Car India – May 2019

OUR CARS

OF LATE, MY WEEKEND TRIPS TO NEARBY TOWNS

have increased substantially, from a dash to Mahabaleshwar

to quench our strawberry craving to chauffeuring guests for

Mumbai darshan and the customary trips to Lonavala when

there’s not much to do on Sunday mornings. A major reason

for these many road trips is my long-term Hyundai Creta.

The powerful and super-refined 1.6-litre diesel and the

widespread torque are temptation enough, but the bigger

reasons are the comfortable and supportive seats and the

roomy cabin. It’s also reassuring to have six airbags, traction

control, and ABS, especially if you’re driving on the highway

with your loved ones.

There’s a really long list of features such as Android Auto

and Apple CarPlay coupled with a good music system which

makes long drives even more enjoyable. While driving, other

bits such as cornering lights, hill-hold, and a powerful horn

really come in handy on the hilly roads around Pune. Then

there are a few things which can get a little annoying. Like

every time the infotainment system is switched on, one needs

to tap on the “Agree” pop-up to proceed. I wish it also had

automatic lights and windscreen wipers, which would make

this “Perfect SUV” even better.

From the seat adjustment buttons to the gear lever

everything seems to be in the right spot. Having driven over

9,500 km, the Creta hasn’t had any breakdowns. Not even a

puncture. Full marks for ergonomics. The fact that there are

no rattling or squeaks from the body parts speaks volumes

about the Hyundai’s build quality. Longer road trips are being

planned as I pen this report, tales of which will follow soon.

— Sarmad Kadiri

BOUNTIFUL PLEASURE OF DRIVING

Update

HyundaiCreta

Variant:CRDiSX(O)

Driven:9,600km

Like:5HȴQH'LHVHO(QJLQH

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Dislike:0Ζ'FRXOG

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The Jeep Compass is one of the most popular compact

SUVs available today and living with it has given us a

keen insight into why this is the case. The seats are

comfortable, keeping fatigue at bay even over long

distances. The cabin is quiet, too, eliminating most of the

ambient noise from outside. The ride on the Compass is

plush and takes bumps in its stride, the infotainment

system is clever and easy to use, and ample boot space is

available. Apart from all of these, it is quite a looker, too,

turning heads wherever we go, particularly in this shade of

paint. The Compass doesn’t suffer from many drawbacks

either; you have to shift down for urgent acceleration and

there is a bit of body-roll in corners, but both become easy

to live with once you get used to the car.

— Team Car India

Update LIFE WITH THE COMPASS

JeepCompass

Variant:/LPLWHG[

Driven:28,603km

Like:&RPIRUWDEOHDQG

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Dislike:6OLJKW

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http://www.carindia.in May 2019 CAR INDIA 103