Hyundai’s new Alcazar might appeal to more people than one imagines
As someone who likes smaller cars and sedans, I have often failed to understand the rationale behind the growth of the three-row SUV segment in India over the past few quarters. To be precise, extended wheelbase three-row versions of SUVs. There was the MG Hector Plus based on the Hector, then the Tata Safari based on the Harrier and now Hyundai’s Alcazar, based on the Creta. If you wanted a three-row car I always felt that the Ertiga and XL6 did the job quite well at one end of the market and then there is always the old, reliable Toyota Innova.
But after having driven the Alcazar, I had a few conversations with potential vehicle buyers, people who drive themselves, who told me that they were seriously considering the Alcazar as their next vehicle. Not that any of them were ruling out the Hector Plus or Safari, but a couple of these folks owned the first-generation Creta and buying the second-generation Creta did not, according to them, feel like an upgrade. These people were clearly not Honda City owners.
When I drove the Alcazar, and I drove the two-litre petrol with the six-speed manual, I genuinely felt that the car was positioned at separate and discrete segments, like senior executives who were being driven between work and home. Families that make frequent highway journeys and need the luggage space, with the third-row folded down. And then there are parents of school-going children who could use three-row cars for school runs and of course, the hospitality segment. The last two segments being non-existent nowadays, although hotels are thankfully recovering. Instead, a few of the people considering the Alcazar drove themselves, they were all mid-career professionals and felt that the Alcazar ticked all the boxes for them, even if they would never really enjoy the comforts of the captain seats, which are really nice. The third row however is not a place for adults in any situation but a pinch. That said, Hyundai has smartly put two USB charging points and air-con controls for this row as well, and if it is bought by a family where the children are put in this row, they can entertain themselves.
Make no mistakes, in the top-end ‘Platinum’ trim, the Alcazar is a very nice car. Indeed even the two lower trims have features like the panoramic sunroof, but I’d rather have six airbags in all trims over a sunroof, only the Platinum comes with that. The multi-colour ambient lighting, which I couldn’t really experience since we drove in the day is a nice addition as well, but by far the feature I appreciated the most was the side-mirror cameras that activated when you gave an indicator signal and displayed on the requisite dial on the digital instrument cluster. That is a really useful feature in a car but particularly so in a long car like the Alcazar. Yes, it isn’t new as Honda and Kia have displayed such mirror cameras on the central console, but this view in the instrument cluster feels more natural because it eliminates the blind spot without you needing to lift your eyes off the road.
There are other features I liked in the Alcazar, but when it comes to things I wasn’t so fond of, well, its looks come to mind right away. While the second-generation Creta has grown on me somewhat, the Alcazar just doesn’t have a very aesthetic appeal. However, I’ve always maintained that you sit inside a car, and interior comfort and features are what matter. Hyundai knows that, because the Santro, the ugly duckling of all cars made Hyundai India into a royal swan of a company. I have already been proven wrong in assuming that there will be a limited appeal to the Alcazar. And Hyundai’s success in the SUV market — the Creta continues to be India’s top-selling SUV — might mean that this Creta derivative could kick some ass as well.
