FIRST DRIVE: CRETA IS PERFECT FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR NEW CARS FOR NEW DRIVERS

Just about the first thing we noticed when we started up the new Hyundai Creta compact crossover was that there wasn’t much happening. No real shrug of the engine, no serious vibration, not a lot of noise at idle. The first remark was... smooth.

So we got to discussing engines. The powerplant of the Creta is a 1.5 liter gasoline engine and is part of what Hyundai calls the Smart Stream family. Smart Streams, first introduced in 2017, are meant to help Hyundai meet long-term emissions goals while still producing a vehicle that you actually enjoy driving. And Hyundai sees this all as both part of their responsibility as a large company, and as something on which everyone must work together.

That is part of the Hyundai Motor Company “Goal Of The Century” Pledge, which takes inspiration from the sport of football and how it pulls people together for a common goal. As a way of celebrating this spirit, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Test Drive Promo was launched with the new Creta, allowing test drivers of the car a chance to watch a FIFA World Cup match in Qatar later this year. “We are committed to expanding our role beyond the transportation sector,” explained

HMPH President Dongwook Lee. “As the 3rd largest car manufacturer globally, we wish to become a mobility solution provider who will take the lead in creating a sustainable future for generations to come through “Goal Of The Century,” our call towards a climate-positive tomorrow.”

The normally aspirated 1.5 liter engine was smooth and quiet enough that we had to gesture to people to get out of the way in the busy parking lot. Not electric car quiet, but definitely not attention-getting. This was rather surprising. It produces 115 ps and torque output of 143.8 Nm. Not huge, but not weak. The power it has is routed through to the front wheels with a continuously variable transmission (officially named the Intelligent Variable Transmission). And it is indeed these increasingly intelligent transmissions that allow the increasingly small engines to provide the power and flexibility they do.

Once we left the parking lot and went into slow traffic, the smoothness continued. There were several modes from which to choose using the Drive/ Traction button on the center console. Drive allows you to choose engine management parameters through Eco, Normal, Sport and Smart modes with an appropriate change in dashboard screen color (red for sport, of course), while Traction allows you to basically inform the system what kind of road surfaces you are on so it can act accordingly. We went mostly between Standard and Sport, the latter of which gives us a bit of a more dynamic response. Not really anything massive, just a bit more focus. You can move the gearshift lever to the left to “S” which allows you to move up and down the gears sequentially. Rather feel like it, remember this is a CVT (ok, IVT), so those shift points are pretty much computer-induced. Sport mode is okay, but I would say this car would be most and best driven in Standard or Eco mode.

This is the smallest vehicle in the lineup of crossovers from HMPH, one of the newest members of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, but the top of the line model Creta 1.5 GLS IVT in Creamy White Pearl we tested had all the appropriate safety systems. The package, known as Smartsense, provides proper features such as a braking system that will warn you then brake for you if needed, a rather subtle lane departure alert, and blind spot indicators that really did tell us every time a motorcycle was coming up from behind on either left or right side. Which happened a lot.

It is very nice to see that small cars that will often go to new drivers now come with safety as standard or at least available. Apple CarPlay and a wireless charging pad that had its own cooling holes and was big enough for a large phone tell you who the car is meant for and what their priorities are. The seats were faux leather, comfortable and looked robust, adjustments were mechanical not electric. We liked the fact that air conditioning, while automatic, was still knob and button controlled rather than a full digital-only screen.

Hyundai came into its strengths precisely because they gave buyers more than they expected with vehicles like the Santa Fe that became family favorites. The Creta is more compact by two steps, but didn’t feel too tight. Front space was well designed, rear seating adequate. Trunk space wide enough and easily accessible. All in all, a package you could easily recommend to those looking for new cars for new drivers. Or even those of us who find they don’t need to deal with all the excess weight they used to think was needed.