronic parking brake switch and a drive mode controller. Unlike the global version, the Philippines-spec Creta misses out on a sunroof. 

Pros and Cons:

Pro: Spacious and high-quality cabin with good fit and finish levels

Con: No sunroof like in global-spec versions 

Features and Technology

The Hyundai Creta is one of the most generously-equipped options in the premium compact SUV segment. The standard features in all three variants of the Creta include four speakers, two USB ports and power windows. The base-spec GL STD variant feels slightly basic in overall feel with its cloth upholstery, blacked-out inside door handles, a 2-DIN audio system with a 3.5-inch LCD screen and a conventional analogue instrument console with a 3.5-inch TFT MID in the middle.

The mid-spec GL and top-spec GLS variants come with more modern features and better-looking elements, including leather upholstery, silver inside door handles, an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment stem with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 10.25-inch full-TFT instrument console with multiple display modes, keyless entry with push button start and voice command recognition. The GLS variant further gets features like automatic climate control, a wireless charger, and a cooled glovebox. 

Boot Space and Storage

The Hyundai Creta offers a decently large boot compartment, which measures 433 litres and is good enough for storing 3-4 large luggage bags. Besides this boot compartment, there are other usable storage spaces in the cabin of the Creta including the bottle holders and map pockets in the door panels, cup holders in the lower centre console and rear armrest, more space beneath the front centre armrest and a glovebox in the co-passenger side of the dashboard, which is also cooled. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Decent boot space for a compact MPV

Con: Nothing much actually

Pros and cons:

Pro: Modern screens for instrument console and infotainment system

Con: Could have had more speakers for the audio system

The Philippines-spec Hyundai Creta, like the Indonesian-spec version, has a different front fascia compared to the version that is sold in other global markets. Here, the front fascia looks sharper and more aligned with other more premium SUVs from Hyundai like Tucson. The inspiration is visible in the arrangement of sharp-looking LED DRLs integrated into the sides of the front grille, with the Creta getting vertically aligned trapezoidal headlamps.

While the GL STD variant has halogen projectors for the headlamps, the GL and GLS variants have all LED headlamps, with LED DRLs also available only in these two variants. The silver-coloured scuff plates below the front and rear bumpers further add more style to the Hyundai Creta, and so do the side body mouldings.

Moving towards the side profile, the Hyundai Creta has a prominent curved front and rear wheel arches, while having a prominent crease running through the door panels. The body-coloured outside rearview mirrors have integrated LED turn indicators and electrical adjustability and foldability in all three variants.

Also standard in all three variants are chrome door handles and 17-inch wheels. However, while the GL STD and GL variants have silver alloy wheels, the GLS variant gets dual-tone machined alloy wheels. At the back, the Hyundai Creta has a roof spoiler with integrated high-mounted stop lamps and LED tail lamps, the latter of which have C-shaped LED inserts.

All the variants of Hyundai Creta are available in four monotone colour options – Creamy White, Magnetic Silver Metallic, Midnight Black Pearl and Dragon Red Pearl. However, the top-spec GLS variant also comes in three dual-tone colour options - Creamy White with black roof, Magnetic Silver Metallic with black roof and Dragon Red Pearl with black roof. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Premium front design with large LED headlamps

Cons: The rear profile with split LED tail lamps looks subjective

The claimed fuel efficiency of the Hyundai Creta with the combination of the 1.5-litre petrol engine and CVT is 17.7 kmpl. In real-world conditions, the owners of Hyundai Creta have been managing to get 12-13 kmpl in city driving conditions and 16-17 kmpl in in highway driving conditions. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: Decent efficiency on highways

Con: Real-world city efficiency could have been better

With passenger comfort in priority, the suspension setup of the Hyundai Creta – Macpherson struts at the front and torsion beam at the rear – comes with softly-sprung coilover springs. The overall ride quality feels plush and comfortable, with the spacious cabin of the Creta adding to the sense of comfort. With disc brakes on all four wheels as standard, the Creta also has 17-inch alloy wheels across its range.

Pros and Cons:

Pro: Smooth and composed ride quality

Con: Steering feedback could have been better

All three variants of the Hyundai Creta in the Philippines come with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine under their hood, which is paired with a CVT gearbox as standard. This petrol engine produces a maximum power output of 115 bhp and a maximum torque output of 144 Nm.

For a 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine, this Smartstream petrol engine from Hyundai in the Creta is decently powerful and produces relatively more power and torque than what the competition offers with their similar-spec engines. The refinement levels are excellent too, with the engine barely audible at idle. However, in full load conditions, the pulling power in higher RPMs could have been better. The Creta also comes with four drive modes – Eco, Normal, Smart and Sport, with all the drive modes offering different driving feedback.

Pros and cons:

Pro: Reliable and refined petrol engine

Con: Top end grunt feels weak

The Hyundai Creta is one of the few premium compact SUVs in its segment, which gets modern ADAS features. Available exclusively in the top-spec GLS variant, the ADAS suite for Hyundai Creta includes blind spot collision avoidance assist, lane keeping assist, forward collision avoidance assist, high beam assist, lane following assist and driver attention warning. 

The standard safety features available in all three variants of the Creta are dual front airbags, ABS, electronic stability control, hill start assist, tyre pressure monitoring system and reverse parking sensors. The additional safety features in the mid-spec GL and top-spec GLS variants are manual speed limit assist, reverse parking camera, and rear seat alert. 

Pros and cons:

Pro: ADAS available in the GLS variant

Con: No side and curtain airbags

Competitor Comparison

Competing in the premium compact SUV segment, the Hyundai Creta has a slew of rivals from established carmakers, including Kia Seltos, Ford Territory, Nissan Kicks e-Power, Honda HR-V, Toyota Yaris Cross, Mazda CX-3 and MG One. Besides these SUVs, one can also look for three-row compact MPVs like Suzuki XL7, Toyota Rush, Mitsubishi Xpander Cross, Kia Carens, and Hyundai’s own Stargazer X in a similar price range. 

Conclusion and Final Verdict

For a person who wishes to upgrade from an entry-level compact car, the Hyundai Creta offers a lot more value with its relatively premium fit and finish levels, a spacious and well-equipped cabin, and decent performance on tap. It has the feel-good factor people seek from a vehicle while upgrading from a lower-spec entry-level car.