Kia Seltos vs Hyundai Creta: Variant Comparison

Two years after announcing their official entry into India, Kia Motors is finally here with their first product – the Seltos. This new product will face stiff competition from its sibling, the Hyundai Creta. Let’s take a look at how their variants compare.

It has been two years since Kia Motors announced its entry into India. In these two years they have setup a manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh, organised road shows to build brand awareness, and most importantly established a wide spread sales and service network. Even as they start sales and deliveries of their first car in India – the Seltos – the company already has a dealer/service network of 190 outlets across 160 cities in India. All of this in mind, it is clear that the company is taking the Indian market very seriously.

While Kia has managed to do everything right in setting shop here, their biggest challenge now comes from its own cousin, the Hyundai Creta. The Hyundai offering has been the leader in the segment and now the Seltos wants a piece of the pie. Here’s how the two compare in terms of engine, transmission options and variant-wise pricing.

Petrol Engines:

Kia has brought in the Seltos with two petrol engine variants. A 1.5-litre 4-cylinder motor and a 1.4-litre 4-pot turbo. Both these engines come paired with a 6-speed manual as well as an automatic option. In comparison, the Creta only comes with a single 1.6-litre petrol option. Base variant of the Seltos is priced Rs 30,000 cheaper than the Creta. That being said, the Kia does make marginally lesser power and torque.

Diesel engines:

The Creta has two diesel engine options to choose from. Lower-spec variants of the Creta come with a 1.4-litre 4-cylinder motor that also works force in cars like the Elite i20 and the i20 Active. There’s a larger 1.6-litre 4-cylinder mill on offer too. This one too makes marginally more power and torque than the Seltos’ 1.5-litre diesel. Interestingly, the Seltos offers the 1.5 right from the base variant which is priced at Rs 9.99 lakh. The Creta, on the other hand, only gets the 1.6-litre option starting Rs 13.36 lakh. The Seltos comes with a 6-speed manual and an automatic transmission option. The Creta only gets the auto option in the 1.6-litre variants. All other diesel variants get the 6-speed manual.

Automatic variants prices:

Variants of the Seltos with an automatic transmission start at a marginally lower price than the Creta. Despite the price, it is the Kia that comes better equipped. In addition to the 2 front airbags and the seat belt reminder that the Creta gets, the Seltos also comes with a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System and rear middle head restraint. Other features that the Seltos gets but the Creta misses are: button start, cruise control, one touch up/down front windows, electrically adjustable and retractable ORVMs, rear wiper and more. Expect similar differences between the CVT equipped HTX variant of the Seltos and the SX variant of the Creta – both with petrol powered motors. In fact, with prices not too far apart, the feature list of the Seltos is definitely longer than the Creta.  

Manual Variants:

Just like the automatic variants, the difference in tech between the two cars is easily noticeable in the manual transmission variants too. Although both cars are pretty much equally priced, a quick look at the spec sheet and it is easy to notice the difference in the equipment list. Even when comparing the base HTE trim of the Seltos vs the E+ of the Creta, the Seltos gets keyless central locking, roof rails, projector headlamps and a 2 DIN infotainment system with Bluetooth. The Creta, on the  other hand, gets electrically adjustable ORVMs, dual tone interior and two 12V power sockets - all of which are missing from the Seltos.  

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