HomeCar NewsHyundai Alcazar Facelift First Drive Review - More Features, Safety, Comfort

Hyundai Alcazar Facelift First Drive Review – More Features, Safety, Comfort

Hyundai Alcazar First Drive Review
Hyundai Alcazar Facelift First Drive Review

The just launched Hyundai Alcazar facelift offers a much superior comfort factor than its predecessor and offers an exciting drive

Updating its SUV portfolio, Hyundai India has launched the new Alcazar Facelift with similar design updates seen on Creta Facelift launched earlier this year. The car was launched a few days ago for a starting price of Rs 15 lakh (ex-sh). We recently drove the Alcazar facelift as part of the national media drive in Udaipur. Here’s what we think about the Alcazar facelift.

Hyundai Alcazar Facelift First Drive Review

Starting at Rs 14.99 lakh, Alcazar facelift promises smarter tech, enhanced versatility, and improved comfort. Especially for 2nd-row seats, where we can see a major shift in features and creature comforts. Petrol variants start from Rs 14.99 lakh (Ex-sh) and diesel variants from Rs 15.99 lakh (Ex-sh).

On the outside, Hyundai Alcazar facelift gets similar elements as Creta facelift and stands out on the road with a more commanding presence than before. Compared to the outgoing Alcazar, the new one looks a lot bolder, modern and sporty. We can see revised front and rear which offer a distinctive look. Personally, I think the Palisade-inspired rear is Alcazar’s best angle.

New Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Prices
New Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Prices

At the front, Alcazar facelift packs refreshed H-shaped LED DRLs with sequential turn indicators and quad-beam LED headlights lending an aggressive look. I particularly liked the muscular bonnet and the fact that Hyundai has painted the body claddings in a gloss black finish like we saw with Tata Curvv EV. Larger grill with dark chrome finish and redesigned bumper add a rugged, yet premium touch to the front fascia.

Hyundai Alcazar First Drive Review
Hyundai Alcazar First Drive Review

When compared to Creta facelift, Alcazar facelift gets much taller roof rails, which also looked like they were functional. Lower bumper grill houses a radar module for the LEVEL 2 ADAS features. New Alcazar sits on striking 18-inch dual-tone alloy wheels. ORVMs are integrated with LED turn indicators as well as a camera for blind spot monitoring and 360 view.

Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Rear
Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Rear

Rear design is the best angle for Alcazar and is more striking than ever before. There’s an H-shaped vertically-oriented LED signature for tail lights and these are connected with a light bar in the middle. Redesigned lower bumper and dual exhaust tip add to the overall sporty character. Hyundai had provided Rushlane with Robust Emerald colour too and looked nice, especially when the light hit it.

Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Dashboard
Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Dashboard

Interior upgrade

On the inside, Hyundai Alcazar facelift offers a spacious feel, owing to its larger wheelbase than Creta. Cabin is designed for comfort and convenience. The overall design is identical to Creta facelift, except for the dual-tone noble brown and haze navy colour theme. The dual 10.2-inch curvilinear infotainment and cluster 10.25-inch screens take centre stage, identical to Creta’s.

Steering wheel feels nice to hold and has tilt as well as telescopic adjust. Behind the steering wheel are paddle shifters along with stalks for wipers and lights. Alcazar facelift gets an automatic headlight as well as rain-sensing wipers. Dashboard gets piano black and silver finishes to spruce things up.

Hyundai Alcazar Facelift 2nd Row Seats
Hyundai Alcazar Facelift 2nd Row Seats

Front seats offer decent comfort and are power adjustable. Driver seat gets powered height adjust, memory function (two settings) and welcome function. Between the front seat is a sliding armrest with a soft touch with a storage area underneath. Large windows and a panoramic sunroof let in a lot of light.

2nd row can be had in both individual captain seats or bench. Hyundai provided Rushlane with 6S variant with captain seats. These seats offer decent all-around comfort, packing extendable under-thigh support along with sliding and reclining seats. Front seat backrest has been scooped so as to offer more knee room for 2nd-row occupants.

Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Boss Mode
Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Boss Mode

These seats were ventilated and boasted wing-type headrests, for the first time on Alcazar. Tray tables with sliding cup holders are carried over. The left passenger in 2nd row can extend their comfort with ‘Boss Mode’ feature, which is electrically operated on Alcazar facelift for that proper chauffeur-driven experience. The built-in retractable sunshades are a notable element for 2nd-row comfort as well. There are 2 USB Type-C ports and a wireless charger.

A 3rd row of seats is Alcazar’s primary strength, but there is virtually no space here for an adult like myself. It feels cramped with barely any room. Regardless, these seats get headrests, AC vents with blower control, USB ports and cup holders. With all 3 rows up, there is barely any luggage space, though. Folding the 3rd-row seats, one can easily accommodate luggage for five for a weekend.

Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Boot With 3rd Row Down
Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Boot With 3rd Row Down

Features and gizmos

Just like the Creta facelift, Hyundai Alcazar facelift doesn’t yet support Android Auto and Apple CarPlay wirelessly. Driver display has different themes depending on the drive mode and shows all the necessary info about the car. This is where the car’s blind spot view monitor is displayed along with infographics from the active safety systems (ADAS suite). Driver display settings are accessible via the steering-mounted controls.

There is one wireless charging pad for both front and rear rows. USB Type-A and Type-C ports along with a 12 V 180W auxiliary power outlet take care of topping up your electronics and even small appliances. Centre console also has a leather-wrapped gear lever, drive modes control here along with an electric parking brake, auto hold, 360 camera, hill descent control and front seat ventilation functions. Just like Creta facelift, Alcazar facelift gets dual-zone automatic climate control as well.

Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Centre Console
Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Centre Console

Hyundai is offering Jio Saavn app subscription for a year and a premium 8-speaker BOSE system. There is built-in navigation too. Overall, the infotainment screen is slick with a well-thought user interface. ADAS features come in handy for stress-free driving. With adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and automatic emergency braking, Alcazar promises you a safe journey while reducing driver fatigue.

Apart from the extensive BlueLink connected car telematics suite, there is one more interesting feature on offer with the new Hyundai Alcazar. And it is the digital key that works on NFC. Users can share this digital key with 3 people. So, a total of 4 digital keys will be available across a maximum of maximum of 7 devices (including smartwatches) for the same car. This is a really handy feature and we could probably see it coming in more cars in the future. Also, Alcazar facelift has automatic lock and unlock based on proximity with the key, similar to my Renault Captur and I love this feature.

Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Digital Key
Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Digital Key

Performance and Ride

Talking about performance, Hyundai Alcazar facelift packs a 1.5L 4-cyl turbo petrol engine delivering 160 PS of peak power and and 253 Nm of peak torque. Transmission options on offer are 6MT or a 7DCT. There’s also the trusty-ol 1.5L diesel on offer, which delivers 115 PS of peak power and 250 Nm of peak torque, mated to either a 6MT or a 6TC. We drove the Turbo Petrol DCT variant in Udaipur.

This is the same engine as seen in Creta, Carens and Seltos. It is a fun and responsive engine, with up to 160 PS of peak power. 100 km/h comes up in under 10 seconds. The DCT transmission offers quick and seamless gear shifts without any hesitation. Overtaking is a breeze, especially with the added convenience of paddle shifters, making the drive more engaging.

Hyundai Alcazar Facelift 1.5L GDi
Hyundai Alcazar Facelift 1.5L GDi

Just like its predecessor, Alcazar facelift feels composed at normal speeds, handling curves confidently, though it can lose some of its poise if you push beyond its limits. The stopping power is excellent, thanks to the all-around disc brakes, which offer reliable braking performance. However, initial bite could have been sharpened a tad bit for even more confidence.

The suspension is well-tuned for Indian road conditions, smoothly handling everything from smooth highways to rough patches. It doesn’t feel as robust as a few rivals, but it does inspire confidence when tackling Indian roads. Ground clearance was generous too and we didn’t face any issues with underbody scraping, even on bad roads we encountered in Udaipur.

Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Digital Cockpit
Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Digital Cockpit

In terms of fuel efficiency, Hyundai claims around 17-18 km/l depending on the powertrain combination. During our spirited test drive, we saw about 5 kmpl on the cluster. However, under regular driving conditions, achieving 10+ km/l should be relatively easy on the Turbo Petrol and a lot more on the Diesel. The drive modes—Normal, Eco, and Sport—help tailor the throttle response, making it easier to manage performance and fuel economy based on your needs.

Noise levels in the cabin are well-controlled, but at higher speeds, some wind and road noise do make their way inside. The steering is light and easy to handle in the city, and it gains more weight and feedback at highway speeds, making for a balanced driving experience. Owing to its tall riding nature, there is body roll and we even observed slightly higher under-steering than rivals.

Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Drive
Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Drive

Room for improvement

We felt that Alcazar facelift could have turned the premium quotient a lot higher than it currently does as it starts from Rs 15 lakh (Ex-sh) going till Rs 21.55 lakh (Ex-sh). We say this because it misses out on features and elements that vehicles costing 30% of Alcazar’s base price have offered in the past.

1. We would have liked it if the digital key feature was also given to the rear left door so that the owner does not have to wait for the chauffeur to unlock the car.

2. There is no cornering light feature.

3. A powered tailgate is being offered today in the compact SUV space and Alcazar misses out on it.

4. On the inside, there are no soft-touch plastics on the dashboard and centre console. Which would have certainly added to the overall premiumness.

5. Hyundai could have added more elegance to suit the ‘Premium’ tag more. In this sense, the glove box is not dampened and the same applies to roof-mounted grab handles as well.

6. Front passenger and driver sun-blinds do not get vanity light.

Hyundai Alcazar Facelift
Hyundai Alcazar Facelift

Conclusion

Concluding the Hyundai Alcazar facelift is slightly tricky. We say this because a Kia Carens, with identical ethos (high riding crossover vehicle derived from a compact SUV) as Alcazar facelift, is priced from Rs 10.52 lakh (Ex-sh). Apples-to-apples, Carens Turbo Petrol starts from Rs 12 lakh (Ex-sh) with iMT. Larger vehicles like Mahindra XUV700 are more affordable than the Hyundai Alcazar facelift where lower variants are concerned. At this price point, buying lower variants of Alcazar facelift makes very little sense.

Where higher variants are concerned, the matter is now completely flipped in Alcazar’s favour. We say this because Alcazar facelift strikes an extremely well-kitted-out and feature-rich proposition when compared to rivals like Tata Safari and Mahindra XUV700 as it undercuts these offerings by a significant margin. Less so, with MG Hector Plus. At Rs 21.5 lakh (Ex-sh), Alcazar Signature trim offers a lot of bang for the buck when compared to rivals and sits proudly over the Creta.

Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Drive
Hyundai Alcazar Facelift Drive

Sure, the “Seth Ji Wali Feeling” is less in Alcazar when compared to rivals, but if I am saving between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 6 lakh (Ex-sh), I would be compelled to go with Hyundai and then be rewarded with the brand’s excellent after-sales service and dealer network. All the advertised features worked the way they should, which can’t be said about most of Alcazar’s rivals. Kudos to Hyundai for making Alcazar more intelligent, versatile, intense and accommodating than ever before.

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