[anthusiast]

Strongly feel S-Cross should have been listed in the list of competitors. Concur with both advenk999 and kadanaJ

Originally Posted by advenk999

Voted others. I'd pick the S Cross over all these for the sheer value and the bullet proof reliability that it comes with. Especially with the 1.5L NA petrol, things have gotten much better.
A no-nonsense car with a decent engine, adequate grunt on offer and an old yet super reliable AT, this car isn't complicated like the feature loaded Koreans.

S-Cross Zeta Automatic (4-speed TC) costs 13.8 L OTR in Bengaluru and the next competitor Kushaq Ambition is almost 4 lakhs costlier at 17.6 L.

The Creta/Seltos CVT/IVTs with similar spec 1.5 L petrol engine cost 19.4, 18.1 Lakhs respectively.

Even the Duster, Kicks Automatics cost upward of 17 L as they no longer offer AT in 1.5 L engine.

Originally Posted by advenk999

In terms of pricing, almost all the options on the poll have base automatic gearbox prices starting at over 17L OTR Bangalore. The SCross can be had within 15.5L and the premium on the
others aren't justified..

To put into perspective, the Seltos IVT is 18L, the Kushaq 1.0 TSI is 17.8L, Creta IVT at 19L, Jeep over 25-30 big ones, the TRoc and Karoq being close to 30L as well. None of these seem to have justified pricing. (All Bangalore OTR prices)

I'd personally prefer to sticking to a car that is mechanically reliable and does not fail me over a period of time. I'm looking at ownership purely from this point of view.

Each point Very True !
It has got good ride and handling. Going by Brezza's 4* NCAP, S-Cross should be in the similar ballpark. The ingress-egress is also comfortable for seniors due to 180 mm GC. Offers reclining back seat too.

Originally Posted by kadanaJ

The only reason I would pick a crossover or CSUV is for highway duty, should I want to do a major roadtrip.

Quite disappointed that the S-Cross is not an option. IMO the best all rounder crossover, and my car of choice that's easy to drive in the city, and is capable of doing an all-India road trip.

Pros:
- low cost of maintenance
- great fuel economy (which matters when racking up km on the highway)
- comfortable seating for 5
- enough luggage can be stacked vertically
- extremely reliable. It just will not break down or leave you stranded ever. And even if it does, Maruti's excellent ASS has you covered.
- sedan like driving dynamics. Extremely stable at high speed

Cons:
- no diesel option anymore
- more power would be nice. Shame they discontinued the 1.6 ddis

Should Maruti bring back their 1.5 diesel in BS6 form, the choice would be a no-brainer.

[iamitp]

Originally Posted by sunikkat

But wouldnt that comparison hold true for Seltos and Creta too as they share the same diesel engine and even the dimensions are not much different.

Originally Posted by sidhnik

True, but comparison with Sonet becomes relevant because of the cost difference (whereas not much difference on paper in other respects other than marginal difference in size).

Yes, aside from significantly more features, Creta and Seltos are also wider and have a bigger street presence. Considering the price, features and size conscious Indian market, Skoda's after sales horror stories and DQ200 consistent failure rate (DCT is no saint but hey atleast the Koreans play ball with customer service), I'll be really surprised to see Indian customers pay Creta/Seltos money for a Sonet/Venue competitor.

Team-BHP is another story with a high preference for the 'fun to drive', European styling and handling factors but the average Indian C-SUV buyer (yes even the Turbo petrol buyer) will pick a Korean car.

[CommuteDriver]

Originally Posted by GTO

Jeep Compass, but only if I was looking at an MT (which I don't anymore). The Compass ATs suck, both in petrol & diesel.

Would a remap on AT be advisable particularly for JC to make it more desirable to drive?

[NT56]

Voted "Other" because there isn't a clear winner.

I prefer automatic turbo petrol cars in this price bracket and therefore following would be my choices at subsequent price points

T-Roc for 25 lacs
Taigun GT for 20 lacs (Hopefully better interiors than Kushaq)
Turbo CVT Kicks for 15-16 lakhs

[dh.harshal]

This Poll thread precisely sums up my dilemma.

I'm looking to buy a new CSUV in the next 3-6 months, with Automatic gearbox, seating for 5 with ISOFIX and 6 airbags as no miss features, with flexible budget. I currently own the Volkswagen Vento 1.2 TSI DSG Highline.
I managed to test drive all of the CSUVs last week - Kushaq, Seltos, Creta, Harrier, Jeep (except Hector). My quick initial opinions as below -

1) Kia Seltos (GTX+ Diesel AT)
+ AT check, 5 seater check, 6 airbags check
+ The most suitable all rounder
+ Diesel automatic was surprisingly good (obviously not as peppy as TSI DSG, or even DCT)
+ Quality of materials inside felt premium
+ Convenience features - 360 camera, Blind spot monitor, Paddle shifters, etc. make your driving more relaxing & assured
+ Bling features - don't care much about panoramic sunroof, voice commands, etc. but the car has almost all of them.
- NCAP Safety rating was a shocker. Although it was tested for the lower variant, I'm not sure about structural rigidity now.
- Long waiting period

2) Tata Harrier (XZA+ AT)
+ AT check, 5 seater check, 6 airbags check
+ Looks the best of the lot
+ Spacious seating & comfortable ride
+ Engine and gearbox have mated superbly
+ Body frame/ chassis felt strong & safe (based on feeling, still awaiting NCAP results)
- Can't be driven by Dad or Wife
- Interior material quality, fit & finish felt levels below others
- Absence of convenience features such as 360 camera or front parking sensors
- Niggles reported and poor service history of Tata

3) Hyundai Creta (SXO, Petrol Turbo DCT)
+ AT Check, 5 seater check, 6 airbags check
+ Most feature loaded
+ excellent Sales & service network
+ High resale value
- Worst looking car till date, period. My wife could not stand it even for a second.
- Quality of materials felt a notch below Seltos & way below Compass

4) Jeep Compass (Model S - Diesel AT & Petrol DDCT)
+ AT Check, 5 seater check (no Headrest for 5th Passenger), 6 airbags check
+ Looks premium, proportionate
+ Loaded with active & passive safety features
+ Premium interiors, felt closer to 50L segment cares than 20L segment cars
+ Probably the best ride & handling combination
+ 4*4 drive, off-roading capabilities
- Priced higher, you can buy a Seltos and still save money for another Automatic hatchback
- Automatic gearbox is sluggish to say the least, it has no life. It's very linear.
- Jeep service is a hit or miss.

5) Skoda Kushaq (Drove 1.0 Manual, but in consideration for Style 1.0 AT)
+ AT Check, 5 seater missing, 6 airbags missing
+ Design is timeless, nothing is over the top; not in your face
+ Engine & gearbox combo is well tuned, performance is good for a 1L engine
+ Steering, handling is typical VAG car - brilliant
- Misses many feature, including my must haves.
- Interior material quality did not feel like a Skoda car, my 5 year old Vento still has better interior material.
- Unavailability of Sales/Service stations (the one in my city closed down recently)

I had my bets on Kushaq, but it failed me by missing 6 Airbags in AT & smaller back seat. I couldn't care any less for a panoramic sunroof or connected car features, however it misses on my essential features list.
Jeep is a brilliant package even with higher pricing. It would have been a no-brainer but the Automatic gearbox is slow; rather lethargic.
Creta was rejected out rightly by my family for its looks.
Harrier falls short on convenience of drive and inferior material quality inside.
Seltos fits the bill overall, but worries me on the back of NCAP rating.

Now, would you suggest I take the plunge on Seltos given it meets most of my requirements? Will the top GTX+ model with 6 airbags be a little safer than the model that was tested? Anyone BHPian who bought Seltos after the NCAP ratings reveal; to share his thoughts?
Or Shall I go for Harrier, prepared to be frustrated for 5-10 days in an year for its quality & service & enjoy other 350 days?
Or Shall I wait for the new launches - XUV700, Sportage or Seltos Gravity edition?

[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by dh.harshal

This Poll thread precisely sums up my dilemma.

And your post pretty much sums up my dilemma, with almost identical requirements.

Even for me, the Jeep is what ticks most of the boxes other than the Seltos (although my wife and I are still okay with Creta). However, the thought of driving around in a tin can, especially when most of my driving is going to be highway road trips is a little unsettling.

However, the Jeep is just too expensive. The model with some of my sought after features is the Model S, but only the automatic has Cruise Control. And the automatic, automatically packs a 4x4 as well. It's great to have that, especially as an off-road enthusiast, except that it pushes the budget further by 2L. It just turns out to be too expensive.

I'm just taking the liberty of piggybacking on your post. I'm sure there are many like us in this exact same dilemma.

FWIW, I'm waiting for the XUV700 reveal to see what it's offering. However, the concerns over niggles still looms overhead.

[EmpyreanKnight]

Originally Posted by dh.harshal

Now, would you suggest I take the plunge on Seltos given it meets most of my requirements? Will the top GTX+ model with 6 airbags be a little safer than the model that was tested? Anyone BHPian who bought Seltos after the NCAP ratings reveal; to share his thoughts?
Or Shall I go for Harrier, prepared to be frustrated for 5-10 days in an year for its quality & service & enjoy other 350 days?
Or Shall I wait for the new launches - XUV700, Sportage or Seltos Gravity edition?

My suggestion to you is to also Include Taigun in you list of options, I saw the interview of Mr. Ashish Gupta yesterday and he did say that they have a differentiator up their sleeve, which he didn't reveal but i suppose they will offer 6 airbags, on the top end automatic version, also the interior do look premium than Kushaq.

Good luck with your purchase decision process.

[car_guy1998]

Voted for the Compass as I love its looks (especially in red colour), improved interior in 2021 version when compared to previous one, engine performance (only MT though I'm willing to drive one and no AT as I heard its transmission is not properly tuned as per the reviews), driving dynamics and has better QC being an Italian. But, the only grouse is its A.S.S and its pricing is atrocious when compared to others and has poor resale value as well (but who cares when you love its engine performance and its dynamics).

2nd would be the Harrier for its looks again (especially in black, which looks menacing), performance, which its Diesel engine is mated to 6 speed AT, ride quality and has good rear-seat comfort and space, which is quite suitable for the family of 4 or 5. The few things which are keeping me away from the Harrier is its Tata A.S.S, iffy interior quality, poor QC and not suitable for the people, who drive within the city limits most of the time. I had driven both MT and AT versions and I'll pick the AT version over the MT version any day due to its hulk-like size.

3rd would be the Seltos for its looks again and loaded with all bells and whistles like 360-degree camera, which I felt useful, but lacks in safety rating, which I'm least bothered with it, IMO. And, the Diesel engine mated to 6-speed AT will be my pick (one of my favourite combos after the Harrier) if I'm considering the Seltos as its 7DCT transmission is plagued with issues and gives poor FE as well.

[iamitp]

I am still perplexed by the poll options. What is the price bracket of the poll? Rs. ~10 to ~ Rs. 30 lakh? That is a wildly W-I-D-E bracket! I am willing to bet that 90% of the Kushaq buyers in India are not even considering the Compass (out of budget) and most won't stretch for a Harrier either.

If Compass and Harrier are considered at all it will be a percentage of the small minority of Kushaq top-end buyers who don't mind paying 1/3rd more.

Also if the bracket is this wide, then why are Kia Sonet, Tata Nexon, Hyundai Venue, Ford Ecosport and Maruti Brezza left out? External size-wise, isn't the Kushaq somewhere between these cars and Creta/Seltos?

[krishnakumar]

Originally Posted by iamitp

am willing to bet that 90% of the Kushaq buyers in India are not even considering the Compass (out of budget) and most won't stretch for a Harrier either.

Completely agree with your point here.

However, I can tell you that in my case both Nexon and Compass are in the same consideration set. Heck, even Octavia has joined the party since a couple of days. Needless to say the research process has been painful and my wife isn't happy at all about this.

I guess the reason why it is such a wide consideration set for me is because my broad requirements are only the following in the below specific order:

1. Car should be very high on safety
2. Should have good performance for highway cruising (low-end grunt, stable 100-110 kmph speeds, good driving dynamics)
3. A few creature comforts (saying this in general but I have a prioritized list with me)
4. Nice to touch materials and build quality (subjective parameters, I'll only know when I TD them)

For me the car is NOT a social statement at all. I will be just as happy with a Nexon if it scores well on my scorecard (I have a detailed Excel scorecard, that I'm putting together as I'm doing my research).

In terms of budget, I can push the budget upto slightly north of 30L, my comfort area is ~25L mark. Anything below is highly preferred as well.

Therefore, a wide variety of cars are in the consideration set. Sure, a Compass/Octavia is going to score very high in terms of all of the points while a Nexon might not. But the Nexon can easily beat the Compass as it'll save me a lot of money.

While at the end of the day, heart > head, the heart also has other needs where the money saved can be put to use. So logic kicks in.

[anb]

Originally Posted by krishnakumar

For me the car is NOT a social statement at all. I will be just as happy with a Nexon if it scores well on my scorecard (I have a detailed Excel scorecard, that I'm putting together as I'm doing my research).

Therefore, a wide variety of cars are in the consideration set. Sure, a Compass/Octavia is going to score very high in terms of all of the points while a Nexon might not. But the Nexon can easily beat the Compass as it'll save me a lot of money.

While at the end of the day, heart > head, the heart also has other needs where the money saved can be put to use. So logic kicks in.

Safety also means avoiding accidents in addition to crash safety. Compass has much better stability and handling than Nexon. Compass will able to avoid accidents which Nexon cannot.

[city2491]

Hello team,

A family friend is in the market for a new crossover and his budget is 16-17L OTR (Jaipur). He is a retired government officer and wants a good fun to drive manual petrol crossover which is also decently feature loaded.

He had already booked the Kia Seltos HTX but they are unable to deliver the car since 2 months because of a shortage of stock. Therefore he is considering to cancel the booking and buy the new Kushaq which is available for delivery within a week's time.

However, the Kia dealership is also ready to deliver a lower model which does not satisfy his feature list.

Please provide your expert opinion, should he wait for the Seltos to come back in stock or go ahead with the Kushaq? Any other model suggestions are also welcome. The only fixed criteria is Petrol, Manual and decently feature loaded.

[akash_v12]

Originally Posted by city2491

Wants a good fun to drive manual petrol crossover which is also decently feature loaded.

I think this criteria is enough to hand your money over to the Kushaq. Going by T-BHP's official review, the Kushaq is much better to drive and possibly miles ahead of the rest of the competition in the FTD Criteria. The Taigun is also coming in soon and if he can, he might want to wait for it too.

[throttlehead]

I test drove the Kushaq 1.5 Manual and the DSG, the manual was certainly fun to drive. I haven't driven the Seltos so can't compare but if it's pure driving dynamics, the general perception is Europeans have it better sorted than the Korean twins. From the inside, the Kushaq will certainly feel like it's scantily clad vs the Seltos but it offers most of what is needed in a modern car (and some more). Kia after sales is an enigma and they haven't been in the market long enough yet to pass final judgements, Skoda is a known affair so you're friend will know what to expect (and could be pleasantly surprised as well). Members on this forum have also complimented the Hyundai Creta's sorted manners and ride but the waiting period could be a turnoff.

I am assuming the Taigun like to like will be more expensive so all things considered, I'd say go ahead with the Kushaq.

[07CR]

Originally Posted by city2491

Hello team,

A family friend is in the market for a new crossover and his budget is 16-17L OTR (Jaipur). He is a retired government officer and wants a good fun to drive manual petrol crossover which is also decently feature loaded.

He had already booked the Kia Seltos HTX but they are unable to deliver the car since 2 months because of a shortage of stock. The only fixed criteria is Petrol, Manual and decently feature loaded.

In his budget of the two options, he has Kushaq 1.0 Style MT (16.5L) and Seltos HTX (15.5L). Both prices before discounts, OTR Jaipur. If he can stretch to Seltos GTX(O) (17.5L), he may have immediate delivery of the car, get much better performance and a more loaded car.

If he can't stretch, I would suggest waiting for the Seltos incase his mind is set on it. A two month wait, for a car that he will be using for years, is definitely worth it.

Both Kushaq and Seltos are FTD cars, only back to back test drives can help your friend confirm, which suits him better. On other parameters like space, ASS, reliability, features, the Seltos should fare better. On the flipside, Kushaq should offer a little more handling prowess and better build quality. These things can only be judged by your friend by a thorough physical inspection of both cars.

Other options I can think of-

1) Upcoming MG Astor, 161 PS motor sounds fun!
2) VW Taigun
3) Renault Duster (lacks the equipment, but is sure fun)