Last year, we drove the Hyundai Creta Electric to the world’s highest post office, which was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Driving an EV to one of the world’s coldest and remotest regions was challenging, but the Creta performed brilliantly, and had its reliability and build quality shine through. But at TURBOCHARGED we like our challenges, and felt driving the electric SUV to 14,500 feet wasn’t enough. So we got behind the wheel of the Creta Electric again, this time to put it through the ultimate torture test, a 24-hour drive, in peak winter, in North India!
We charged the car fully at one of Hyundai’s own 180kW fast chargers in Gurugram and set off East, towards Uttar Pradesh. It was biting cold at 6am and air temperature was 4 degrees Celsius! The first thing that came to my mind was that while it had impressed immensely on our trip to Spiti, the next 24 hours were going to be very different for the Creta Electric. That’s because driving fast on highways for 24 hours with only charging stops in between was going to be very different from driving in the mountains.
Its 51.4kWh battery enables the Creta with a claimed range of 510km, and it manages well over 450km on a single charge in the real world. Importantly, the Creta Electric allows faster charging now, letting you go from 20 to 80 percent in just 39 minutes! I was also driving on some of India’s best highways around the Delhi-NCR this time, and not in the mountains. These highways have improved significantly to match global standards, and matching them today are fast charging networks for EVs, again, matching global standards.
Hyundai has its own wide network of chargers offering speeds of up to 180kW, besides which Statiq, Hyundai’s charging partner, has chargers offering speeds of 240kW! What’s more, Hyundai has been making electric vehicles globally for a long time, and the experience and engineering finesse have made their way into the Creta. A world-class EV on world-class highways, with fast charging sounded like a plan! The early morning fog was a challenge as we got onto the EPE or Eastern Peripheral Expressway, but thankfully, the fog lifted soon. Traffic on the EPE is sparse, and this is a 6-lane expressway with a 120kmph speed limit, which helped me cover distances rapidly.
The EPE is also India’s first Expressway to use solar-powered lighting across its 135km length and has arrangements for rainwater harvesting at every 500 metres – the Creta Electric was a perfect match with its zero tailpipe emissions! The EPE also allowed me to make the most of the SUV’s 170 horses, though the progressive throttle responses have it feel friendly, despite the powerful acceleration and effortless performance. The Creta Electric is also a confident handler thanks to its well-tuned suspension, making sustaining 120kmph easy. Side note: this was a great time for a 24 hour test, because Hyundai just sold 2 lakh Cretas in 2025, the highest annual sales number for the SUV, besides which the Creta Electric just turned one and TURBOCHARGED just turned five!
200km came up in just over three hours, and having access to Statiq’s 240kW charger, right next to the highway at Gajraula in Uttar Pradesh was tempting. A quick top-up to 85 percent, and we were back on the road. Well past noon we came across yet another Hyundai charger, at a dhaba on the highway. The setup was the same as Gurugram with a 180kW charger and a 60kW one, proof that Hyundai’s charging network isn’t limited to metro cities, which ensures range anxiety is a thing of the past. We continued driving from Gajraula to Gurugram and back and before we quite knew it, we were approaching the 12 hour mark. But even with the sun about to go down the team and I were feeling fresh, as the Creta Electric wasn’t just comfortable, it was also delivering consistent performance and range like clockwork.
A blanket of fog engulfed the highway even before it got dark, given the fields lining it. Good news though was that we were closing in on the 700km mark! The Creta’s all-LED headlamps helped with their strong beam in the dark, besides which the view from behind the wheel was good. Both front seats are electrically adjustable and the driver’s seat gets a memory function, so finding my sweet spot was easy even after switching drivers. One of our charging stops also had me reacquaint myself with the Creta Electric’s Vehicle to Load feature. While the fast charger recharged the SUV’s battery, I plugged my laptop into the plug point below the rear seat and got some work done. The charging break also had me use the Creta’s folding tray table to place my phone and watch OTT content – talk about making the most of 24 hours!
Its premium Bose audio system was a good companion too, besides which the Creta Electric comes with Hyundai’s ‘Sounds of Nature’ that helped us stay relaxed even after hours of driving. Having multiple regen levels was helping too, allowing us to coast when needed. I was also able to switch to i-Pedal mode quickly whenever I needed to maximise regenerative braking, by simply tugging at the left paddle shifter. On the other hand, adaptive cruise control and the comfortable seats were helping curb driver fatigue – nearly 18 hours and several driver swaps and charging sessions later we were still surprisingly fresh! The Creta Electric’s relentlessness was also reminding me of something different altogether – bullet trains. The SUV had been quiet yet effortless outside and also extremely quiet inside, just like high speed trains!
At 18 hours and 31 minutes we set a new record, for the shortest time taken by an electric car to cover 1,000km! The Creta Electric seemed unfazed though, and continued its bullet train-like performance without batting an eyelid. Another reason behind this is that the Creta Electric uses an advanced, liquid-cooled battery management system for optimal efficiency. An integrated heating system ensures the battery remains at ideal temperatures even in cold weather, which helps in optimising performance and also improves charging speeds and range.
Our last charging stop was at about 22 hours, and as I tried taking a quick nap my brain was racing, wondering if we would set a new 24 hour record despite not really starting off with the intention. It seemed possible as the team and I were fuelled by adrenaline (and caffeine!) and had been pushing the Creta Electric all day, and even after nearly 24 hours there was no drop in its performance or range.
The constant high speed runs, cold weather and frequent charging were having no impact on the Creta Electric, and it was almost hard to believe how consistently the SUV had performed all day and through the night. Its chassis, suspension and every component were performing perfectly, besides which the high-speed charging networks accessible to us had been helping us charge quickly, every single time. 24 hours later as it was 6am again, we had clocked 1,326.5km. The previous record stood at 1,261km and this meant we had done it. Not only did the Creta Electric pass the 24 hour test with flying colours thus, it also broke the previous national record!
Ladies and gentlemen, the Hyundai Creta Electric now holds the national record for ‘The maximum distance covered by an electric car in 24 hours’ in India, which is 1,326.5km, as validated by the India Book of Records! After scaling some of the world’s highest roads last year, the Creta Electric has also passed the torture test of being driven for 24 hours, while running at highway speeds through most of those hours, a feat now recorded and validated by the India Book of Records. Come to think of it, we hadn’t really set off with the intention, but the Creta Electric had just made light of setting a new national record! All in a day’s work, eh?
Words Abhay Verma
Photography Saidatta Naik, Shrenith Bhandary, Abhay Verma
