Auto car: Kia Seltos vs rivals: Specifications comparison

After much anticipation, Kia Motors has finally launched its first product in India, the Seltos, at Rs 9.69 lakh. The SUV can be had in 16 different versions with six engine-gearbox combinations to choose from. Despite the varied configurations and aggressive pricing, the Seltos has its work cut out, seeing as it will compete in the midsize SUV segment against rivals like the Hyundai Creta, Nissan Kicks and Renault Captur, and it’ll also find competition in the form of the new MG Hector and Tata Harrier in terms of prices. Let’s see how the Seltos compares against these rivals.

Dimensions

You can club the SUVs in consideration in two groups, with the Seltos, Creta, Kicks and Captur on one side, and the significantly larger Hector and Harrier on the other. Of the former group, the Seltos is a bit longer and wider than the Creta, and the Kia has the largest boot too; though the Kicks and Captur are marginally larger in length, width and wheelbase. Interestingly, the Nissan and Renault SUVs also have the most ground clearance of all models here. Still, a single look will tell you that the Hector and Harrier are the larger ones. The Harrier is the widest SUV in this group but the Hector is longest, tallest, has the largest wheelbase and also the biggest boot.

Dimensions
	Seltos	Hector	Harrier	Creta	Kicks	Captur
Length	4315mm	4655mm	4598mm	4270mm	4384mm	4329mm
Width	1800mm	1835mm	1894mm	1780mm	1813mm	1813mm
Height	1620mm	1760mm	1706mm	1665mm	1656mm	1619mm
Wheelbase	2610mm	2750mm	2741mm	2590mm	2673mm	2673mm
Ground Clearance	190mm	192mm	205mm	190mm	210mm	210mm
Boot Capacity	433 litres	587 litres	425 litres	405 litres	400 litres	392 litres

Engines and gearboxes

Before we get into the finer points of this section of the comparison, it’s important to note that the Seltos’ engines will be BS6 emission norms-compliant at launch. Rival SUV engines will be upgraded to BS6-spec in the months to come and there is the possibility of change in power and torque figures too.

Starting with the diesels, all SUVs here feature four-cylinder, turbo-charged engines, though the Creta is the only one to offer the choice of two units – a 90hp, 1.4-litre and a 128hp, 1.6-litre one. The Seltos’ 115hp/250Nm, 1.5 unit slots in between the two Creta diesel engines but has a mild power and torque advantage over the Kicks’ and Captur’s shared 1.5 unit that makes 110hp and 240Nm of torque. The Harrier and Hector also share their Fiat-sourced engine, a 2.0 diesel unit, though the Tata and MG use the engine in different states of tune. Where the engine makes 140hp and 350Nm on the Harrier, it makes 170hp (but the same 350Nm) on the Hector, giving the MG bragging rights in terms of power.

Six-speed manual gearboxes are standard across the board, though the Seltos and Creta 1.6 also offer the convenience of a 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission with the diesel engines.

In terms of fuel-efficiency, the Seltos diesel reigns supreme for both, automatic and manual transmissions. The Renault Captur comes the closest to match the Seltos diesel-manual’s figure. The only other diesel-auto here, the Creta, is not too far behind the Seltos diesel-auto.

Diesel engines
	Seltos	Hector	Harrier	Creta	Kicks	Captur
Displacement	1.5-litre	2.0-litre	2.0-litre	1.6-litre/1.4-litre	1.5-litre	1.5-litre
Type	4 cyls, Turbocharged	4 cyls, Turbocharged	4 cyls, Turbocharged	4 cyls, Turbocharged	4 cyls, Turbocharged	4 cyls, Turbocharged
Power	115hp	170hp	140hp	128hp/90hp	110hp	110hp
Torque	250Nm	350Nm	350Nm	260Nm/220Nm	240Nm	240Nm
Gearbox	6-speed MT/AT	6-speed MT	6-speed MT	6-speed MT/AT (1.6 only)	6-speed MT	6-speed MT
Fuel economy	21/18kpl	17.41kpl	16.7kpl	19.67/17.01kpl (1.6 MT and AT)	19.39kpl	20.37kpl

As for the petrol engines, the Seltos gets two options – a 115hp, 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated unit and a sportier 140hp, 1.4-litre turbocharged mill. The standard 1.5 engine goes one up on the Kicks’ and Captur’s shared 1.5 engine’s 106hp, though the Kia’s figures are still some way off those of the Creta 1.6 petrol unit’s 123hp. Buyers looking for more performance do have the option of the turbo-petrol version though. The 1.4-turbo-petrol’s 140hp and 242Nm are just shy of the stock Hector 1.5 unit’s 143hp and 250Nm figures. However, the 48V mild hybrid version of the MG engine provides 20Nm of additional torque at low-speeds. Still, it’s the Kia 1.4 that should be quickest given its estimated lighter kerb weight.

Both petrol engine versions of the Seltos get 6-speed manual gearbox as standard. The 1.5 is additionally available with a CVT auto and the 1.4 also has the option of a 7-speed dual-clutch auto. The standard Hector petrol also gets the choice of 6-speed manual and a 6-speed dual-clutch auto, though the hybrid version only gets a manual transmission. Hyundai Creta petrol buyers also have the choice of 6-speed manual and torque converter auto gearboxes. Nissan and Renault don’t offer automatic gearboxes with petrol versions of their SUVs while Tata doesn’t build a petrol Harrier altogether.

As was the case with the diesel engines, the Seltos is also the most fuel-efficient petrol in this comparison, regardless of the transmission option.

Petrol engines
	Seltos	Hector	Creta	Kicks	Captur
Displacement	1.5-litre/1.4-litre	1.5-litre	1.6-litre	1.5-litre	1.5-litre
Type	4 cyls, NA/4 cyls, Turbocharged	4 cyls, Turbocharged	4 cyls, NA	4 cyls, NA	4 cyls, NA
Power	115hp/140hp	143hp	123hp	106hp	106hp
Torque	144Nm/242Nm	250Nm(+20 for hybrid)	151Nm	142Nm	142Nm
Manual Gearbox	6-speed MT	6-speed MT	6-speed MT	5-speed MT	5-speed MT
Automatic Gearbox	CVT(1.5)/7-speed DCT(1.4)	6-speed DCT	6-speed AT	-	-
Fuel economy	16.5 (1.5 MT)/ 16.8(CVT)/ 16.1(1.4)/ 16.5kpl(DCT)	14.16(MT)/13.96(DCT)/15.81kpl (hybrid)	15.29kpl (MT)	14.23kpl	13.87kpl

Price

Kia has priced the Seltos from Rs 9.69 to 15.99 lakh for the petrol variants and from Rs 9.99 to Rs 15.99 lakh for the diesels. The aggressive pricing sees the base petrol Seltos undercut the Creta and Hector petrol variants, while being marginally more expensive than the Kicks and Captur. However in terms of the diesels, the base Seltos manages to undercut all its rivals, while being priced on par with the Creta. The top-spec versions of the diesel Kia still undercut the Hector and Harrier, though are pricier than similarly sized rivals. With a wide variety of configurations, the features on offer and its attractive pricing, Kia seems to have a winner on their hands. However, only a road test and a comparison with its rivals will confirm this.

Prices
	Seltos	Hector*	Harrier	Creta	Kicks*	Captur
Petrol	Rs 9.69-15.99 lakh	Rs 12.18-16.78 lakh	NA	Rs 10.00-14.16 lakh	Rs 9.55-10.55 lakh	Rs 9.50-12.00 lakh
Diesel	Rs 9.99-15.99 lakh	Rs 13.18-16.88 lakh	Rs 13.00-16.75 lakh	Rs 10.00-15.65 lakh	Rs 10.85-14.65 lakh	Rs 10.50-13.00 lakh