Long Term Report 1 - Hyundai Creta Petrol AT

We received the Hyundai Creta petrol automatic as our long termer at the start of this month. I was very happy, firstly for the fact that the automatic transmission will take away the woes off my left leg in everyday traffic. Secondly, my liking for SUV (ish) designs, the ones that have an upright stance and menacing presence will be catered to.

This silver exterior paint isn’t that funky or attractive. But, a little google search told me that Indian drivers prefer this colour more over white or any other colour. No wonder I've been getting looks indicating that 'you have made a good choice'. Then, the vehicle's proportions are good for an SUV and have given me a feeling of driving a big car. The 1.6-litre petrol unit under the hood churns out 122bhp of power and seems potent enough to serve my daily needs. However, what has got all my attention is the six-speed automatic gearbox. Sure the clutchless technology will aid, but will it have a toll on the fuel economy? We will see.

This petrol automatic Creta is offered in the SX Plus variant, which isn't the top-of-the-line variant. Nevertheless, it is still loaded with many features. Driver seat with height adjust, automatic climate control, rear air con vents and a touch screen system are some of the features which are going to be very useful for me. However, at a price of Rs 12.94 lakh (ex-showroom New Delhi) it would have been great if Hyundai had packed it with the extra features. For example, I would have loved to have the leather seats in place of the current fabric seats. The six airbags would have had made me feel more secure. And, I'm sure I am going to miss the cruise control feature on the highway runs.

Well, I couldn't spend a lot of time driving the Creta this month, especially amidst the various shoots and testing of others cars. However, the first impressions are good and I'm looking forward to use the car within the city exhaustively. Then of course, I will take it out of the city for a long run too. Stay tuned for our upcoming city and highway driving reports of this car.

Pictures by Kapil Angane