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Alcazar will carry over the same engines as the Grand Creta, but feature a redesigned interior and come with a noticeable price hike.
Hyundai Alcazar will arrive in South Africa soon as the “replacement” for the Grand Creta. Image: Hyundai India
Arriving within the coming weeks, Hyundai has started teasing the facelift Grand Creta on social media, which will formally adopt the Alcazar name it has been sold under in India since going on-sale there four years ago.
‘Name change’
Originally called Grand Creta in South Africa as a means of aligning it with the standard Creta sourced until 2022 form the Chennai Plant, the switch in name not only comes as a result of the latter now being made in Indonesia, but as a fresh start in addition to representing a step-up from the moniker it previously used.
This, according to Hyundai South Africa CEO, Gideon Jansen van Rensburg, who told The Citizen on the sidelines of the Exter’s launch in Cape Town last year that, “Grand Creta is being phased-out in South Africa and hopefully we will see Alcazar launch early next year”.
“We are enjoining a great relationship with Korean counterparts and they pulling out all the stops to position our vehicles competitively”.
ALSO READ: Facelift Hyundai Alcazar coming to South Africa not as Grand Creta
While the teaser on Hyundai South Africa’s Facebook page doesn’t mention the Alcazar by name, the single depiction shows the frontal clip derived from the Exter, complete with the new grille and H-shaped LED headlight patterns.
What to expect
Again set to be offered with seven-seats, but not the six-seat layout available in India, the Alcazar’s biggest difference from its sibling will be the retention of the same engine options as the Grand Creta as a result of costs.
While this means the continuing availability of the 1.5-litre turbodiesel engine, which develops 84kW/250Nm, the 1.5 T-GDI engine found in India won’t be offered.
Instead, the normally aspirated 2.0-litre petrol will prevail with unchanged outputs of 117kW/191Nm.
As with the Grand Creta, the Alcazar will remain front-wheel-drive and send its amount of twist, reportedly, through an automatic gearbox only as the manual has allegedly been dropped.
Aside from its revised exterior, the overhauled interior will get revised materials, the dual 10.25-inch infotainment system and instrument cluster, the redesigned dashboard, new climate control and reworked features list.
Stay tuned
With the Grand Creta having already been removed from Hyundai South Africa, expect a formal announcement of the Alcazar’s arrival to be made soon.
NOW READ: Hyundai Alcazar shows fully refreshed itself as India’s Grand Creta
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