For the better part of its first-gen stint, the Hyundai Creta ruled the compact SUV segment. But then, new players arrived. They not only took the limelight away from the Creta but also offered new-age features with their SUVs. What came in March this year was a fitting answer from Hyundai to all the newcomers. The new Creta, which made its Indian debut at the Auto Expo 2020, arrived in the market with a punch.

Bookings for the second-gen Creta officially opened on March 2, 2020. By March 16, 2020, when the prices came out, the bookings counter had already stormed past 14,000-mark. Till date, Hyundai has received over 30,000 reservations for the SUV. That’s impressive, considering the kind of trouble the world is and has been going through. India saw some relaxations in May 2020, and the Creta claimed the top spot in the list of country’s best-selling cars. Hyundai says that 55 per cent of the total bookings received are for the diesel-fed variants. In fact, the Creta is the most-searched-for model on Hyundai’s ‘Click to Buy’ platform.

For some, the new Creta isn’t as easy on the eye as its predecessor. Giving an established marque a love-or-hate design was a bold move from Hyundai. The rest of the package, however, is hard to falter. Available with five engine-transmission combinations, it caters to a broad audience. Prices vary from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 17.2 lakh, and a total of fourteen variants reside within that range. The diesel engine, which makes for more than half of the bookings till now, is a 1.5-litre unit that produces 113bhp/250Nm. It is available with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic transmission.

Apart from rivalling its step-sibling, the Kia Seltos, the Hyundai Creta also locks horns with the petrol-only Nissan Kicks. SUVs such as the Mahindra Scorpio, MG Hector and the Tata Harrier also fall in the same sort of price range.