Hyundai Creta (2024 Facelift) Review

Although the core spirit of the Creta has remained largely the same over the years, the exterior look has adapted with the times. The 2024 facelift follows this trend, and features a much-changed look all around. The front grille and bumper are where you’ll see the most significant changes, but on the whole the Creta looks newer and arguably bolder and more adventurous. You might even mistake it for something completely new at first glance, but a closer look will remind you that this is still the same Creta at its heart.

Look up close under the Hyundai logos and on the outside rear-view mirrors, and you’ll spot the cameras that enable the 360-degree visibility and sensing for the Level 2 ADAS features. Get inside the car, and you’ll see some familiar touches, and some completely new and modern-looking features, including the fully-digital instrument cluster and similar sized touch-screen infotainment system alongside. The only thing that looks a bit dated on the inside is the climate control air-conditioning system, but the fancy screens will distract you quickly enough.

The tech factor has been bumped up a fair bit on the Hyundai Creta 2024 Facelift, and it shows in big ways when it comes to safety, analytics, and the ease of accessing connected features on the go. If you get a variant with the fully connected system, the Creta can connect to the Internet on its own and do a fair bit of stuff without you even needing to pull your smartphone out of your pocket. 

Of course, if you prefer Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, you have those options as well by connecting your smartphone using a wire. Notably, there’s no wireless Auto or CarPlay functionality here, but the BlueLink connected system hopes to cover all of the potential use cases. Usefully, BlueLink comes activated for three years after your purchase, so all features are functional straight out of the showroom. Internet connectivity relies on a built-in eSIM, with the data usage covered as part of your BlueLink subscription.

In fact, you might just want to put your phone on the Qi wireless charging surface and forget about it entirely, while the system handles things like music streaming and navigation on its own. That said, I did have some trouble finding the sweet-spot for wireless charging with my iPhone 13 Pro, and on a couple of occasions during the drive I found that it hadn’t charged at all because I didn’t quite position the smartphone right on the surface. If you prefer old-school charging, there is a USB Type-C port at the front which also connects to the infotainment system for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and two more at the back for the rear passengers to charge gadgets.

Controlling various aspects of the Hyundai Creta with your hands firmly planted on the wheel is actually quite easy, thanks to voice controls. A button on the wheel activates the voice command listening, and you can then ask for specific things including a lot of functions controlling bits of the car itself. This includes controlling the air conditioning, opening or closing the sunroof, and navigating to specific places, most of which worked well for me. You can also speak in Hindi or Hinglish (try “Sunroof band karo”) and it will usually do what you want it to.

Remember when I said you don’t need to pair your smartphone to the Bluetooth system at all? The Hyundai Creta (2024 Facelift) gets support for JioSaavn music streaming built into the car, with a Pro subscription bundled along for a year (which you can renew easily). You can therefore port in your playlists and listen to whatever you like in the fairly extensive JioSaavn library, and streaming is stable and enjoyable through the excellent Bose speaker system in the Creta. 

The Internet connectivity in the Creta also enables navigation and mapping capabilities natively, as well as information about weather conditions based on your location. Don’t expect Google Maps-level of accuracy or as many points of interest, but the mapping and navigation will do the trick in most cases, and will help you not miss any major directions. Of course, the large 10.25-inch screen helps as well. 

Technology has the proven ability to make things safer, and Hyundai has gone all-in with that philosophy on the Creta (2024 Facelift). With Level 2 ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) in place through 19 different utilisations, the Creta has built in safety measures that will hopefully help keep you and your car out of trouble.

Fortunately, you have the option to choose exactly which ADAS features you want to use, and you can turn off the ones you don’t want. I would recommend keeping the braking assists switched off; road conditions in India might trigger some of these based on the system’s threat perception, even though the reality may be a lot less urgent, causing different kinds of trouble.

I do however recommend keeping the warning systems and camera-based functionality on, because these are genuinely useful in enhancing safety. Collision and attention warnings can keep you alert on particularly boring highway driving days, and the cameras will usually keep you from getting into small, avoidable accidents - particularly in situations such as getting out of a parking spot or changing lanes on a fast highway.

There are various other car monitoring tools as well, of which I found the tire pressure monitoring system to be the most useful. This is an often ignored aspect of driving in India, and the Hyundai Creta (2024 Facelift) steps up in letting you know when your tires are at a dangerous level and need to be looked at.

The Hyundai Creta (2024 Facelift) comes in a total of three engine options and four transmission options. The standard 1.5L petrol engine offers 115PS power and 143.8Nm torque, the 1.5L diesel  engine offers 116 PS power and 250Nm torque, and the new 1.5L turbocharged petrol engine tops the charts with 160PS power and 253Nm torque.

Tranmission options include a manual gearbox (available on the 1.5L petrol and diesel engines), Intelligent Variable Transmission (IVT) on the 1.5L petrol engine, an automatic TC gearbox on the 1.5L diesel engine, and the new dual-clutch transmission available as standard on the 1.5L turbocharged petrol engine.

While I didn’t have a chance to try out the turbo petrol engine, I did extensively drive the IVT and diesel automatic variants during the Hyundai Creta media drive. The diesel feels capable at high speeds, while the the IVT and TC transmissions both felt responsive and up to the mark for cars in this price range. That said, the 1.5L turbo petrol variant will offer the most power and responsiveness, and you’ll probably want to give that a go if you have the budget.

The Hyundai Creta (2024 Facelift) is the perfect combination of various things that work well in India. It’s from a trusted brand with wide reach, has proper urban SUV credentials with a spacious cabin and imposing look and feel, it gets the redesign elements right to offer a more modern aesthetic, and it also offers variety in engine and transmission choices.

All of this is backed up by quality tech and safety features which suitably underline this car’s modernity quotient. Don’t shy away from the heritage and seemingly “boring” outlook you had to this one; the new Hyundai Creta is truly new and improved in ways that matter.