Introduction

If Dominic Torreto wanted to buy a budget crossover in India, he would go for the Renault Duster any day. But James Bond on the other hand, would hold his horses till the launch of the Hyundai Creta. Despite both these cars being a part of the same segment, they couldn’t have been more different. One is a very much like Dom – brawny, brash and functional while the Creta, just like Mr Bond, is handsome, sophisticated, suave and loaded with gadgetry.

The crossover and compact SUV segment got off to a flying start in India a few years ago, as it caught every car buyer’s fancy who had wished to own a ‘big car’, but didn’t want to get into the hassles of owning a crude and old-school SUV. Such is the potential of this segment, that Hyundai decided to bring in a purpose-built crossover despite already having a hatchback-based crossover in its line-up. Unlike the Active i20, which is based on the Elite i20 hatchback, the Creta has been built from the ground up to rival the likes of the Renault Duster, Nissan Terrano and the Ford EcoSport.

Despite being quite rustic and less sophisticated (in looks) as compared to the Terrano, the Duster has been successful in warding off competition from its non-identical twin. But is this three-year-old crossover competent enough to counter Hyundai’s offensive? Will the Hyundai Creta be successful in replicating the Korean manufacturer’s performance in the lower segments, or will it succumb in front of the Romanian dark horse? Until we get a chance to lay our hands on the Duster and Creta and pit them against each other, here is an on paper head to head comparison of the two crossovers.

Looks

Renault has used a very simplistic and functional approach for the Duster’s design. While there is no shortage of rugged styling elements like the flared wheel arches, roof rails and the bash plates, the absence of excessive detailing usually observed in a crossover is evident. The front of the Duster gets a chrome grille and smoked double barrel headlamps, while the rear gets a sculpted tailgate and vertically stacked tail lamps. This lack of flashy styling cues gives the Duster a muscular and purposeful look, which adds to the utilitarian appeal.

The Creta, like a few other Hyundai models, is designed along the lines of the Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 design language. An evolution of the original Fluidic design language, the philosophy has worked wonders for Hyundai, helping it create a unique identity for its cars. The front of the Creta gets a wide three-slat hexagonal chrome-embellished grille which is flanked on both sides by edgy headlamps and the lower bumper integrates the fog lamps and a bash plate. The front fascia of the Creta bears an uncanny resemblance to the Santa Fe, which along with the strong body lines lends an elegant and sophisticated appeal to the car. The bash plates at the front and rear, plastic claddings on the wheel arches and bumpers, as well as the roof rails play an important role in giving the car a rugged appeal. The rear of the Creta also helps the car look like a shrunken version of the Santa Fe.

The Creta effortlessly beats the Duster in the styling department. The modernistic looks of the Creta gives the medieval design of the Duster a run for its money, and is one of the few reasons why customers of this segment might opt for the Korean car.

Interior

The Duster gets a very conventional-looking dual-tone interior. The design and feel of the cabin is far from premium, and you can notice a continuity of the utilitarian theme in the interior of the car. Renault recently updated the Duster and now you get a decent feature list, if you opt for the top-spec version. It gets a Media NAV navigation system, gear shift indicator, cruise control with speed limiter, a new instrument cluster and a speed sensitive door lock for better safety. The rear seat passengers get their own AC vents unit with independent controls. While the Duster is nowhere as spacious as full-sized SUVs, it does have a decent amount of legroom and headroom, both at the front and the back. Not being a wide vehicle, getting three people in the rear seat can be a tight fit. While the 475-litre boot is more than enough to swallow an average family’s luggage for the weekend, collapsing the rear seats increases the capacity to 1,064 litres.

The interior of the Creta has a vaguely familiar feel to it, thanks to the fluidic design theme. In their attempt to give the car a sporty feel, Hyundai decided to go with an all-black theme for the interior of the Creta, which somehow makes the cabin look less spacious than it actually is. The dual-tone black dashboard has light beige inserts while the sporty leather seats get contrasting stitches. The multifunction steering is similar to the one in the Elite i20 and integrates controls for the music system, the instrument cluster as well as Bluetooth telephony.

In true Hyundai fashion, the Creta comes loaded with an exhaustive feature list including a five-inch touch screen infotainment system, satellite navigation, rear AC vents, electrically adjustable and retractable ORVMs and an engine start/stop button. The three pod instrument cluster has an integrated digital multi-information display that reads out all information except the all-important average fuel consumption and distance to empty. Hyundai will also offer six-airbags in the top-spec variant. In terms of space, the rear bench of the Creta is also not wide enough to seat three people in comfort. The boot space, despite being less than the Duster’s, can easily accommodate the weekend luggage for a mid-sized family.

While both the crossovers are neck and neck when you take space into account, the Creta is a clear winner in terms of features and the feel of the cabin. Whereas the Duster continues to offer an age old design with disappointing plastic quality, the Creta scores extra brownie points with its extensive feature list and high quality interior.

Performance

The Duster is available with a petrol and a diesel engine, with the latter being offered in two states of tune. The 1.6-litre K4M petrol engine and the 84 horsepower 1.5-litre K9K diesel engine come mated to a five-speed transmission, while the more powerful version of the oil burner is offered with a six-speed unit. Handling and driving dynamics are the Duster’s forte and the car performs exceptionally well for an SUV of its size. If anything, the driving dynamics of the AWD variant of the Duster is even better, but for the sake of this comparison, we shall only consider the front-wheel-drive variants of the car.

The Creta carries over the Verna’s tried and tested powertrain line-up, which comprises a 1.6-litre Gamma Dual VTVT petrol and two diesel oil burners - the U2 1.4-litre CRDI and the U2 1.6-litre VGT CRDI. The petrol engine is available only with a six-speed manual unit, and the diesel mills get the option of either a six speed manual or a six speed automatic gearbox, of which the latter is borrowed from the Elantra. While all Hyundai cars score high for their smooth ride quality, they have never been popular in terms of driving dynamics and steering feedback and our short drive in the Creta at the company's test track in Chennai affirmed this fact. The Creta gets a McPherson strut layout at the front and a torsion beam for the rear, which offers a smooth and composed ride on bumpy roads. However the car’s tall design makes body roll quite evident at moderate and high speeds.

Though Renault’s K9K engine produces a respectable 108bhp and 248Nm of torque in the top-end trim, these figures are dwarfed by the 1.6-litre VGT CRDI unit in Creta, which puts out 126bhp and 260Nm of torque, making it the most powerful car in the segment. However, when it comes to ride quality and handling, the all four independent suspension setup of the Duster will have a definite edger over the Creta.

Verdict

The Creta is one of the most awaited cars of this year, and we think that it definitely lives up to the hype. It is a modern looking car which comes loaded with the latest technology and features, making the Duster look like an old car (which it is!). Hopefully, Hyundai will play its cards well by pricing the Creta very competitively, which should make it a very good value for money proposition. The Creta also happens to be the only diesel car in the segment to be offered with an automatic gearbox. However, if good driving dynamics and some off-roading capacity with an AWD system is a priority, then the Duster is a much better option. Despite the deficit in power, the lightness of the Duster should bring it on par with the Creta in terms of performance.

For a customer who knows what he wants, this isn’t really a difficult choice. The Creta is for the person who needs a good-looking, sophisticated and feature-loaded crossover, while the Duster is for a person who appreciates driving dynamics, just like Mr Bond and Dom. We still think it is too close to call either a winner, as both the Duster and the Creta seem to have their own set of pros and cons. We can expect to get a clearer picture once the Creta is launched here and we get a chance to put it through its paces, later this month.