I am confused between the Kia Seltos and the Maruti Suzuki Victoris. I am also unsure whether I should buy the base variant and customise it or choose a mid variant with the necessary features. I live in Chennai and drive around 1,000 km a month, with a 50:50 split between highway and city use. I like the Seltos for its design, interior and premium feel, but the Victoris seems to offer better fuel efficiency. Please suggest.

autocar.india

•12h

Buy the Seltos petrol. Kia’s current petrol engines are E20-ready, so the ethanol noise should not worry you, and the real-world hit is usually a small drop in mileage, not reliability. For mostly city use, the petrol is smoother, quieter and simpler to live with, and you avoid diesel’s soot filter quirks that show up on short trips. You also save on the higher upfront price of the diesel and sidestep longer-term policy risk around diesels in big cities.Go diesel only if your running is high and largely highway. The diesel will give you noticeably better mileage and relaxed cruising, so if you do something like 1,200-1,500 km a month at steady speeds, the maths can work in its favour. Just keep in mind it needs occasional longer drives to keep the DPF happy.If you are buying before year-end and plan regular mixed city use, the petrol Seltos is the safer, easier choice. The only real trade-off is fuel cost on long trips, where the diesel will sip less.

Kia Seltos

autocar.india

•1d

The Skoda Kodiaq would be the right choice for you. Assuming you opted for a Kia Seltos 1.4 Turbo DCT for the way it drives, you'll like the Kodiaq's driving manners. It's got a peppy engine and neat handling, and there's also the added safety net of all-wheel drive. The Kodiaq also feels like an upgrade thanks to a more premium and upmarket interior ambience. Quality levels are really good, and it feels like an expensive car. Fuel economy isn't great, but for your kind of usage, running costs won't pinch. Routine service and spares will be pricier than the Toyota, though.The Toyota Innova Hycross is roomier and more efficient (if you take the hybrid), but doesn't match the performance and general feel-good factor of a Kodiaq.

Skoda Kodiaq

Kia Seltos

Toyota Innova HyCross

autocar.india

•2d

Pick the Kia Seltos HTK petrol automatic. Your use is mostly city and only 10,000 km a year, so the smooth, quiet petrol suits you better, and the fuel cost gap to diesel will be small at that running. For similar money, the HTK gives you more useful kit than the lower HTE(O) diesel variant, so day-to-day it will feel like the nicer car to live with.The diesel automatic is great for long highway hauls and heavy loads, and will sip less on trips, but short city runs can be hard on modern diesels, and you’ll add urea top-ups and slightly higher service costs. It only starts to make sense if you do a lot more highway or cross 15,000 km a year.If you’re open to others around this budget, look at Honda Elevate with the automatic for a very easy city drive and simple ownership, or Skoda Kushaq 1.0 automatic if you want a stronger engine and a more fun feel. Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara automatic is another easy-going, efficient city pick, just not very quick.

Kia Seltos

Skoda Kushaq

Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara

Honda Elevate