Hyundai Creta N Line long term review, 20,000km report

‘My’ Hyundai Creta N Line is gone. I don’t usually get too attached to test cars, but it was a different story with our Creta N Line long termer. It’s a car that I fought colleagues ferociously for to keep all to myself for over a year. And that’s because it fit my life just so well.

It was love at first sight, to be honest. I liked what Hyundai did with the 2024 Creta facelift, but the N Line that followed with its larger wheels, spoiler, red detailing et al transformed the SUV into an object of desire, at least to me. The N Line stood out amongst the sea of ‘ordinary’ Cretas on our roads, and I loved it for that. Owner’s pride, neighbour’s envy? I experienced that.

The interior also communicated the Creta N Line’s sporty pretensions really well, but to me, the all-black theme was a bonus for another reason. It made my car (relatively) dog friendly. My excitable Cocker Spaniel Soda really explores every car he sets paw in, leaving a trail of pugmarks behind. In the N Line, a wipe with a wet cloth was usually enough to get things back in order. Car care would have been much harder with the standard Creta’s cream interior. The Creta also ticked the boxes of interest for Soda – rear windows that roll down fully, an easy entry height and just the right distance between the rear seat and front armrest for him to stand comfortably between the seats at halts.

There’s another reason the Creta N Line is doubly special to me. My newborn daughter’s formative automotive memories were in this very car! Features which I’d rarely ever bother with myself were put to full use to keep her calm and happy. Rear sunshades kept her shielded from the early morning/afternoon sun, while watching the world above through the panoramic sunroof proved to be the ultimate distraction for her on the go. Pre-cooling the car through the Blue Link app also became part of my pre-departure routine with her. My list of baseline feature requirements for a family car sure has swelled over the past year. A replacement car would also need to be at least as spacious as the Creta. The rear seat comfortably accommodated wife, doggo and infant on her throne-like baby seat.

For all its space, though, the Creta still came across as right-sized for Mumbai. It was big enough to be comfy yet small enough to fit into the network of tight lanes that helped bypass roadworks in the city. On said tight lanes, the Creta’s fantastic cameras were put to full use to give me an extra set of eyes all around. The Creta’s body remained dink free in all its time with us but, ahem, the mirror did take a low-speed hit on one occasion when I wasn’t paying enough attention while rolling out of my parking. Thankfully, I got by with replacing just the mirror’s glass for Rs 1,000. The whole wing mirror housing with camera and all would have cost Rs 32,000. Phew!

Another out-of-turn expense was Rs 1,700 spent to fix wiring chewed by rats. The damage to car and wallet could have been a lot worse, as I was advised by the service centre exec. Phew, again. A Rs 4,500 bill I was happy to swipe for was for Hyundai’s USB dongle that enabled wireless Apple CarPlay. It proved to be something that had an outsized impact on the whole Creta experience. Of the other costs, maintenance at 10,000km cost under Rs 3,000, which is reasonable. What was never easy to digest was the N Line’s appetite for petrol. Economy in city driving hovered around 8kpl. To be fair, my short commute in crawling traffic never let the Creta give its best.

The N Line, of course, wasn’t perfect. The ride was firm, and the DCT also fumbled in slow traffic. Yet, it was a car I was always happy to return to. It just worked. In all its time with us, it wasn’t worse for wear either. The body still felt tight and free from the ‘softness’ that would have crept into the gen 1 Creta by 20,000km. Resting my left leg against the centre console did let out a creak, but I made my peace with it.

The Creta N Line shared parking space with some of my all-time favourites (the G 63 and Vellfire) and won itself an honourary spot in my dream car garage. The next-gen Creta comes in under a year, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out. Till then, Hyundai, my offer to buy MH 03 EL 6295 stays!

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