The Hyundai Creta has been a sensational success story, in both its pre- and post-facelift terms. However, a raft of new SUVs with enticing price tags have been eating into the Creta’s market share. Time, then, for the South Koreans to fight back! Say hello to the Hyundai Creta Sports Edition. To create it, what the carmaker has done is take the SX trim and garnish it with over 20 cosmetic changes inside and out.

Changes inside the cabin include black seat fabric with Creta embossing, contrast stitching in the boot area, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and silver accents on the AC vents, inside door handles, console upper cover and the steering wheel. As far as exterior cosmetic upgrades are concerned, the SUV gets smoked headlamp enclosures, black ORVMs, a rear spoiler, faux dual exhaust outlets finished in chrome, front grille finished in black and dark chrome, and silver-coloured front and rear skid plates as well as roof rails.

Hyundai is offering the Creta Sports Edition in just two colours – black and white with black roof. In the standard Creta SX, 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels and an electric sunroof are available but only in the petrol-AT variant. The Sports Edition, however, gets both those features as standard. The rest of the kit is carried as-is from the SX trim.

The Creta Sports Edition is available with both 1.6-litre petrol and diesel engines. However, the only transmission option available is the 6-speed manual. Where the petrol engine is good for 121hp/151Nm, the diesel packs 126hp/260Nm. Prices? Well, the petrol-powered variant is priced at Rs 12.78 lakh and the diesel at Rs 14.13 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). That means for all the added bits, Hyundai is asking for an extra Rs 53,000 (approximately). The dual-tone finish, however, will cost an additional Rs 11,000.

In India, the Hyundai Creta competes directly with the Nissan Kicks and the Renault Captur. However, the Kia Seltos will soon join that list of compact SUVs. Other bigger SUVs, such as the MG Hector and the Tata Harrier, have also spoiled Creta’s party with their enticing price tags.