What is it?

Hyundai recently became the top SUV maker in the country by achieving the sales milestone of a million SUVs. This momentous journey began in 2015 with the first generation Creta and since then there has been no looking back. Its current portfolio now comprises of four SUVs and well a fifth one, with three-row seating, will come along later this year. The car has been christened the Alcazar and we were recently allowed to get behind the wheel of a pre-production camouflaged prototype and here are our brief impressions of the car.

How is it on the outside?

In terms of exterior design, the Alcazar follows the lines of the Creta and gets the same low set headlamp design with LED DRLs in place of where the headlamps would go conventionally. Matching its large size is a new premium chrome grille with a studded design, redesigned fog lamps and indicators.

In profile, you can see the added length of the Alcazar over the Creta thanks to a thick D-pillar, extended rear doors, as well as the heavily flared wheel arch that has also been extended to match the car’s additional length. Hyundai for the first time will offer 18-inch wheels that will debut with the Alcazar and sport this nice petal-like pattern that looks cool when the car is in motion.

The rear is very similar to that of the Creta with the larger version of the five-seat SUV's split arrow wrap around tail lamps. Despite the camouflage, you can tell that this car gets that same muscular bulge below the large chrome strip as a part of the appearance.

The Creta, with Hyundai’s latest design language, is quite striking to look at from any angle. Getting the Alcazar to look like a stretched-out version of the Creta is more or less a guarantee that this car too will be equally striking in its external appearance.

What about the interior and the feature list?

Now, Hyundai has said that the car you see in the photos and video is a prototype and so we have not been permitted to showcase the actual interiors. However, they did release sketches and issued some details about the cabin which has thrown light on what will be offered.

The Alcazar will get a brown and black cabin and will be offered in both six and seven-seat configurations with a similar layout and elements as the Creta. The feature list is expected to include the usual segment bits like climate control, touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, ventilated seats for the first row, second row AC vents and loads of useable practical spaces across all three rows.

New to this car, in the six-seat configuration, will be a fully useable centre armrest and dedicated vents for the third row with their fan speed control. The third-row seats fold flat and it has a wheelbase of 2760mm which is 150mm more than the Creta and the highest in the segment.

What about the engine and gearbox options?

The Hyundai Alcazar will be offered with both petrol and diesel power. The petrol engine will be Hyundai’s new third-generation 2.0-litre engine that produces 156bhp/191Nm and can be had with either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic. Hyundai claims a 0-100kmph time of fewer than 10 seconds. This is the first car in the Indian market, from the Hyundai stable, to make use of this engine and it is expected to also make its way to the Elantra and Tucson.

The diesel on the other hand is a 1.5-litre unit producing 113bhp/250Nm and can also be had with a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic. Like the Creta, this car too gets McPherson struts in the front and a coupled torsion beam axle at the rear. The test cars all got rear disc brakes and we expect it to be standard across the range.

Brief drive

We had a go with the 2.0-litre petrol powered model mated to the six-speed manual. In our short drive and time we had with this car, we can tell you that you certainly won’t be lacking the grunt or comfort to have a good driving experience with this engine and gearbox combination. It gets off the line smoothly with a relatively light clutch action with little fuss or drama when you need to take advantage of a strong mid-range that this engine offers. Hyundai says it has retuned the six-speed manual gearbox; the result of which is an increased final gear ratio. This is expected to result in a good fuel efficiency figure but without taking away anything from the driving experience.

The car that we drove was sporting 17-inch wheels with a slightly different design as compared to the 18-inch units visible in the camouflaged car. On the rural back roads outside Jaipur that was a combination of tarmac, stones and cement, the Alcazar’s suspension setup did manage to absorb everything in its path while keeping its composure. This is expected to play into Alcazar’s hands as Hyundai is looking at families as well as the chauffeur-driven market for a decent amount of the SUV's sales. This means back seat comfort and good ride quality will take precedence.

Now, these are just initial impressions of the car and that too in a camouflaged guise. We will of course give you the full driving details once we get behind the wheel of the production-spec Alcazar later this year.

Launch and competition

The Alcazar will be launched this year and is Hyundai’s entry into the three-row SUV league. With SUVs gaining demand at a crazy rate it only seemed a matter of time before Hyundai put its feet in the waters. If the Creta is anything to go by then the Alcazar has quite a good base to stand on and start its innings. It will take on the likes of the Tata Safari, MG Hector Plus and the Mahindra XUV500 and is expected to be priced in the range of Rs 15 lakh to Rs 19 lakh.