Hyundai commenced bookings for the Creta facelift on Tuesday and also revealed the powertrain options that will be available on the SUV. As before, the 115hp, 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines will continue with their respective gearboxes, but what’s new is the 160hp, 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine. Now we have a complete breakdown of which powertrain will be available on which trim.
UPDATE: Hyundai Creta facelift design sketches revealed ahead of January 16 launch
- Creta turbo-petrol to come in a single fully-loaded trim
- Will only be offered with the 7-speed DCT gearbox
- Bookings ongoing for Rs 25,000
Hyundai Creta facelift trims and variants
The new Creta will be available in seven trim levels – E, EX, S, S(O), SX, SX Tech and SX(O) – of which the latter two will also get a dual-tone colour option. Of the five powertrain options, it’s only the 1.5 petrol-MT that will be available across the board, but crucially, the 1.5 turbo-petrol will only be offered with 7-speed DCT gearbox and in just one fully-loaded trim. Here’s a table summarising the variant line-up of the new Creta.
This, however, seems to be a missed opportunity for Hyundai. A sole gearbox option in a fully-loaded trim will limit the appeal and accessibility of the turbo-petrol engine, especially since the Kia Seltos additionally gets the option of an iMT gearbox with the same engine and from much lower in the variant lineup. Hyundai and Kia have predefined their gearbox strategy with the 1.5 turbo-petrol of manual and iMT, respectively, so a manual should have been offered with the Creta as well.
In fact, every other model in the Hyundai-Kia group that uses this engine gets the option of a second gearbox apart from the 7-speed DCT, and across multiple trims – the Carens gets an iMT while both the Alcazar and Verna get proper manual gearboxes. Even among Hyundai’s rivals, the Skoda Kushaq and Volkswagen Taigun get manual as well as DCT gearboxes with their respective 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engines.
Hyundai Creta facelift exterior, interior updates
As for the updates that come with the mid-lifecycle facelift, the Creta gets a comprehensive exterior makeover that brings with it new full-width LED daytime running lamps, new headlamps and grille and all-new front and rear bumpers. It looks a lot more upright and squared-out than the outgoing model, and perhaps will divide less opinion about its styling.
On the inside, the dashboard has been completely redone with new twin connected screens and a redesigned centre console with a touch panel for HVAC controls. On the features front, the addition of ADAS, dual-zone climate control and 360-degree camera will be key additions, among others.
Bookings for the Creta facelift are ongoing for a token amount of Rs 25,000, and those who have booked the outgoing model will have the option of changing their bookings to the facelifted model. The launch is expected later this month.
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