Hyundai Creta vs Honda City - SUV vs Sedan: Space, Practicality And Comfort Comparison

Should you still consider a sedan or will a compact SUV suffice? We find out...

The last five years have seen smaller SUVs dominating the sales charts, leaving sedans in the dust. Why is it so? Are sedans incapable of measuring up to their SUV counterparts in terms of space, practicality, and comfort or are we all just jumping onto the SUV bandwagon because of the style and desirability quotient?

To find out, we pitch the Hyundai Creta, one of the top-selling compact SUVs in the market, against the Honda City, which has been one of the most all-rounded sedans on offer in India for a while now. Just to be clear, this is not to change your mind about buying an SUV or a sedan. Rather, it is an attempt to clear any confusion about the practicality of both these body styles.

Boot Space

The Hyundai Creta and Honda City are both quintessential offerings and as such, it is imperative they take in all your family’s luggage. Now, the Creta should win this round hands down, right? Just because it is an SUV. Wrong. 

The Creta’s boot is not as deep and wide as that of the Honda City’s, meaning only two of our test luggage suitcases could fit inside, with some space left for soft bags. The Honda City, however, took in all three test suitcases, and still had space to take in two soft bags and some more small packages. A clear win for the Honda City, then.

However, if you are ready to sacrifice the rear seats and fold down the 60:40 split seats in the Hyundai Creta, you can liberate a whole lot of space for cargo. While this is not a winning move from the Creta, it’s enough to add practicality if you ever decide to move larger luggage -- say a washing machine or a bean bag. 

Rear Seats

Both the Creta and the City offer a good rear seat experience. Starting with the Creta, it’s easier to get in and out of these seats as they sit higher, which will be useful for the elder members of the family. It’s also the better choice when you want to seat three as the bench is wider, helping the family feel more comfortable while travelling together. Hyundai also offers a panoramic sunroof, which makes the cabin feel a lot airy despite the black colour scheme. Lastly, you get sunshades in the Creta that not only block the sunlight but also help maintain privacy.

In the City, you immediately feel the seats are better cushioned. You get good underthigh support and if you move the passenger seat all the way to the front, you can easily spread your legs like a boss. The seats are also well-contoured and keep you snug in your seat. You also find better materials at touchpoints in the City’s cabin, elevating that feeling of premiumness. If you are looking for a chauffeur-driven experience, the City does that better. It might not offer as many features as the Creta, but you still get 12V sockets at the back, a sunshade for the rear windscreen, and a well-designed mobile pocket behind the front seats.

If you are looking for a family experience, with three at the back, the Creta is the better pick. However, if you are looking for the boss-mode experience, the Honda City should be your choice.

Ride Quality

The Honda City will offer you a better ride quality at city speeds, absorbing more of the undulations in the road to offer that plush riding experience. Its low ground clearance, however, reduces its ability to go quickly over broken surfaces.

The Hyundai Creta, on the other hand, feels slightly stiffer compared to the City, but at no point do you feel uncomfortable in the cabin. It also has the added advantage of higher ground clearance, so you can zoom over bad roads without thinking twice.

The City is once again for those who are looking for daily chauffeur-driven commutes in style, with the least amount of interference from the outside world. The Creta, on the other hand, will give you more flexibility when it comes to exploring where the road leads, on a family holiday.

Features

This is where the Creta really edges out. Its top-spec diesel-manual variant is pricier than the top-spec diesel-manual variant of the City by over a lakh. For that added premium, you get a fully digital instrument cluster, a power-adjustable driver seat, a bigger and better touchscreen infotainment system, an 8-speaker Bose sound system, a huge panoramic sunroof, wireless charging, ventilated front seats, an air purifier, and a cooled glovebox.

All prices are ex-showroom.

If you want to save that much money, you can get the one below variant of the Creta, which is around Rs 20,000 cheaper than the top-spec City. In that, you miss out on side and curtain airbags, electrochromic mirror (ECM), height-adjustable front seatbelts, lane change indicator flash adjustment, diamond-cut alloys, leatherette grey and black seat upholstery, 8-way powered driver seat, an air purifier, a tyre pressure monitoring system, and an 8-speaker Bose sound system. You still get that panoramic sunroof, though.

The City too has some aces up its sleeves. It gets a lane watch camera, tilt and telescopic adjustment for the steering wheel, and one-touch operation for all power windows. If we were to compare the similarly priced variants of both the cars here, the City wins it with a more premium interior. 

Cabin Practicality

Both cars offer two cup holders in the front row, under the armrest storage, and space to store 1-litre bottles in the doors. The City, however, offers a dedicated shelf to stow your phone in the front row and even a dedicated space to store loose coins and keys. The Creta’s only advantage here is a bigger glove box, which is also cooled.

Verdict

The Hyundai Creta is a well-rounded family SUV. It offers more space inside the cabin, better flexibility in terms of boot space, the confidence to take on broken roads, and more features to keep your loved ones happy. 

The Honda City, on the other hand, is either meant to be driven or enjoyed from the back seat. Its plush ride definitely ups the premiumness factor and its dynamic abilities put a smile on the driver’s face.

So, go for the SUV if you are looking for a family car but if your want to pamper yourself, the sedan here is the better choice,

Read More on : Creta diesel