Pleasantly surprising Russian fans of the brand. The car, which will appear on our market no earlier than August, can be purchased at a very reasonable cost - from 749,900 rubles. The Koreans do not hide that their main rival for the attention of motorists will be another novelty - Renault Kaptur. It is obvious that the prices for a compact SUV were formed under the influence of competition with a stylish "Frenchman". However, experts are sure that Cretu will be compared not only with Captur, but at least with three more models. An analysis of price lists and configurations specially for RG was prepared by Dmitry Rybalchenko and Kira Kaddaha (autospot.ru car aggregator).

Playing for a fall ... and for a decrease

Renault managed to successfully enter the same river twice. Once the French introduced the most affordable SUV (albeit a compact one), and now it is an affordable urban crossover. But Kaptur will not rest on its laurels for long. As soon as the first happy buyers received their cars, a serious competitor loomed on the horizon - Hyundai is preparing to launch the new Creta. The battle for the wallets of motorists will unfold epic. Despite the fact that several Chinese are already teeming in this market segment, the domestic Xray and the Ford Ecosport.

In general, the trend is clear. Firstly, people want "jeeps" (small, off-road, without all-wheel drive - it doesn't matter), and secondly, people want affordable "jeeps". So, soon we will see new compact crossovers from a number of players. But marketing availability is no guarantee of a really low price. Let's see how much small SUVs really cost and what joys are hidden inside the pretty bodies of Renault Kaptur, Hyundai Creta, Lada Xray, Ford Ecosport and Lifan X60.

Size matters

First of all, let's compare the numerical parameters, because we will get the dimensions and ground clearance regardless of the configuration.

So, Kaptur confidently crushes the rivals with anthropometry. It also leads in terms of ground clearance (by the way, Renault has always perfectly prepared cars for Russian conditions). The most "parquet" was "Chinese", and the most compact - domestic Xray.

Is everyone equal in the beginning?

To be extremely objective, let's sort through all the pros and cons of the basic configurations, because it's no secret to anyone that only the most budget version of a car can tell more about it than any other!

With the advent of Hyundai Creta on the Russian market, it became clear that the Koreans strongly want to change the direction of their line, taking compact crossovers as a basis. At the same time, you cannot call a small car, because it is only five centimeters shorter than the Hyundai Tucson.

What can I say, the basic configuration of the Hyundai Creta (Start) with a 1.6 engine of 123 horsepower in terms of price starts from 749,900 rubles. For this money, you get not only a high-quality Korean crossover, but also a branded audio system with USB, AUX and Bluetooth connectors, adjustable steering column, front seats, power windows, power steering and other attributes of a comfortable and safe ride.

The price for a brand new Renault Kaptur (1.64, 114 hp) is offered from the mark of 859,000 rubles - a noticeable difference with the Korean novelty, don't you think? At the same time, the French crossover in the "Life" configuration (not to say that this is the basic version - the manufacturer, in principle, renounced the budget options for "Capture") is already equipped with air conditioning, electric windows, and a key card, and a course stability system, and two airbags... By the way, Crete also has two of them, but in the maximum configuration - six (due to airbags), and not four.

The domestic Lada Xray (engine 1.6 for 106 "horses") compares favorably with the proposed new products in terms of price: AvtoVAZ asks only 589,000 rubles for the Optima package. For this amount, the car enthusiast receives not only a miracle of Russian engineering, but also a whole range of pleasant options such as a Bluetooth channel, front power windows, steering wheel and seat adjustment, two airbags, a road stabilization system, remote control of the lock and access to the ERA-satellite system. GLONASS". For a domestic car - not bad at all!

But the Ford Ecosport 2 with a 1.6 engine of 122 horsepower fits well into the price segment of Creta and Captyura: the basic configuration of the Trend is estimated at 909,000 rubles, taking into account the proposed discount. And in terms of saturation with options, it will not yield one iota to new crossovers: already in the “base” there is a powerful air conditioner, side mirrors with the possibility of electrical adjustment, LED optics, power windows and many different smaller “amenities” for the driver!

The Chinese Lifan X60, which is very popular in Russia (engine 1.8, 128 "horses") in the "base" costs from 629,900 rubles, which, I must say, distinguishes it from other crossovers. In the "Basic" version (why bother with the name of the basic configuration?), the car is equipped with a power steering, two airbags, the ability to adjust the steering wheel and seats, remote control of the central lock, a multimedia system, etc.

Spreading money... And for what?

Ford Ecosport. Photo: https://media.ford.com.

So, front-wheel drive cars with mechanics in basic configurations generally cost within one million and are equipped with the same "chips". Maybe there will be significant differences in the luxury versions of these crossovers?

Hyundai Creta with all-wheel drive, automatic transmission and 149 hp 2.0 engine. costs from 1,139,900 rubles. If in ascending order of price, then the Korean crossover, literally “breathing in the back of its head”, is followed by Renault Kaptur (1,149,990) with a 143 hp 2.0 engine and Ford Ecosport for 1,379,000 rubles with a 2.0 unit for 140 horses and a full drive (though with manual transmission). And here the Lada Xray (with a price for the most advanced equipment of 742,000 and a 1.8 engine for 122 "horses") and a Lifan X60 worth 819,900 rubles, equipped with a 1.8 unit for 128 hp, are knocked out of the general system.

The ground clearance (a very important factor in choosing a crossover) is acceptable for all models for conquering Russian off-road, but Capture stands out especially in this regard with its record figure of 205 mm!

It is a pity, of course, that even in the luxury version of the X-Ray it does not have all-wheel drive. This fact and the presence of a relatively weak engine do not allow the domestic car to show itself at its best as an SUV. But on the other hand, he has the biggest advantage in terms of fuel consumption in the combined cycle - only 6.8 liters per hundred! By the way, Crete has this figure of 7.5, while Lifan has 8.2 at all!

In general, the cars are worth each other in terms of saturation of the maximum configuration. And the creative Chinese even provided the opportunity to play games in the multimedia system of the new X60, slightly inferior in terms of quality interior design to the same Crete, for example.

Lifan X60. Photo: carzclub.

Final score

Well, in the "base" our rivals are not poor, but nothing more. And if you imagine that these are cars with one and a half liters under the hood, front-wheel drive and "mechanics", then why not take a closer look at the "fat" hatchbacks and sedans of the same class? Lifan turned out to be the "emptiest" in this series, while Xray looks very convincing, pushing newfangled competitors with a multifunctional steering wheel, GLONASS, alarms, etc. The Ecosport looks the most balanced, Kaptur has “failed” for utility, and Creta for active safety (and child seat mounts in a modern family car must be in any case).

The "richest" again came out "Kaptur". However, the description of the "secret super-Creta" of the top-end configuration is circulating on the net, which is not even in the descriptions yet. It is also worth noting that Lada does not at all look like a "poor relative", especially considering the cost of 742 thousand (this is almost 40% cheaper than Creta). Unfortunately, the ultimate front-wheel drive, in our opinion, is generally a reason for disqualification from the competition, either X-Ray or Lifan.

For a visual comparison - a plate with three options: basic equipment with manual transmission, minimum engine and front-wheel drive; medium with "automatic" and front-wheel drive; the maximum version with all-wheel drive, flagship engine and automatic transmission. Xray, Lifan and Ecosport stood out. The first two do not have an all-wheel drive version at all, the third one has an automatic transmission in conjunction with all-wheel drive.

And one more thing

Let's not forget about bonuses. So, a domestic crossover can become cheaper by 40-50 thousand under Trade-in / recycling programs. Approximately the same discounts pleases Lifan. Renault offers to throw off already up to 70 thousand on the same conditions (and some dealers beckon with a direct discount). Interesting? But here we are looking at an offer from Ford and whispering thanks to the company for the controversial design of its SUV. Currently, discounts on Ecosport reach 170 thousand rubles, not counting program bonuses.

Recall, Creta will be on sale only in August. And now we can only assume that Hyundai's basic programs will apply to this model.