Sisters are here to give healthy competition
Looks
Starting with the new car in the town Kia Seltos, it looks sporty and edgy. But in comparison, it is smaller but it has the fresher design of the two. Creta has a comparatively boxy and simpler design language. And you can simply tell that which one is the newer SUV here by taking a look at both of them. Overall it is Seltos that turns more head because of it’s fresher design.
Interior
In this area, the Kia Seltos wins hands down. Because it has much nicer and rich cabin experience. Fit and Finish is also better here. 10.25-inch touchscreen is nice and gives it an ambience of a much expensive car. But that doesn’t mean that Creta’s interior is bad. They are also of good quality and fit and finish is good on its own but it only loses in this comparison. And I like the dashboard design of the Creta here because it looks better than Kia’s blacktop dashboard. Steering of Kia Seltos looks sportier and better to hold.
Space and Comfort
In terms of front-seat space and comfort, it’s a tie here. Both are equally spacious and comfortable even for longer journeys you want to go in these SUVs. In terms of rear-seat experience and space, it’s the Seltos which is an overall better car here. It has marginally better legroom and has more width so it can accommodate 3 passengers with ease. And if it comes to experience it has Sunblindes and reclinable seats which make it a better rear seat car. But it loses to Creta in terms of under-thigh support and seating height. You sat high in the Creta which is more like an SUV and feels good. Boot space on offer by Kia Seltos is 433L (which is segment-leading) and by Creta 400L.
Features and Safety
In the top-spec diesel variants of the two SUVs and both models get very good features. Powered driver’s seats, ventilated front seats, leatherette upholstery, sunroof, keyless entry and go and automatic climate control are features which are common here. The Seltos have more with LED headlamps, auto headlights, rear seat backrest recline, rear sunblinds, an air purifier, a tyre pressure monitoring system and front parking sensors too. The Seltos has the larger (10.25-inch vs the Creta’s 7.0-inch unit), and it’s also the only one to get eSIM-based connected tech. On the safety front, both cars get ABS EBD, 6 airbags, rear parking sensors with camera, hill start assist and ESC. Seltos gets rear disc brakes too.
Lets drive them
Kia Seltos has the latest generation of 1.5L turbo diesel from Hyundai-Kia house. It has 115hp power and 250Nm torque figures in comparison to the Creta’s 1.6 diesel’s 128hp and 260Nm. But numbers do lie. It has better low-end grunt and it delivers power in a linear fashion. It is quicker in in-gear acceleration too. It is the more refined engine of the two. It is quieter at idle and overall smoother. Clutch is light and gearbox is slick. So it makes the driving experience better.
Talking about the Creat it is not a bad car at all. It drives more enthusiastically. It is also faster from standstill to 100. In the city, both cars manage to do well. Smaller footprints than the conventional SUVs makes them easy to steer and park. Steerings are also light.
On the highway, it’s the Seltos which is more confident because of it’s better steering and Mature suspension setup. Both cars have very good ride quality but how Kia manages to soak up bumps at any speed is just better. And suspension plays a vital role in the corners too where Seltos shines over Creta.
Price and Verdict
Price of Hyundai Creta is 15.67 Lakh ex-Showroom and Kia Seltos 15.99 Lakh ex-Showroom.
Kia is the winner of this comparison. It has a slightly higher price tag but worth every penny you spend on it. Better feature-loaded and Nicer to drive.
With its arrival, this sales champ looks dated.
Two Wheel Storm 