Last year, Hyundai re-launched their brand in the Philippines, and with that was a new line up which included the Creta subcompact crossover SUV, and the Stargazer, their contender for the 7-seater MPV category. These are both Hyundai’s frontline models in their renewed nationwide campaign. In tune with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions around the country, Hyundai sees the best way to promote their vehicles as ideal for road trips. Hyundai Motors Philippines brought us to the Queen City of the South, Cebu to experience them.   Our journey began at the Hyundai Cebu South dealership, serving as the starting point of an incredible drive. With four assigned to a vehicle, this made for a realistic simulation of a relatively average load — a group of friends with some luggage for a trip out on the open road. Our destination was a place called Lakeview Le Jardin, a botanical garden situated at km 30 of Cebu’s Trancentral Highway. It has an amazing view of a lake and the valley that surrounds it. It’s located about two hours away from the city center. *The Hyundai Creta's interior.* The Creta and Stargazer are in different vehicle categories. However, they are both powered by the same engine, tuned to put out the same power and torque. Under the hood is the versatile Smartstream G 1.5L DOHC D-CVVT which puts out 115-PS at 6,300 rpm with 144-Nm at 4,500 rpm.  As we made our way from the dealership, we encountered Cebu City’s traffic, despite the time being long after morning rush hour. We were comfy in the cabin of the Creta. There was enough space for the four of us. We also didn’t get claustrophobic as the vehicle provided good all-around visibility of our surroundings outside.   When we finally hit  the open road, we made our way up and around the winding roads. Hyundai’s version of the CVT, their Intelligent Variable Transmission or IVT worked pretty well, responding well to throttle input. It was Nimble, the sport mode that kept us in the high revs and, as expected, response was very good. Setting drive mode to Smart lets the vehicle response adjust automatically to the current driving condition and this works well in conjunction with the “intelligent” in IVT. We arrived at Lakeview Le Jardin just in time for lunch. We enjoyed the cool weather and ambiance, along with a hearty lechon lunch. It’s Cebu… did you expect anything less? After lunch we explored the amenities and tried our hand at making some handicrafts which they also sell. After taking more photos of the Creta and Stargazer, we made our drive back to the city, and as we left, the weather changed and it started to rain. *The Hyundai Stargazer's interior.* Our dive back was in the Stargazer, and we immediately noticed the different driving dynamics of the MPV versus the subcompact crossover SUV. I felt somewhat safer on the road driving back in a larger vehicle. The rain was quite strong and the first 30-45 mins of the drive back was through fog as the weather was cool. The Stargazer was spacious compared to the Creta, even as we didn’t use the third row, we still had lots of space for the four of us. The longer wheelbase of the Stargazer handled the twisties like a champ and smoothened out the bumps on the road better than the Creta. Of course, a bigger vehicle meant that the 1.5L engine worked harder than the Creta, but it too had selectable drive modes, which helped with throttle response. *The back seats of the Hyundai Stargazer* Both the Creta and Stargazer also feature advanced safety technologies, Hyundai’s Smartsense, namely Forward Collision-avoidance Assist (FCA), Lane Following Assist (LFA), Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Blind-spot Collision-avoidance Assist (BCA), Rear Cross-traffic Collision-avoidance Assist (RCCA), Hill-start Assist Control, Rear View Monitor (RVM) and dual airbags, while the Stargazer specifically has six airbags, Safe Exit Warning (SEW), Driver Attention Warning (DAW), High Beam Assist (HBA), Reverse Parking Distance Warning (PDW-R). It was around sunset when we got back into the city and we had a chance to drive across the 8.5km long CCLEX, which was a great backdrop for some really nice photos of the Creta and Stargazer. We also experienced the early evening rush hour traffic on our way to our hotel, Dusit Thani in Mactan. *The back seats of the Hyundai Creta*   The Creta and the Stargazer may be two completely different vehicles, for different demographics, they are however both very capable as a daily driver in the city, through rush hour traffic jams and at speed on open country roads.  We drove the top-of-the-line Creta 1.5 GLS IVT priced at P1,332,000, and it’s price is positioned somewhere  in the middle of its category, making it reasonable with the inclusion of Hyundai Smartsense.  The top-of-the-line Stargazer 1.5 GLS is priced at P1,218,000, which also places it near the middle of its price category. At that price, with safety features like Hyundai’s Smartsense, it makes a practical choice. It all just really depends on your preference, a five-seater subcompact crossover SUV or a seven-seater MPV?