Unlike its donor car that is the Hyundai Creta, the mid-life refresh for the Hyundai Alcazar gets its own identity
When the Hyundai Creta received a comprehensive facelift earlier in January, it was only a matter of when, not if its bigger sibling, the Alcazar would get that treatment. That time is now, and it is priced from Rs 14.99 lakh (ex-showroom) onwards. Offered in the Executive, Prestige, Platinum and Signature variants in six and seven-seater configurations, what’s important in this mid-life refresh is that the Alcazar finally has some serious distinguishable characteristics over the Creta compared to before.
The most visually distinct aspect of the 2024 Hyundai Alcazar starts up front. It’s significantly different from before and compared to the Creta, it has a large rectangular front grille setup. Even the new connected LED DRLs have an H-shaped insignia that sit above the boxy vertical headlights. To really give it a dash of ruggedness, there is a large skid plate wrapped around its face. From the side, not much has changed apart from the sportier new 18-inch dual-tone alloy wheel design. Like is the case at the front, the rear has connected tail lights with an ‘H’-shaped insignia.
Inside, the updated Alcazar it is a very familiar sight as the overhauled dashboard layout is a straight lift apart from the brown and dark blue theme and looks a lot more premium than before. It comes loaded to the gills with features such as two 10.25-inch digital screens covering driver instrumentation and infotainment duties, ventilated front and second row seats (six-seater variants only), a Bose sound system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a powered co-driver seat and a boss mode, dual-zone climate control, wireless charging pad for the front and second row, and a panoramic sunroof.
Passenger safety is covered by six airbags, a 360-degree camera, ABS with EBD, front and rear parking sensors, electronic stability control, tyre pressure monitoring system and Level-2 ADAS.
One thing that remains the same for the facelifted Hyundai Alcazar, is the powertrain options on offer. It comprises a 160-hp 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine and a 116-hp 1.5-litre diesel engine. A six-speed manual gearbox is standard for both engines whilst the automatic options are limited to a six-speed torque converter unit for the diesel and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic for the turbo-petrol motor.
Since the facelifted Hyundai Alcazar has a significant amount of upgrades over the outgoing model, it could be exactly the leg up it needs against the competition that includes the Tata Safari, MG Hector Plus and Mahindra XUV700 six- and seven-seater variants. We’ll be getting behind the wheel of the updated Alcazar, so stay tuned to this space for our first impressions on everything that has changed in the SUV.
