Kia Seltos Vs Tata Sierra Vs Hyundai Creta: Which Compact SUV To Buy This Diwali?

The Indian festive season is often said to be the best time to buy a car, not only because it is considered auspicious but also because there are a lot of offers available. You can check the latter on our app/website itself, but if you are considering bringing home a compact SUV for your family, then you have three best options under Rs 22 lakh (ex-showroom): Seltos, Tata Sierra, and Hyundai Creta.

The Seltos is the biggest car in the segment, the Sierra is the most technologically advanced, and the Hyundai Creta is an all-rounder. But which one would be better for your specific needs? Let's find out by comparing their specifications.

Price

• The Kia Seltos, Tata Sierra, and Hyundai Creta operate in the same segment and, as a result, have prices ranging in the same ballpark.

• The Hyundai Creta offers the most affordable entry-level variant, followed by the Seltos and then the Sierra.

• With new variants launched recently, the Kia Seltos is now the most expensive SUV in the segment. The Sierra is next with a difference of just around Rs 30,000, followed by the Hyundai Creta, which is more affordable by over a lakh for the top-end variant.

Dimensions

*Measured up to the roof

• The Kia Seltos, in its new generation, has grown in size and, as a result, is the longest car here.

• Save for the length of the car, the Tata Sierra is bigger in every dimension compared to the Seltos and Creta. Even the wheelbase is longer than the Seltos.

• The Creta and Seltos have exactly the same height, but the Creta falls short in terms of length, width, wheelbase, and even boot space.

• The Tata Sierra has the biggest boot space figure here, but the measurement is up to the roof, unlike the other two cars. Irrespective of that, in the real world, it's the Sierra that packs the maximum luggage thanks to a deep and wide boot. So for your Diwali shopping, it's the Tata that will be the most accommodating.

Features Safety

• All three cars are very equally matched in terms of their creature comforts and tech package, with only very small details to separate them.

• The Seltos might be a bigger car, but the Sierra sits on bigger 19-inch alloy wheels.

• The Seltos and Sierra offer features like LED front fog lights, multi-colour ambient lighting, wireless Android or Apple CarPlay (without a dongle), and a head-up display over the Creta.

• Both the Creta and the Sierra get boss mode to move the front passenger seat from the rear, which is something not available in the Seltos.

• The Sierra has the best entertainment package with a dedicated passenger screen for shows and games along with a better audio package.

• Dashcam is the only feature which is not available in the Sierra, but you get it in the other two cars.

• All three cars are equipped with a panoramic sunroof so you can see the decorations and lights at night through the roof. All of them get ambient lighting too, but only the Seltos and Sierra have multi-colour options for you to match your Diwali vibe.

• To tackle the toxic air that typically arrives during the festive season, all three cars are equipped with an air purifier.

Powertrain Options

^^AT= Torque converter automatic transmission, *DCT= Dual-clutch automatic transmission, ^CVT= Continuously variable transmission, **iMT= Clutchless manual

• All three cars are available with similar powertrain options: a NA petrol, a turbo-petrol, and a diesel engine.

• The Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos share the exact same engines, the only difference being that the Creta's turbo-petrol only comes with a 7-speed DCT and isn't available with a 6-speed iMT.

• For city runabouts during Diwali, the NA petrol engines of all three cars will suit your use case best. Outputs are comparable, with the Hyundai/Kia offering slightly better horsepower while the Sierra engine has slightly better torque.

• If you're looking to have some fun and exciting drives, then the turbo petrol engines will be best suited to you. But in that case, the Seltos’ iMT transmission will offer you the best engagement. If you want an automatic, the Hyundai/Kia DCT feels quicker and more responsive than the Sierra's torque converter.

• The outputs of the diesel engines of all three cars are comparable too, with the same transmission options.

CarDekho Says…

You can't go wrong with any of the options, literally. All three cars are great family SUVs with a variety of powertrain options across a wide range of variants that you can choose as per your needs. That being said, there are nuances.

The Hyundai Creta is a proper all-rounder. It doesn't excel in any particular parameter, but it isn't far behind in any either. But the only thing is that the new-generation model is just around the corner, so your car purchase, which will be new now, won’t be the latest one soon enough. If that's something you don't mind, then there is no other reason for you to not even consider the Hyundai Creta.

The Kia Seltos is a benchmark in this segment, not because of its tech package or the things that you can put in the brochure, but because of just how the entire package has been engineered. We would urge you to take a test drive and spend some time inside the cabin because the material choices and the ergonomics are something that we can't relay in an on-paper spec comparison. But for your new car purchase this Diwali, the Kia Seltos stands out with its striking design, premium interior, cutting-edge technology, and a safe package.

Last but not least is the Tata Sierra, which excels in design, engineering and its entertainment package. Tata really has left no stone unturned to make this the most feature-rich car in its segment, and it shows. But beyond that, what you get is a car that's super spacious, comfortable, and has a whole load of powertrain options.

So, on paper, there is no winner in this comparison. We would suggest you check out the model pages of all three cars to find out the best offers at your nearest dealership.