Back in June 2020, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) reported that the bookings count for the new Creta had crossed the 30,000-mark. That figure has now risen past 55,000. Out of the lot, the company has already delivered over 20,000 units. Impressive? Well, not as impressive as this – after bagging the bestselling SUV tag in May this year, the Creta repeated it in the following month. And let’s not forget, the whole car-buying atmosphere is still far from its original self. All those numbers would be much higher if the world weren’t fighting a pandemic.

Math lovers would want some more numbers. Okay, get this – out of the total bookings received, 60 per cent are for diesel-fed variants. That means the demand for the 1.5-litre diesel mill, which produces 113bhp/250Nm, is considerably more than the two petrol engines (1.5-litre with 113bhp/144Nm and a 1.4-litre turbo with 138bhp/242Nm) on offer. Hyundai has also confirmed that of all the queries received via ‘Click To Buy’, 30 per cent are for the Creta. From that lot, 76 per cent booked one.

All those numbers do paint a promising picture for the Hyundai model. In addition to new, BS6-compliant powerplants, the Creta also packs an extensive list of creature comforts. Some of the highlights include an 8-speaker Bose sound system, built-in air purifier, a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, paddle shifters, a panoramic sunroof and Hyundai’s Blue Link connected-car technology.

In India, the Hyundai Creta competes with compact SUVs such as the Nissan Kicks and the Kia Seltos. Priced between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 17.2 lakh, the Creta also targets some of the larger SUVs like the Tata Harrier, Mahindra Scorpio and the MG Hector. Soon, Maruti Suzuki will introduce the BS6-compliant S-Cross, which should undercut all the names above.