Hyundai’s SUV offering in South Africa has gone from strength to strength, with both the Creta and Tucson regularly outselling their main rivals.
It has done so by offering properly engineered and luxuriously specified vehicles at reasonable prices.
With the recent facelift of both models, Hyundai’s impressive sales figures will likely improve even further.
On the Creta side of things, there isn’t much of a difference visually, but rather just a touch up to keep it looking fresh. Updates were made to both the headlights and grille, which is the most noticeable difference.
Like before, only three models are available, all in the Executive specification. As the Creta wasn’t having any problems selling before, we weren’t anticipating any changes in this department.
The three derivatives are powered by two engines – one petrol and one diesel. The 1.6-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol is a tad old school, but it pushes out a healthy 90kW and 150Nm of torque. This particular model is available with a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic, with the claimed fuel consumption ranging between 7.9 and 8.4l/100km.
The top-of-the-line turbocharged diesel is only available with a six-speed automatic, which suits it beautifully. This unit puts out 94kW and 260Nm of torque and Hyundai claims it will only consume 7.4l/100km on the combined cycle.
The Executive specification caters nicely for all customers, as it provides everything the modern customer needs without opting for unnecessary luxuries.
This includes driver, passenger, side and curtain airbags on the safety side, as well as manual air-conditioning, and a infotainment system with the usual connectivity features.
The Creta is sold as standard with a five-year/150 000km warranty and a five-year 90 000km service plan. Services are scheduled at 15 000km.
Pricing:
Hyundai Creta 1,6 Executive: R339 900
Hyundai Creta 1,6 Executive (auto): R359 900
Hyundai Creta 1,6 CRDi Executive (auto): R399 900
Things get slightly more interesting with regards to the facelifted Tucson. While the pre-facelift was already a handsome thing, the new car adds a nice helping of elegance thanks to new bumpers front and rear, a new grille, restyled LED daytime running lights and a few new alloy options ranging from 17- to 19-inch.
The range is much smaller this time. The 1.7-litre diesel, all-wheel drive models and most of the manual versions have been dropped, apart from the entry-level 2.0-litre.
That means the line-up basically consists of the 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol, mated to a dual-clutch transmission, and the 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel, mated to a traditional torque converter automatic.
On the inside there’s a new dashboard, a revised instrument cluster and a new infotainment system with optional navigation.
Specification grades remain the same, with all Tucson models handsomely specified across the range.
Pricing:
Hyundai Tucson 2,0 Premium (manual): R399 900
Hyundai Tucson 2,0 Premium (auto): R419 900
Hyundai Tucson 2,0 Executive (auto): R459 900
Hyundai Tucson 2,0 Elite (auto): R499 900
Hyundai Tucson 2,0 CRDi Executive (auto): R529 900
Hyundai Tucson 1,6 TGDi Elite DCT: R559 900
Hyundai Tucson 2,0 CRDi Elite (auto): R569 900
