PART II: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CRETA!

Driving the electric version of the country's most successful midsize SUV to the world's highest post office!

- WORDS ABHAY VERMA PHOTOGRAPHY AKSHAY JADHAV, SAIDATTA NAIK, SHRENITH BHANDARY

Would you drive to the world's highest post office in an electric SUV? Most would refuse the offer outright. But the temptation to do so in the Hyundai Creta Electric was irresistible. We'd just returned from driving the Creta to Pokhran - celebrating the SUV's 10th birthday and its 'explosive' performance in the country - but while that was a good drive, it had also left us wanting for more adventure. So this time we decided to drive the Creta Electric to the world's highest post office!

And why not. Powered by a 51.4kWh battery pack, the Creta Electric boasts an ARAI-certified range of 510km, which makes it perfect for road trips, while building on the Creta's decade-long legacy. A detailed route map with a list of charging stations was readied, with help from the MyHyundai app, and we were set to drive to the world's highest post office. We're talking about driving to the tiny village of Hikkim in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh, which sits at a dizzying 14,500 feet above sea level!

Our journey started with a quick bolt from the Delhi-NCR to Chandigarh, on arrow-straight highways. The Creta Electric was quick to offer the same, friendly and comforting feel we've known its ICE-powered versions to offer. Even more impressive was the fact that I still had 50 percent charge and a range of over 200km left, even 250km later, as the powertrain was returning nearly 9km per kWh consistently. This translates to over 450km on a single charge, which meant I could drive straight from Gurugram to Shimla, without needing to recharge the battery!