The Hyundai Creta has been a solid seller in its segment so far. The subcompact crossover isn’t just doing well for itself here, but in other markets as well. India is among the strongest customers of the Creta, hence a recent facelift.
But there’s another offshoot of that model that could be a good addition for the Philippines. It’s called the Hyundai Alcazar, and to oversimplify it, it’s a stretched Creta. It's been recently been given a facelift, too.
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But despite being based on the Creta, it features unique sheetmetal on the outside. Hyundai made sure to give it distinction, hence the H-shaped LED daytime running lights at the front, along with a unique grille design. While no mini-Santa Fe it won’t be mistaken for anything else in the Hyundai lineup. Compared to the pre-facelift model, it’s a massive difference.
The doors and quarter panels are the same as before, but the rear end gets a fair bit of changes. For the tail lights, there are new LED patterns and a trim just above Alcazar badging. It’s also well differentiated from the model it’s based on, the Creta.
Whereas the exterior of the Alcazar and Creta are different from one another, the same couldn’t be said about the interior. That said, we wouldn’t complain about it as it’s a major overhaul of the dashboard. There’s a wide screen that sits atop the driver-oriented display. The center stack features good ol’ buttons, and there are cubby holes all over the place.
Now for the interesting bit, the seating. The reason why the body is stretched is because it comes standard with three rows of seats. There’s room for seven inside, but opt for the higher trim levels and it gets a pair of captain chairs instead of a bench in the second row. The six-seater models even get a button that can move the front passenger seat for more legroom.
Engines weren’t mentioned, but likely the same as the Creta. This being an Indian-market model, there’s still a diesel option. It's 1.5-liter turbodiesel that makes 113hp and 250Nm of torque, available with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic. A 2.0-liter gas engine is also available, as well as a 1.5-liter turbo petrol with 158hp and 253Nm of torque.
Should Hyundai Philippines bring it here? We don’t see why not. Three-row crossovers typically do well here, and with a diesel option, it might bring in more people into its showrooms.
