Hyundai Creta Petrol Automatic Long Term report 3

Our Hyundai Creta long-termer has been travelling the traffic-infested Mumbai-Navi Mumbai route for the past two months now. I decided to give it some breathing space and take it out on the highway away from the crowd. I not only drove to remote places in North Maharashtra, but also touched the Madhya Pradesh border. The long time spent in the car helped better my understanding of its abilities.

Performance on the highway

The quiet and refined 122bhp 1.6-litre petrol mill becomes audible only post 3000rpm. Nevertheless, it is still smooth and doesn’t make for any unwanted vibrations or irritating noise inside the cabin. Since the car drives reasonably well at low revs, there was not much need to hold the revs high. It’s only when you need to build up speeds quickly, the motor requires a bit of caning. However, if you are a patient driver and are happy with its linear power delivery, you won’t complain about the lack of power boost. Sane driving, with revs below the 2,500rpm mark, will also help you get fuel economy figures of up to 12-14kmpl on the highway. I am happy with this automatic variant as it gave me a range of nearly 600km on a 50-litre full tank. This is despite the car being packed with five occupants and their luggage.

Overtaking other vehicles quickly is easily possible in the Creta once you depress the pedal firmly. The automatic gearbox changes gears without much of a delay. Having said that, manual shifting still gave me much more control and confidence. The steering weighs up nicely at high speeds and doesn’t feel vague even during quick lane changes. This is where the body roll becomes noticeable, otherwise it is well-contained around long sweeping bends. The ride is supple and the suspension does an excellent job of absorbing undulations on the highway. The 17-inch large wheels with low profile tyres complement the overall set-up too.

Off-roading?

The high ground clearance, large wheels, faux skid plates and tall height might give you an impression that the Creta can be a good off-roader. However, I wouldn’t say that, since it’s not made to do that. Despite this, the afore-mentioned features definitely give the Creta an advantage over regular cars. I faced many rough patches, diversions and some dug up roads across my long journey. And I was pleasantly surprised at how the vehicle took these roads in its stride without making the occupants feel uncomfortable.

Driver and passenger comfort

Unlike other SUVs, you get to sit relatively low inside the Creta’s cabin. For all the character and high ground clearance of this SUV, the driving position doesn’t come across as commanding. In fact, it is more car-like, even if the dashboard is set high. And this is a good thing, especially while out on the highways for a comfortable ride. Headroom and shoulder room in the second row is quite adequate making the rear seat good for three average-built passengers. None of the occupants complained of the car being cramped and were comfortable even on a long stint. And moreover, the rear AC blower with its two vents did a good job of routing the cold air to the second row.

Instrument panel storage spaces and other features

A digital trip meter is fine, but I’m sure anyone would love to know the approximate distance-to-dry without having to wait till the low-fuel sign comes up. My biggest complaint is that the Creta misses out on an extensive trip computer with details like range, average fuel efficiency and such important data. The projector headlamps and DRLs give the car a premium character. However, it’s the cornering lights that add more practicality. These corner illuminators get separate halogen units which illuminate with the movement of the steering. This helped extensively while negotiating the Ghats at night.

There is no lack of storage spaces in the cabin. All four doors have space to hold big bottles with map pockets. The sockets below the centre console include USB/Aux-in and a 12V power socket. This is where my wallet and cellphone fitted easily. The storage space under the centre arm rest accommodated more stuff including a small bottle. Added to that, the infotainment system kept us entertained throughout the journey. But, I still preferred the detailed Google maps over the car’s sat-nav system.

Luggage area

The Creta’s boot space might not be the largest amongst its segment. However, it is large enough to suffice all your needs. It easily housed six big bags leaving space for even more. So I never had to worry about carrying extra luggage or picking up additional things from the places we visited. Apart from the split seat option, the rear seat folds down to make for a flat bed. I could fit a full-sized bicycle inside without any fuss, even with the 16-inch spare wheel being tucked neatly below.

Having driven it extensively in the city and even on the highways, our next wrap-up long term report will be out next month. It will highlight the things we loved and the things we hated, while using it to see what it’s like to own the Hyundai Creta petrol automatic.

Pictures also contributed by Kapil Angane

Click here to read the first report.

Click here to read the second report.