The one potential flaw in Hyundai Creta compact SUV that enthusiasts will want to know about

The hot, new Hyundai Creta has been unveiled, and the launch is on the 21st of July, 2015. Dealers are said to be very happy with the response Hyundai’s latest for India seems to be getting on the bookings front. We got behind the wheel of the diesel variants of the SUV and could form a few opinions on the way the vehicle rides.

Well, most of the press about the Creta has been very positive, and deservedly so. The compact SUV is well built with a nice heft to it, looks swell, has a bomb of a turbo diesel engine, and of course is feature loaded. But there’s one potential flaw in the SUV that enthusiasts will want to know about. We’ll get right down to business.

Nobody in their right minds buy an SUV to go corner carving, monocoque body and hatchback/sedan platforms notwithstanding. SUVs are meant to take the rough with the smooth and keep you as comfortable as possible while doing that. The Creta will do well on mall hops and highway cruises, but what about having a blast in the hills?

Well, here the Ford Ecosport and the Renault Duster will still rule the roost. The Creta features one of the best steering units on a Hyundai, this side of the Santro Xing. However, the SUV does have enough body roll to make sure that you back off even as you take that corner flat out on say an Ecosport or a Duster.

This is one potential flaw that would drive enthusiasts away from Hyundai’s latest, which is a comfortable and safe place to be in, what with traction control, hill hold assist, a high strength steel body, ABS+EBD and a full complement of 6 airbags. It also goes like stink in the straight line, with the 1.6 liter CRDI diesel unleashing a gush of big torque, all 260 Nm of it.

It comes as a little bit of a disappointment that Hyundai hasn’t managed to get the Creta to handle as well as say the Duster or the Ecosport despite the former being based on a sedan, in this case a modified Elantra’s platform. The other bummer of course is that a four wheel drive layout isn’t in the scheme of things currently though the future could see such a layout being offered.

90 % of the compact SUV buyers in India will happily take the Creta for what it is if Hyundai manages to get the pricing right. That’s something that we’re willing to stake it out on. But we also stand for the other 10 %, who buy a car or a SUV with their hearts rather than their minds. This story is for them.