I have been driving a 2019 Maruti Ertiga ZXi Plus and am now considering an upgrade. My top choices are the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Maruti Grand Vitara, and Kia Sonet, all in petrol automatic variants. Given that my annual driving has reduced to approximately 3,000-4,000 km per year, please suggest.

Autocar India

•3h

Pick the Verna 1.5 manual. You already prefer its smoother ride, and with just 5-6k km a year, the extra height of the Seltos will not make much difference.Your ground-clearance worry is fair, but it should not be a deal-breaker. The Hyundai Verna clears most big speed breakers if you go slow, and its boot is larger than the Seltos, so you can take more luggage. Even when loaded, it will be fine on regular highways and town roads. It only becomes tricky with five adults, a fully stuffed boot, and broken village tracks. Slow down and take tall breakers a bit diagonally, and it won’t scrape.The Verna HX6 Plus also gives you more of the useful kit you noticed missing on the Seltos HTK, and the sedan will feel more engaging to drive. It will also be more fuel-efficient.Do note that if you or your parents value easy step-in height and an elevated driving position, the Kia Seltos suits that better. But for comfort, features and your actual use, the Verna is the smarter upgrade from a Jazz.

Hyundai Verna

Kia Seltos

Autocar India

•19h

Pick the Kia Seltos HTK(O) IVT. With 40 km of city use every day, it is the easiest to live with - the CVT automatic is smooth in traffic, steering is light, the ride is comfy, and it will likely use less fuel than a Tata Harrier petrol. For your 600 km runs every 2-3 months, it cruises quietly, feels relaxed, and the back seat is spacious too.The Hyundai Creta S(O) automatic comes close, but it isn't as well-equipped or as new as the Seltos. The Harrier petrol Pure X manual is the wrong fit here. It is larger and heavier, the manual will tire you in stop-and-go traffic, and it also takes more effort to park in tight city spots.One trade-off with the Seltos IVT - it does not have the performance of the Harrier petrol or the turbo petrol version of the Seltos.

Kia Seltos

Tata Harrier

Hyundai Creta

Autocar India

•1d

Its hard to recommend a specific car without knowing a few more specifics like importance of rear space, who will drive it, etc. However, if you are looking at an all rounder we would suggest the Kia Seltos. The new second generation car has grown larger and more room inside, including at the rear, where the previous car was not as spacious. Since your running does not seem very high we would recommend the 1.5 litre naturally aspirated petrol coupled to the automatic gearbox. The autobox is a CVT but is does not have a prominent 'rubber band effect' - where revs rise faster than the corresponding speed increase and in fact, it is quite enjoyable when driven at regular speeds in the city. On the highway too, its just fine and the handling at higher speeds is very secure and stable and the car tracks straight and level even on less-than-perfect surfaces. As typical of Kia, the Seltos is also very well equipped and at your budget, you would get a decently specced mid-level variant.

Kia Seltos