The new Grand Creta from Hyundai. A spacious 7-seater SUV

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The addition of the seven-seater Grand Creta, with different looks and design features than its five-seater namesake, means that Hyundai now offers an even more comprehensive and one of the biggest ranges of sports utility and crossover vehicles in South Africa. And this confirms the shift, by up to 45%, from customers purchasing SUVs over sedans.

Executive and Elite

With two specifications levels – Executive and Elite – for features and equipment and a combination of two different engines and gearboxes, the Grand Creta line-up of five derivatives offer a wide choice to customers.

“When you look at vehicle size, convenience and feature levels and pricing, the Grand Creta definitely had slot to fill in our vehicle offering,” says Stanley Anderson, sales and operations director at Hyundai Automotive South Africa.

Exterior

Tough, yet graceful. Dominating, yet elegant. Hyundai’s Grand Creta pairs a bold and tall stance with elegant design. The bold front grille with its dark chrome accents fits in with the rest of the Hyundai range, while giving the Grand Creta an identity of its own. The more-than-ample 20cm ground clearance is evident from its recognisable SUV profile and emphasises the versatility that the Grand Creta offers its driver and occupants.

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LED daytime running lights are standard on all derivatives and forms part of the neat headlight cluster. LEDs are also used for the headlights and the rear light cluster on all derivatives.

The Grand Creta Executive derivatives’ 17-inch wheels and the Elite’s 18-inchers are both attractive and adds to the impressive profile with its bold wheel arches. The wheels also offer enough rubber between the road surface and the rims to perform its SUV duties.

Spacious interior

The interior of the Grand Creta immerses you in uncluttered design. Complete with premium dual tone interiors and artificial leather seats in all derivatives, the carefully selected materials accentuate the aesthetic. An airy and cool ambience is created by the light-coloured seats.

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The Elite versions displays information for the driver on a 10.2-inch Supervision cluster and starts the engine with a push button. Other Elite features and conveniences in the interior include a sunroof, automatic climate control, blue ambient lighting strips and curtains for the rear windows that slide out of the door panels. Apple’s CarPlay or Android Auto forms part of standard luxury features across the range, as well as a steering wheel with multi-function buttons for the sound system and cruise control. Wireless charging in the centre console for smart phones is a standard feature across the range.
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Engine and transmission

The Hyundai Grand Creta comes with two powertrains that include a 2l Smartstream MPi engine and a Smartstream 1,5l diesel CRDi engine with options of a six-speed manual and a six-speed automatic transmission.

In the entry-level Executive versions, the 2l naturally aspirated petrol engine is coupled with a six-speed manual transmission and the six-speed automatic gearbox, while the turbocharged 1,5l
diesel engine is linked with the six-speed automatic gearbox in an Executive and Elite derivative. There is also an Elite version with the 2l petrol engine and the automatic transmission.

An exceptional feature of the turbodiesel derivatives is their fuel efficiency – a consumption figure of less than 5ls per 100km can easily be obtained on the open road, which makes the official combined cycle figures of 6,5ls per 100km very realistic. Fuel consumption for the petrol engine were measured at 8,5ls per 100km for the manual transmission derivative and 8,9ls per 100km for the versions with the automatic gearbox.

Suspension and drive modes

Elite derivatives of the Hyundai Grand Creta benefit from a front-wheel-drive traction control system that makes it easier to navigate difficult driving terrain like mud and sand. The drive in these modes is just so much smoother and comfortable as we experienced at the local launch.

In the Elite derivatives, the driver can also select a drive mode from Eco, Sport and Normal modes.

Pricing

• Grand Creta 2.0 Executive MT R 449,900
• Grand Creta 2.0 Executive AT R 489,900
• Grand Creta 1.5 Executive Diesel AT R509,900
• Grand Creta 2.0 Elite AT R 539,900
• Grand Creta 1.5 Elite Diesel AT R559,900

All prices include a seven-year/200,000km manufacturer’s warranty; a four-year/60,000km service plan; and roadside assistance for seven years or 150,000km.