December 2022 - Hyundai Creta Diesel Variants Explained - Which One To Buy?

Updated: This Hyundai Creta diesel variants explained article was updated in December with latest prices and variants-wise features.

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What Are The Pros And Cons Of Hyundai Creta Diesel?

The pros or advantages of Hyundai Creta diesel are:

• Higher variants get a long list of features, including power driver seat, ventilated front seats, Bose sound system, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), panoramic sunroof, 6 airbags and reclining rear seats
• The base E variant of the Creta diesel carries a nominal premium over the petrol variant and a km-to-breakeven figure of only 30,000km; other variants also have a reasonable incremental asking price over the comparable normal petrol variants
• Good balance in terms of performance, fuel efficiency and dimensions for the segment
• The option of diesel engine alone makes it a pro as most other carmakers don’t offer this option anymore
• The Creta also has a diesel-automatic powertrain option although it’s only available in the top variant
• SX Executive variant offers a fantastic value-for-money among all Creta diesel options
• Being the best-selling car in its segment gives it a strong resale value
• Widest service network for a car of its class

The Hyundai Creta diesel has the following shortcomings or problems:

• Expect poor real-world fuel efficiency from automatic transmission in stop-and-go traffic conditions because of fluid couplers’ power sapping nature
• The design may polarise opinions
• EX and S variants offer poor value for money while the E and EX variants lack several must-have features.
• Features you might miss in the Creta - 360-degree camera, lane watch camera, blind spot alert, powered tailgate
• The automatic transmission is strictly available in the top-spec SX (O) variant and it carries a higher premium than the market standard

What Is The Price Of Hyundai Creta Diesel Variants?

The new Hyundai Creta diesel is available in 6 main variants - E, EX, S, SX Executive, SX and SX (O). The manual transmission is available in all 6 variants with prices ranging between Rs. 10.91 lakh and Rs. 16.62 lakh. The automatic transmission is only available in one of these variants along with one top-spec Knight special variant and it carries an additional Rs.1.41 lakh premium over the manual transmission. The 2 variants of the Creta diesel automatic cost Rs. 18.03 lakh and Rs. 18.18 lakh.

Compared to the 1.5L normal petrol, the Creta turbo diesel carries a premium of Rs. 47,000 to Rs. 1.05 lakh. This is reasonable considering the higher performance and fuel efficiency benefits you get with the turbo diesel engine over the normal petrol engine. With the base diesel variant, you could recover the higher upfront cost in about 30,000km. Even if you’re considering one of the higher variants with a manual transmission, you could recover the higher upfront cost for the diesel engine in about 63,000 - 65,000km. Please note that these figures are based on the official ARAI mileage figures and December 2022 fuel prices in Delhi.

If you’re deciding between the Creta petrol-automatic and diesel-automatic, then you’ll have to drive the diesel car for about 1.15 lakh kilometres to recover the higher upfront cost. This is because of the inefficient fluid coupling of the torque converter automatic transmission in the Creta diesel-automatic.

For turbo petrol buyers, picking the Creta will actually save you money as the diesel costs Rs. 12,000 less.

You can use our Fuel Cost Calculator to see how much any petrol, diesel or CNG car will cost to run based on the latest fuel price in your city.

V3Cars Fuel Cost Calculator

Hyundai Creta Diesel E - Base Model Features & Review

The base E variant of the Creta diesel costs Rs. 10.91 lakh with the diesel-manual powertrain. Some of its notable features are:

• Remote central locking
• All power windows
• Front armrest
• Rear AC vents
• Tilt steering
• Height-adjustable driver seat
• Steel wheels
• Power mirrors
• Black front grille
• LED position lamps
• Adjustable front headrests
• Day/night inside mirror
• Halogen projector headlamps

This variant doesn’t get several must-have features such as:

• Music system
• Steering-mounted controls
• Rear defogger
• Rear washer wiper
• Rear parcel tray

This variant carries the smallest premium of only Rs. 47,200 over the same variant with the 1.5L normal petrol engine. So, you can recover this additional amount in approximately 30,000km, considering the official mileage figures and December 2022 fuel prices in Delhi. This is a very small km-to-breakeven figure for a diesel engine. So, this variant seems suitable for buyers on a very tight budget who also have a very high usage.

On the flip side, it doesn’t have several must-have features. So, we can’t recommend this variant to most buyers. You should buy the E variant only  if you’re comfortable installing some aftermarket accessories, you can’t stretch your budget to buy one of our recommended variants and you have a very high running.

Hyundai Creta Diesel E vs EX Variant

The EX variant of the Creta diesel-manual costs Rs. 12.29 lakh, which is about Rs. 1.40 lakh more than the E trim. This variant adds the following important features:

• Tyre pressure monitoring
• 8-inch touchscreen
• 4 speakers with 2 tweeters
• Sunglass holder
• Power mirrors
• Wireless Android Auto and Apple Carplay
• Boot lamp
• Steering-mounted controls

While this variant adds several must-have features, it still misses out on some notable features, which you might miss such as:

• Cruise control
• Auto AC
• Rear camera
• Fog lamps
• Rear defogger
• Rear washer wiper
• Rear parcel tray
• Wheel covers

The price jump of almost Rs. 1.40 lakh to the EX variant is very high considering the small list of additional features. Some of these are certainly must-have but it still misses out on some notable features. So, from a value point of view, we won’t recommend buying the EX variant either.

Hyundai Creta Diesel EX vs S Variant

Next variant in line for the Creta diesel-manual is S, which costs Rs. 13.57 lakh (ex-showroom). This price is Rs. 1.28 lakh more than the EX variant and Rs. 96,000 more than the S petrol manual. This variant adds the following features:

• Rear parking camera
• Auto headlamps
• Auto AC
• Keyless entry with push-button start/stop
• Cruise control
• Rear windows sunshade
• Rear defogger
• Rear washer wiper
• Front fog lamps
• Cooled glove box
• Chrome front grille
• Stylish wheel covers
• Rear parcel tray

This variant is also quite expensive and its features don’t cover the wide price gap the EX variant left. While it is a poor value for money option for the Creta diesel buyer, it does add enough features to offer a decent ownership experience. Moreover, most of its features are functional, which all buyers will appreciate during the ownership. So, if you absolutely can’t stretch your budget further and you can compromise on the value, only then you should buy the Creta S diesel-manual variant. If you can stretch your budget, then we strongly suggest you do it. Read on to find out the reason behind our recommendation.

Hyundai Creta Diesel S vs S Plus Knight Variant - Price & Features Comparison

The S Plus Knight variant is the next in line for Creta petrol-manual buyers. It costs Rs. 13.57 lakh, which is Rs. 90,600 more than the S variant. This variant mostly adds style related feature such as:

• Black exterior elements
• Black interiors
• Black fabric upholstery
• Panoramic sunroof
• LED cabin lights
• LED DRLs
• LED reflector headlamps

This variant more than justifies the incremental cost of Rs. 80,600 over the S variant and offers far better value for money. However, higher variants add more functional and must-have features to drastically improve your ownership experience. So, we’ll suggest skipping the S Plus Knight and buying one of the higher variants.

Hyundai Creta Diesel S Plus Knight vs SX Executive Variant

The SX Executive variant is the next in line for Creta diesel-manual buyers. It costs Rs. 14.47 lakh, which is only Rs. 8,100 more than the S Plus Knight. It removes some style features and the music system but adds the following important ones:

• Puddle lamps
• Rear disc brakes
• ESC
• HSA
• Rear headrest cushion
• Larger 17-inch alloy wheels
• Ambient lighting
• Panoramic sunroof
• Rear armrest
• Engine start with remote
• Split rear seatback with 2-step recline
• Wireless phone charger
• Adjustable rear headrests
• Power folding outside mirrors with auto fold

You can easily add an aftermarket music system and connect it with the existing speakers, steering-mounted controls and the antenna. But, once you buy the car, you can’t easily add most of the other features the SX Executive variant offers. This variant manages to justify its incremental cost over all of the lower variants. Therefore, this is our top-recommended variant for Creta diesel buyers.

If you’re buying this variant over the Creta SX Executive petrol-manual, then you’ll need to drive this car for about 63,000km to recover the higher upfront cost. This km-to-breakeven figure is reasonable but we’ll still suggest you to make this jump only if you foresee driving the car for more than 1 lakh kilometres.

Hyundai Creta Diesel SX Executive vs SX Variant

The Creta SX variant with the diesel-manual powertrain costs Rs. 15.43 lakh (ex-showroom), which is about Rs. 88,000 more than the SX Executive. The Creta SX diesel carries a premium of Rs. 1.05 lakh over the SX petrol for both the powertrains. For the additional cost, this variant adds the following notable features:

• Large 10.25-inch touchscreen
• Wired Android Auto and Apple Carplay (S variant gets wireless)
• Alarm
• Telematics
• Chrome door handles

As you can see, this variant mostly brings back what is removed in the SX Executive variant and adds a larger touchscreen and telematics. It also removes the wireless smartphone connectivity, which is available in the S variant. While the Creta SX is a decent value for money option, we strongly recommend you consider buying the SX Executive and adding an aftermarket music system.

You should buy the Creta SX over the SX Executive only if you hate letting an aftermarket technician tinker with your brand new car while installing the music system. Another alternative to this is having it installed at dealer level as you can expect better workmanship and have the car ready to go with all the necessary features at the time of delivery.

Hyundai Creta Diesel SX vs SX (O) Variant

For the top-spec Hyundai Creta diesel variant, you’ll have to pay Rs. 16.62 lakh for the manual and Rs. 18.03 lakh for the automatic. The SX (O) diesel manual carries a premium of Rs. 1.19 lakh over the SX. This is the most affordable variant of the Creta diesel with an automatic transmission, which costs Rs. 1.48 lakh more over the SX diesel-manual.

This variant adds the following notable features over the SX diesel:

• Side thorax and curtain airbags
• Auto dimming inside mirror
• Ventilated front seats
• Power driver seat
• 17-inch machined alloy wheels
• Leather upholstery
• Bose sound system
• 8-inch full-colour instrument cluster

The top variant adds plenty of high-value and highly-desirable features. While this variant somewhat justifies the upgrade from a value perspective, most of them are good-to-have. This variant is worth upgrading but we’ll leave the decision to upgrade in your hands.

For Creta diesel-automatic buyers, this is the most affordable option. And we’ll leave it up to you to decide if you want to buy the SX (O) variant or the SX (O) Knight, which also gets some unique style features.

Which Variant Of The Hyundai Creta Diesel Should You Buy?

For Hyundai Creta diesel buyers on a budget, the base E variant is a decent option as it only costs Rs. 47,000 more than the Creta petrol. However, it doesn’t have many basic features. So, you’ll have to spend on some aftermarket accessories. This is suitable only for those buyers who have high running usage and don’t want to stretch the budget further.

The EX variant is overpriced and not recommended. Similarly, the S is also an expensive upgrade. If you absolutely can’t stretch your budget any further, then this variant will offer you a decent ownership experience. But if you can, then you should skip the S Plus Knight and jump straight to the SX Executive, which is a solid upgrade and our top recommendation. It has a fantastic balance of features and it’s a good value-for-money upgrade as well. You only need to add a music system and you’re good to go. You can either get it from the aftermarket or get an official accessory from the dealer.

The SX is expensive for what it adds over the SX Executive. Instead, you can jump straight to the SX (O) for some of its high-value and highly-desirable features like power seat, ventilated front seats, Bose sound system. This variant offers better value-for-money than the SX diesel.

For the Creta diesel-automatic buyers, the SX (O) is the most affordable option and there’s not much choice. Between the SX (O) and SX (O) Knight, you can pick whichever one you find attractive based on your preference.

What Are The Engine Specifications Of The Hyundai Creta Diesel?

Since most carmakers are no longer offering a diesel engine, the fact that the Creta has a diesel engine alone becomes a strong positive in its favour. Moreover, the incremental price of the diesel engine over the comparable petrol variants is also reasonable. On top of that, it’s also available with an automatic transmission.

The only competition it has is from the other South-Korean brand - Kia. Both the cars share the same 1.5L turbo diesel engine, which makes an identical 115PS of power and 250Nm of torque in both the cars. The fuel efficiency is also comparable and good. The only negative I see here is the inclusion of power-sapping torque converter automatic. Its fluid coupling makes it extremely inefficient in stop-and-go traffic situations. But there isn't much choice either as the TC automatic is a tried and tested combination which can handle the high torque output of a diesel engine. I’m hoping they add the ACMT (auto-clutch manual transmission) option with the diesel engine as well. ACMTs can be about as convenient as a full automatic in stop-and-go traffic and about as efficient as a full manual transmission.

*Estimated

What Are The Dimensions Of The Hyundai Creta?

On the dimensions front, again, the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos are neck-and-neck. After all, they both share the platform and have identical boot space, wheelbase, ground clearance and fuel tank size. The Seltos is only slightly larger in exterior dimensions than the Creta but the difference is so small that it’s only visible in a spec comparison table.

Find out how you can get the best mileage or fuel efficiency from your car:

10 Tips To Get Better Mileage From Your Diesel, Diesel Or CNG Car

What Are The Colour Options Of The Hyundai Creta Diesel?

The 2022 Creta diesel is available in the following 6 monotone and 1 dual-tone exterior colours:

• Silver
• White
• Red
• Grey
• Black
• Blue
• White with black roof

Note: Here is a quick look at our length-based segmentation of cars to give you an idea of how we classify cars based on their size.