After much anticipation, Kia introduced Seltos in India for an initial price of Rs 9.69 lakh. It has the right ingredients for success and loaded features and has a lot of engine and transfer options. But is all of this enough to face its well-known rivals including the huge and equally MG Hector, the brilliant Tata Harrier, the Cretan Creole, and the older XUV500?
Size is not the power of Seltos. Although it may be slightly larger than Creta, which is much smaller, it lags behind another large part. If you would like your SUV to be bigger and bigger, the Hector, Harrier, and XUV500 fit better on credit as they are much longer, wider, and much longer respectively. This is also reflected in the interior space as the three big ones are very comfortable in the legroom and have a good value for width and back. That does not mean that Seltos and Crete are bad as they can sit two to six feet behind each other.
The Seltos comes with a 433-liter boot that better the big Harrier with smaller berries. But MG Hector has the biggest boot here. The XUV500 is only seven seats in this test and as all three lines are high, it has a very small boot. But the XUV500 has a 475-liter boot the right size if you intend to use it as a five-seater. Creta has the smallest boot in this area.
The table above makes it clear that Kia is playing its card in the list of features. Like its rivals, Seltos comes with features such as cruise control, climate control, AC vents in the rear, touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, keyless entry, and push-button start.
Seltos also offers rear-facing sunlight and a vertical indicator for the first phase. It also shares some features with Creta such as a wireless charger and ventilated front seats. The powerful driver’s seat is available with the Seltos, Creta, Hector, and XUV500 while the MG offers this on the passenger side.
The Seltos and Hector are the only ones that come with ambient headlights, reclining rear seats, and connected car technology.
All five models come with a sunroof that we Indians love. The MG Hector has a panoramic unit and the Harrier sunroof is a standard dealer that can be found in any variant. And while Harrier comes with all the basic human needs, it is the least armed in the group.
It should be noted that Seltos, Harrier, and Hector are the only ones that come up with premium sound systems.
All the SUVs here come with safety features such as six airbags, ABS with EBD, an electronic stability program, and hill-hold control. While they all come with rear parking sensors with a camera, the Seltos and Hector offer front-facing parking sensors that are compatible with a 360-degree camera. Harrier also packs the front parking sensors is equal to the dealer level.
Other than that the Harrier and XUV500 are the only ones that come with hill descent control. Seltos also packs a blind watch monitor that feeds the live stream from the left-hand camera on the ORVM to a multi-detail display when the left cursor is activated.
The Seltos has a smaller and less powerful diesel engine here. It produces 115PS power and 250Nm of torque and lags with full 13PS and 10Nm. Larger models come with larger interchangeable engines equivalent to extra power. Hector and Harrier have one 2.0 liter engine but MG produces 170PS and Tata produces 140PS. Both engines produce the same 350Nm of torque. The XUV500 has the largest engine in this collection and produces the most torque here.
All SUVs come with a 6-speed manual as usual. But if it is the default option you prefer, your options are limited to Seltos, Creta, and XUV500.
In terms of fuel efficiency, the small Seltos engine proves to be very economical here. Followed by Creta, MG Hector, Tata Harrier, and finally, Mahindra XUV500.
Seltos comes with two 1.4-liter turbo petrol trains and a 1.5 liter aspirated nature. The 1.4-liter turbo petrol produces 140PS, which is almost identical to the MG Hector and Mahindra XUV500. The torque figures, although close to the MG, are far behind the XUV500, which has the best in class. Creta’s 1.6 liters and Seltos’ 1.5-liter are the only engines emerging in the group and lagging behind its most powerful peers.
Unlike their diesel brothers, all types of fuel can be found with an automatic gearbox. But surprisingly, the XUV500 petrol doesn’t go with a manual gearbox.
In terms of fuel savings, the Seltos NA fuel is the most efficient followed by the Seltos T-GDI, Hyundai Creta, MG Hector, and Mahindra XUV500.
Kia has completely outperformed Seltos prices. Costing Rs 9.69 lakh in contrast to the entry-level variant, the base spec Seltos is the cheapest SUV one can buy right now. Its very high diversity lowers its rivals (excluding Creta) by a large margin. In addition to those eight trim levels, a long list of features and a host of engine and transmission options mean that there is Selto for everyone. At Kia, they look like a winner in their hands.
The Hyundai Creta is introduced with three similar BS6 engines available with the Kia Seltos. MG Motor India and Mahindra and Mahindra have updated the Hector and XUV500, respectively, to meet BS6 release standards. Tata Motors launched the Harrier BS6 in India in February this year.
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Kia Seltos
With all five SUVs – Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, MG Hector, Tata Harrier, and Mahindra XUV500 – compliant with the BS6, it is exciting to compare their prices. But before we make such a comparison, it should be clear that not all five SUVs are available with a petrol and diesel engine. For Creta, Seltos, and Hector, customers can choose between gasoline and diesel engines. But when it comes to the Harrier and XUV500, the choice is limited to the diesel mill only.
MG Hector
Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos get the same 1.4-liter Turbo-GDi BS6 engines (140PS and 242Nm) and 1.5-liter BS6 petrol engines (115PS and 144Nm). The 1.4-liter Turbo-GDi BS6 petrol comes with 7-speed DCT in Crete and is available with a 6-speed manual gearbox and a 7-speed DCT in Seltos. The 1.5 liter BS6 petrol comes with a 6-speed manual gearbox and IVT options for two SUVs. The MG Hector comes with a BS6 1.5-liter turbo-petrol engine (143PS and 250Nm) coupled with a 6-speed manual gearbox, and a 6-speed DCT. The Hector is also available with a variety of hybrid fuel, but with a 6-speed manual gearbox.
The Hyundai Creta is introduced with three similar BS6 engines available with the Kia Seltos. MG Motor India and Mahindra and Mahindra have updated the Hector and XUV500, respectively, to meet BS6 release standards. Tata Motors launched the Harrier BS6 in India in February this year.
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