Hyundai Creta 2024 Facelift Review: Nearly a Decade on Top, and Still Earning It

 By Khan Tabrez | May 3, 2026

When Hyundai launched the original Creta in 2015, nobody quite predicted it would rewrite Indian automotive history. The segment it entered barely existed — the Renault Duster had planted the seed, but the Creta turned it into a forest. Fast forward nearly ten years, and the midsize SUV space has become one of the most fiercely contested battlegrounds in the country, with a fresh rival arriving roughly every six months. Maruti, Kia, Tata, Volkswagen, Skoda, MG, Honda — everyone wants a piece of what the Creta built. Yet here we are in 2024, and it has crossed 9,00,000 cumulative sales and sits comfortably at the very top. That's not luck. That's a masterclass in understanding what Indian buyers actually want.

Crucially, Hyundai hasn't responded to its dominance with complacency. The 2024 facelift is a comprehensive rework — new styling, a fully redesigned interior, more technology, and the addition of Level 2 ADAS. This is a car that knows exactly where it stands and has chosen to raise the bar rather than coast on its reputation.

Design: Bold Without Being Reckless

The 2020 second-gen Creta polarised buyers with its radical, almost confrontational styling. The 2024 update finds the middle ground between bold and agreeable. Up front, a larger parametric grille is flanked by an entirely new split lighting arrangement: LED DRLs and sequential turn indicators sit high, while the quad LED headlamps are moved lower on the bumper — a distinctive signature no rival currently wears. 

The sides are largely unchanged, with new alloy wheel designs as the only telltale. At the rear, the Creta gets full-width LED tail-lamps and a connecting light bar that gives it a thoroughly modern lighting signature. Six paint options are available, and the new Robust Emerald Pearl is genuinely special — rich and deep in a sea of silver and white SUVs.

Interior: Where It Really Wins

Step inside, and the cabin immediately feels current. A dual 10.25-inch screen setup — one for infotainment, one as the digital instrument cluster — flows together in a bezel-less arrangement borrowed from the Alcazar. The layout looks premium and airy, though taller occupants may find the screens sit a touch low. Build quality is functional and clean, though the gloss-finish centre console shows some waviness, and the dash misses soft-touch materials you'd hope for at this price. These are minor criticisms, but worth noting given how polished the overall package feels.

The feature list is hard to fault. Ventilated front seats, dual-zone climate control, a panoramic sunroof, 360-degree cameras, a powered driver's seat, and a Bose audio system are all standard on top variants. The infotainment system supports 12 regional languages, connects via an eSIM, and integrates a Jio Saavn streaming app. The one frustrating omission is no wireless Android Auto or Apple CarPlay — something rivals have been offering for a while now.

Rear-seat space is a genuine strength. Legroom is generous, width is adequate for three adults, and the 433-litre boot is competitive, with a 60:40 split-fold rear seat adding flexibility. Two new USB-C charging ports for rear passengers are a welcome addition. However, the middle rear passenger still gets no headrest — a puzzling oversight on a car of this stature.

Engines: Three Options, One Clear Recommendation

The 2024 Creta is offered with three engine choices. The 115hp 1.5-litre NA petrol with CVT remains the sweet spot for most buyers — smooth, economical, and perfectly suited to city driving. The new 160hp 1.5-litre turbo-petrol is the most exciting addition — pulling hard through the rev range, refined in character, and genuinely quick. Its 7-speed dual-clutch automatic is mostly excellent, though it occasionally hesitates at crawling speeds, a known DCT trait. The 116hp 1.5-litre diesel rounds out the lineup — smooth, quiet for a diesel, and returning an impressive 21.8kmpl on the manual or a still-strong 19.1kmpl with the torque converter automatic, making it ideal for high-mileage highway users.

Ride, Handling, and Daily Dynamics

The Creta has always been an easy, confidence-inspiring car to drive, and the 2024 model continues that tradition. The light, well-weighted steering and 4.3-metre footprint make it genuinely manageable in chaotic city traffic. 

The ride is well-tuned for Indian roads, and Hyundai wisely avoided upsizing to 18-inch wheels, which would have compromised comfort. At highway speeds, it is stable and planted. Disc brakes on all four corners are standard, though more pedal feel would be welcome.

Safety: The Biggest Step Forward

The 2024 Creta's most important new addition is Level 2 ADAS on top variants, bringing lane keep assist, adaptive cruise control, auto emergency braking, smart cruise with stop-and-go, and a blind view monitor that displays wing mirror camera feeds on the instrument cluster when the indicator is activated — genuinely useful in dense traffic. 

Six airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control, tyre pressure monitoring, and ISOFIX mounts are standard across the entire range. The body shell has also been reinforced at critical points for better crash protection, with Bharat NCAP results pending.

Price and Verdict

The 2024 Hyundai Creta is priced from ₹10.79 lakh to ₹20.06 lakh (ex-showroom) across 19 variants, spanning all three engines, multiple gearboxes, and every trim level — meaning there is a Creta for every midsize SUV budget.

Prices may vary. Please consult your nearest showroom for exact on-road pricing.

Prices may vary. Please consult your nearest showroom for exact on-road pricing.

If you are considering compact SUVs, also check our detailed comparison of the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos.

As a total package, this is the best Creta has ever been. It's spacious, feature-loaded, more refined in design, stronger in safety, and available with powertrain options that suit every kind of driver. The shortcomings — average cabin plastics, no middle headrest, and no wireless phone mirroring — are real, but they pale against the sheer breadth of what this car gets right. In a segment where a credible new challenger arrives every six months, the Creta's answer has always been simple: get better. The 2024 facelift does exactly that, and it remains the easiest recommendation in its class.