Hyundai Grand Creta 1.5D Elite (2022) Roadtrip Review: Trans-Karoo Trooper

The handsome Grand Creta, with hardly any kilos on the odometer,  arrived at my doorstep with an almost-full tank (it holds 50 litres) and all seven seats in an upright position. The rear seats were folded flat immediately to check out the amount of space. “Honey, you can pack as many pairs of shoes as you like,” my husband said. The next morning, the kids were carted off the Grandma’s for the weekend and were ready for a leisurely 1400 km drive from Hermanus to Bloem, including scenic detours.

 

Styling

 

Whenever we travel to Bloem we avoid the N1 like the plague. There are simply too many trucks and what should be an enjoyable, relaxing trip becomes stressful and nerve-wracking; so when the camera and AutoTrader numberplate finally came out we were on an obscure little dirt road to Suurbraak en route to Barrydale (on Route 62) which was ideal for some photos. 

At Barrydale, we stretched our legs and discovered a quaint little eatery with beautifully painted murals on the exterior walls, but with our accommodation booked in Nieu-Bethesda near Graaff-Reinet, and approximately 6 more hours of driving ahead of us, we didn’t have time to sit down.

 

But, it allowed me to look the Grand Creta up and down properly as I angled my camera this way and that way. Despite the 15cm longer wheelbase, the Grand Creta still looks nicely in proportion. The hexagonal front grille (compiled of 54 silver-coloured rectangles) that flows into the combination LED headlights (with inner DRL strips), looks both menacing and elegant. Teamed with stylish 18-inch alloys, front-, side-, and rear- (faux) skid plates, flared wheel arches, as well as 20cm of ground clearance, the Grand Creta looks ready for anything.

 

 

At the back, the Grand Creta looks nothing like its current, five-seater counterpart which sports a slightly outlandish, even polarising design. Instead, Hyundai went with a more generic rear-end set up in the larger Creta: hexagonal wraparound LED taillights connected by a thick chrome strip with ‘Creta’ lettering in the middle. In totality, it cuts a striking picture, especially when the jewel-like foglamps in the front bottom corners are switched on. 

 

 

Interior

 

Every Grand Creta in the lineup is equipped with black and pale beige, embossed leatherette seats with matching beige trim inserts on the dashboard and above the digital instrument cluster (Elite models). Well-placed rectangular air vents surrounded with brushed aluminium as well as an interesting steering-wheel design (with silver accents) look decidedly upmarket, in a very European way.

 

 

The central Mclaren touchscreen, (much like the infotainment systems in earlier Hyundai models), has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but when used without smartphone mirroring it’s not very intuitive and it wasn’t easy to get the audio settings exactly right. When you’re driving at 120 km/h, the cabin is still relatively quiet, but the sound system needs more richness and depth. We were most impressed by the complete lack of rattles and squeaks when driving over poor road surfaces.

 

 

The only negative point regarding the cabin is that the centre console creaks when your knee presses against it, as it does in the smaller Creta. It’s a minor detail and the rest of the interior more than makes up for it. The stylish gear selector’s shape, for example, is very Audi-esque, and there are other luxurious touches such as sun visors for second-row passengers, a rearview camera with a designated button that can be activated at any time, wireless charging for your phone, USB ports all the way to the rear (4 in total), electric seat adjustment for the front passenger and ventilated front seats.

 

The drive

Having only eaten a bit of biltong and droëwors since 10 am, by 5 pm my husband complained about being ravenously hungry, and my dreams of a mini economy-run quickly faded as he put his foot down in order to catch the restaurant kitchens open in Nieu-Bethesda. Daylight was fading quickly and you don’t come between a famished man and his dinner. My pleas to visit the bathroom went unanswered and instead, I was assigned to keep an eye on Google Maps on the touchscreen to supply regular updates on how many minutes we had managed to shave off our estimated arrival time. At least I was allowed a 2-minute stop to snap a pic before sunset.

 

 

The little 1.5 CRDi turbodiesel engine (85kW and 250Nm) with its smooth 6-speed auto transmission doesn’t offer crazy acceleration (its 0-100 km/h sprint time is 10.5 seconds), but we were making excellent progress. When overtaking slower vehicles or trucks, you just have to give yourself a little space and time. The Elite model also has settings for Comfort, Eco and Sport - and Sport will make the Grand Creta’s throttle more sensitive to your right foot, but don't expect fireworks - downsized diesel cars' talents don't involve land speed records.

After dodging a few fallen rocks, a springhare, and potholes of varying depth, we finally pulled into Nieu-Karoo Country kitchen at 19:45, walking distance from Outsiders B&B, our accommodation for the night. Delicious, thin-crust pizzas arrived shortly afterwards and by 9 pm we had settled in our comfy Karoo-style room and were promptly asleep. We had driven 926 kilometres (including another detour via Caledon earlier) and our average fuel consumption was sitting at 6.7 litres per 100 km, only 0.1 litres more than Hyundai’s claimed figure for mixed driving!

 

 

But it was day two that kicked off in a rather interesting manner. Having left town after a hot breakfast at Outsiders B&B (see above), lovingly prepared by Ian and Katrin, we found ourselves on a most alluring dirt road, very scenic, which quickly went from gravel, to rocky, to muddy, as it had been raining cats and dogs the previous night. With zero reception and a road sign that pointed to Graaff-Reinet, we decided to follow our noses in the spirit of adventure.

 

 

It could not have been more fun! Not only did we test out every setting (Elite models let you choose between Sand, Mud, and Snow, which works in conjunction with the traction control system), but we also put the Grand Creta’s wading depth to the test through an assortment of shallow pools and a semi-overflowing bridge.

 

 

Eventually, we settled on the Mud setting and completed the long but stunning route all the way back to the start of Graaff-Reinet where we had already passed through the previous day. It was a timeous detour but so worth it! And the front-wheel-driven Creta didn’t flinch once.

 

 

By 2 pm we reached Bloem during an outpour and settled at our abode for the night after dinner with old friends at Margarita’s in Baywater, a Bloemfontein culinary stalwart.

 

 

Space

 

On Saturday morning we picked up my two stepkids (a 15-year-old teenage boy and an energetic primary school girl, 11), for a visit to the Farmer’s market in Langenhovenpark, and the first thing they did was to scoot right to the back. They could access the third row easily, as the second row slides and the seatbacks of rows two and three can recline.

 

 

With all seven seats upright, there isn’t much space in the boot, however - only 180 litres - and space on row three is tight. They thought the USB ports in row three were really cool, as well as a designated rotary dial for adjusting the air-con’s blower speed. There are also a set of in-flight trays attached to the seatbacks of the front seats, but they're more suitable for keeping your device upright than as a surface for colouring-in activities.

 

 

With the two rear seats stowed, the boot is cavernous, offering space for camping gear for a family of four to five, and those in the second row will still have sufficient legroom if the driver and passenger don’t have their seats too far back.

 

 

When we arrived all dolled up at the swanky wedding that same afternoon, the kids felt like they were stepping out of a much more expensive  SUV than the Grand Creta!

 

Safety

 

Driving kids around or heading out on the highway always poses a risk, but parents will be pleased that every Creta is equipped with ABS, hill-start assist, stability control, 6 airbags, LED headlamps, daytime running lamps, a light sensor, rear park distance control, cruise control, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, child locks, ISOFIX child seat anchorage points (on the outer rear seats), a rear-windscreen wiper, front fog lamps, an auto-dimming interior mirror and a rearview camera.

Fuel economy

 

It was a kicker of a wedding and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely, but at 6 am on Sunday morning my husband and I were wide awake, thanks to an array of birds chirping away in the tall trees of our accommodation for the weekend. Bleary-eyed we dragged ourselves out of bed and proceeded to throw our belongings into a suitcase. After a quick cup of instant Nescafé (desperate times, and all that), and a visit to the Spar for a smoothie breakfast, I plonked my buttocks down behind the stylish steering wheel and pressed the starter button. N1 here we come! We said we wouldn’t, but I had to be back at work on Monday.

I put the cruise control button to work immediately but never drove faster than 120 km per hour (except when accelerating to overtake), and often times I would be behind slow-moving trucks for several minutes at a time until we reached Colesberg, which is 200 km away from Bloem. This kind of driving saw the digital fuel gauge drop as low as 4.4 litres per 100 km!

 

 

Looking to avoid the N1 Cities and Steers and Wimpys, we looked for a coffee shop in town and found Café Nineteen Eighty Nine, where I had a massive omelette for lunch and bought Grandma a small present for childminding while we galavanted across the Karoo.

 

 

Once we had passed Laingsburg there were significantly fewer trucks, and both my husband and I, taking turns behind the wheel, could just drive normally. Still, we set the cruise control to 120 km per hour, accelerating to 130 km per hour at most. At the 1000 km mark, our average extra-urban fuel economy was a mere 5 litres per 100 km. If this doesn’t make sense to you, this figure amounts to 20 kilometres per 1 litre of fuel. This means that you’ll be able to drive for 1000 km on one 50-litre tank in an extra-urban environment.

 

 

Based on the average consumption figure of 6.4 litres per 100 km (mixed driving, ie. in the city and on highways), your 50-litre tank will yield around 770 km if you drive sensibly. And, with April’s new fuel prices of +/- R21 per litre for 50 ppm diesel, it means that you will spend +/- R1032 to fill up the tank at the coast, and around R1062 to fill up at the reef. Yikes! But this is why it’s just more economical to drive downsized diesel cars. 

 

Pricing 

 

The Hyundai Grand Creta 1.5D Elite (pictured), at R559 900, is the flagship model, but the Hyundai Grand Creta 1.5D Executive (R509 900) is the sweeter deal of the two. Sure, you’ll have to make do without the fancy sunroof, climate control, ventilated seats, frontal park distance control, keyless entry and starter button, but the rest of the specs are more or less the same.

Being the only seven-seater in the segment, the Grand Creta doesn’t really have competition, and its slightly higher price reflects this. The other models in the range are 2.0-litre petrol derivatives.

 

Verdict

 

The Hyundai Grand Creta surprised and delighted us with its lust for life and its ability to remain cool, calm, and collected on any road surface and in all weather conditions. We threw everything at the not-so-little Korean: Mud, torrential downpours, gravel, that pesky springhare, potholes, you name it - but mostly, it's the Grand Creta’s list of luxury features, space in the boot, and its penchant for light sipping that makes me wish I had a spare R509 900 lying around in a bank somewhere!