By Malusi Msomi

Introduced back in 2014, the Hyundai Creta is now in its second generation. To be honest, the first generation Creta was a well-designed car off the bat but the second-gen just looked a bit odd. Thankfully the facelift has given the Creta its groove back. Now being built in Indonesia the Creta has not only received a facelift but also an engine change.

The mini Tucson

At the front, it gets new headlights and cascading grille similar to the one you find on the new Tucson. At the rear, the light bar has been deleted and a new taillight design adopted. The updated Creta has grown slightly bigger, longer, higher and has more ground clearance.The range comes standard with 17-inch wheels and a choice of 12 colours (6 being new).

Interior

Inside, it remains largely untouched with the biggest change being the black inlays instead of the grey. The range gets keyless entry, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Our range-topping Executive gets wireless charging. You’d think that because of its size it will be a bit crampy but it’s actually spacious, you won’t really be rubbing shoulders with your front passenger.

New drivetrain

The 1.4-litre turbo and 1.5-litre diesel engine have been dropped in favour of a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated engine that produces 84kW and 144Nm across the range. The range is available in a manual or CVT. In terms of power delivery, the updated Creta feels a tad slightly sluggish when overtaking. Other than that, it cruises quite nicely on the highway and does a decent job at soft off-roading.

Safety

On the safety front the Creta comes with ISOFIX child seat attachments, tyre pressure monitoring system, Hill-start Assist Control, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), front and side airbags for the driver and front passenger, whilst the top of the range Executive models adds two curtain airbags.

Summary

The Creta is a neatly packaged small SUV and is now aided once again with its good looks thanks to the Tucson-like face. It will be interesting to see how it performs on a daily in terms of fuel consumption as the 1.4-turbo and 1.5-diesel were quite frugal. Pricing for the facelift Hyundai Creta starts from R409,900.