Hyundai Creta

The Hyundai Creta is one of the most affordable vehicles in the Philippines to offer you a choice of multiple colour options for the upholstery on the inside. There are three combinations of upholsteries to choose from for the Hyundai Creta – dual-tone black and cognac brown, full black and dual-tone black and grey. The top-spec versions can be had with leather upholsteries to make the cabin experience feel more premium.  

Seats and upholstery

The base-spec GL MT version of the Hyundai Creta is available with cloth upholstery in dual-tone black and grey theme, while the GL IVT and GLS IVT can be had with either the dual-tone black and cognac brown leather upholstery or full-black leather upholstery. All the variants of the Hyundai Creta can be had with adjustable front and rear headrests, a rear centre armrest with cup holders and seat pockets behind the front and rear seats. 

Comfort and convenience

The list of standard comfort and convenience features available in all three variants of Hyundai Creta includes mirrors in driver and passenger side sun visors, electrically adjustable and foldable rear view mirrors and two USB chargers. While the GL MT variant gets remote keyless entry, the GL IVT and GLS IVT offer a levelled-up experience with a push start-stop button. Also, while the top-spec GLS IVT gets automatic climate control, the GL MT and GL IVT variants do with manual air conditioners. The top-spec GLX IVT variant also gets a wireless charger as standard. All the variants of the Hyundai Creta get the same four-spoke steering wheel with audio and Bluetooth controls on it. However, this steering is only tilt-adjustable and has a urethane finish in the GL variant, whereas, it gets a leather finish, both tilt and telescopic adjustments and cruise control buttons on the GL IVT and GLS IVT variants. 

Entertainment, information and communication

The base-spec GL MT variant comes equipped with a 3.5-inch TFT LCD between the analogue dials in the instrument console and a functional 2-DIN audio system with Bluetooth connectivity. The other two IVT variants in the lineup come bestowed with a 10.25-inch full-TFT instrument console with configurable modes and an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple Carplay, Android Auto and voice recognition. All the variants have one speaker integrated into all four door panels. 

Storage

Apart from the seat pockets behind the front seats and a rear centre armrest with cup holders, all the variants of the Hyundai Creta also get bottle holders in the front door panels and two additional cup holders in the front centre console below the dashboard. All the variants of the Hyundai Creta come with a glovebox on the co-passenger side, though the glovebox in the top-spec GLS IVT variant gets comes with a cooling function. 

With this facelifted version, Hyundai introduced a massively restyled front profile, which is now in sync with Hyundai’s latest-gen ‘sensuous sportiness’ design language. Besides the heavily tweaked front end, Hyundai has minutely tweaked the tail lamps of the new Creta.

The new version of the Hyundai Creta is available in four monotone colour options for the GL MT and GL IVT variants – Creamy White Pearl, Magnetic Silver Metallic, Midnight Black Pearl and Dragon Red Pearl. The top-spec GLS IVT variant comes only in dual-tone colour options like Magnetic Silver with Metallic Black roof, Dragon Red Pearl with black roof and Creamy White Peal with black roof. 

Let’s talk about the big change introduced with this new facelifted version – the heavily-revised front end. The new version gets a parametric grille, which looks sharp and futuristic. This grille comes integrated with daytime running LEDs on its upper corners, while the corners of the front bumper get vertically-aligned all-LED housings for the headlamps and halogen turn indicators. The grille gets silver accents on the sides and its lower portion, with the front bumper getting a wide-looking skid plate in the middle. The base-spec GL MT variant misses out on daytime running LEDs and comes with halogen projectors for the headlamps. 

The side profile of the Hyundai Creta remains more or less changed, with the GL variants getting 17-inch grey alloy wheels and the GLS variant getting 17-inch machined alloy wheels. The front and rear fenders continue to get flared designs, with body mouldings over the wheel arches and on the bottom of the door panels. The rear profile also gets minimal tweaks to the LED tail lamps and creases on the boot lid. All the variants of the Hyundai Creta come equipped with turn indicators on the outside rearview mirrors, a rear spoiler with a high-mounted stop lamp and a rear wiper washer. However, the base-spec GL MT variant misses out on roof rails. 

When it comes to dimensions, all the variants of the Hyundai Creta measure 4315mm long, 1790mm wide and 1630mm tall, while having a ground clearance of 200mm and a wheelbase of 2610mm. 

The Hyundai Creta has always remained an easy and convenient SUV to drive, and there are no changes whatsoever with this new version. The 17-inch wheels are now offered as standard, which enhances the stability of the vehicle on both straight stretches and corners. Even the electronically-assisted steering is light, but not lifeless to make it feel unresponsive. 

All the variants of the Hyundai Creta get Macpherson struts at the front and a coil-over torsion beam at the rear. In the top-spec GLS IVT variant, the Hyundai Creta also gets drive modes and terrain modes. While these additional modes do not make the Creta an absolute off-road specialist, they do give additional stability and traction on roads which are bad in shape. 

The Hyundai Creta comes standard with 15-inch disc brakes at the front and 14-inch disc brakes at the rear in all of its variants. The entire variant line-up of the Creta also comes with an electronic parking brake with auto hold function as standard. 

Unlike in many other markets, where the Hyundai Creta gets multiple engines and transmission options, the Philippines-spec Hyundai Creta comes only with the 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine option under its hood. This engine produces a maximum power output of 115 PS, while the peak torque output of this engine is rated at 144 Nm. All three variants are offered in the front-wheel drive configuration as standard. 

The Hyundai Creta comes with a 6-speed manual gearbox in the base-spec GL MT variant, whereas the other two variants – GL IVT and GLS IVT – come with a smooth-operating CVT gearbox. Hyundai claims a fuel efficiency of 16.8 kmpl for the Creta petrol, however, in ideal urban conditions, expect an efficiency range of 13-14 kmpl. The real-world fuel efficiency of both manual and CVT transmission-equipped variants is almost the same.

For the updated Creta, Hyundai has worked on increasing the number of safety features, apart from just adding new comfort and convenience features. The updated Creta gets a slew of modern sensor-based safety features like blind spot collision avoidance assist, lane keep assist, forward collision avoidance assist, high beam assist, driver attention warning and lane following assist. However, all these new-generation safety features are available only in the top-spec GLS IVT variant. 

The standard safety features in all the variants of Hyundai Creta include dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control, hill start assist, tyre pressure monitoring system and ISOFIX mounts for the child seats. The GL IVT and GLS IVT variants also come with manual speed limit assist, rearview monitor and rear seat alert.

Warranty

Nowadays, car manufacturers are trying hard to prove their reliability over their rivals, and the best way to show that is by enhancing the warranty of their offerings. Hyundai is currently offering a warranty of 5 years or 200,000 km (whichever comes earlier), which is one of the finest in the automotive industry right now. 

Hyundai Creta vs the competition

Following are the top three competitors of Hyundai Creta in the Philippines car market:

Ford Territory – Want a powerful midsize SUV which can make the driver in you smile? The Ford Territory is the answer. This midsize SUV is essentially a rebadged and slightly re-engineered version of a certain Chinese SUV, but it has some Ford DNA in the way it handles and drives. The engine powering the Ford Territory is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, which delivers a maximum power output of 143 PS and a peak torque output of 244 Nm.

Nissan Kicks – If you want a nice-looking SUV which is pleasant and peppy to drive, but not at the cost of fuel efficiency, the Nissan Kicks is the one to go for. The Kicks impresses with its full-hybrid powertrain, which is a combination of a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, an AC synchronous motor and a 349V battery. Together, this engine produces a maximum power output of 136 PS and a peak torque output of 280 Nm. The Nissan Kicks claims a fuel efficiency of 22.3 kmpl, which is currently the highest in its category. 

Kia Seltos – The Kia Seltos is engineered on the same platform as that of the Hyundai Creta, given that it comes from the house of Kia, a brand owned by Hyundai itself. However, while the overall exterior and interior of the Seltos are completely different, so is the engine under its hood. Powering the Kia Seltos is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder Atkinson cycle petrol engine, which produces 149 PS of maximum power and 179 Nm of maximum torque. In terms of features, it is almost on par with the Hyundai Creta. 

 Final words

With the Creta, Hyundai is leading a new change in its appearance and positioning in the Philippines car market as an SUV-oriented and youthful brand. The Hyundai Creta is high on style, space, comfort and ease of driving, and with this new facelifted version, it has become more premium in terms of features on offer. 

The 1.5-litre petrol engine of the Hyundai Creta might not be the most powerful or efficient in its segment. However, it is tractable and refined enough to impress you. In addition, minute design changes that the new Creta has received over its previous iteration have made the SUV feel in line with the other new-generation, more premium SUVs from Hyundai like the Tucson and Santa Fe. Overall, it is the balanced quality of the Hyundai Creta in all aspects, which makes it a jack of all trades and a hugely practical urban SUV.