Autocar India
3h

Which car should I buy among Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara Petrol base or Kia Seltos petrol base? And also tell me if anyone has faced power issue or pickup issue while overtaking as I want the car for long term.

Verified
3m

Between the two, the Seltos is the better choice, especially if you are looking at the base variant. It feels more premium, is the newer product and offers a more complete package even in its lower variants.

The 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol makes 115hp and 144Nm. It isn't a particularly powerful engine, but it is smooth and refined and is perfectly adequate for normal city driving.

For overtaking, it won't have the punch of the Seltos turbo, but it isn't underpowered either. With a full load and during quick highway overtakes, you may need to plan ahead and use higher revs. 

The Grand Vitara's 1.5 petrol is also a smooth, simple powertrain, but its performance is more relaxed and the base variant is quite sparsely equipped.

Kia Seltos

Kia Seltos

More posts on similar cars

2d

I currently own a Mahindra XUV300 W6 Manual, which I have driven for approximately 1.33 lakh km over the last 6 years. The vehicle is mechanically in excellent condition and has served me well. Around 60% of my driving is on highways, while the remaining 40% is in city conditions. I am now considering an upgrade and would appreciate suggestions from fellow enthusiasts on what would be a meaningful step up from the XUV300. My priority is to find a car that offers the right balance of comfort, excellent suspension and ride quality, good fuel efficiency, strong safety, hassle-free ownership, and proven long-term reliability. Since a significant portion of my driving is on highways, good highway performance and stability are also important to me. I would appreciate recommendations on which car would make the most sense as my next long-term upgrade.

Verified
16h

Since most of your driving is on the highway, a diesel SUV would be a good choice. You're coming from an XUV300, which is a compact SUV, but moving one step up to a midsize SUV would be the ideal upgrade. We would recommend the Kia Seltos in its diesel automatic guise, as you get a strong, refined diesel engine along with a proven gearbox in the six-speed automatic, and you have the efficiency that you expect of a diesel as well. What you also get is a car that is very well loaded in terms of features and equipment, is very safe, gets a 5-star Bharat NCAP rating for crash safety, and you get all the bells and whistles with a lot of choice in the variants depending on your budget. The Seltos diesel's performance is strong. It has a good bottom end. The torque is good. You have strong overtaking capability, and the refinement is equally nice as well. On the highway, stability is very good, but in the city the suspension is also quite nice and absorbs the bumps really well. As an overall package, the Seltos diesel will be our top recommendation. You just have to figure out, depending on your budget, which variant suits your needs the best.

VehicleKia Seltos

Popular discussions right now

1d

I am 52 years old and have been driving since my 20s. I need to drive around 2,500km a month, with 55% of the driving on highways, 30% on rugged rural roads and 155 in the city. My commute includes travelling to and from my farms, so I also need to occasionally transport 200-250 kg of fertiliser or farm produce. My budget is around Rs 10-12 lakh. Please advise which vehicle I should buy.

Verified
1d

Given your usage pattern, the Mahindra Bolero is the most sensible recommendation. Your monthly running is high, with a significant highway component, but the key factor is the 30% rugged rural roads and the need to occasionally carry 200-250 kg of farm produce. The Bolero is built exactly for this kind of use case. It has a tough ladder-frame chassis, simple mechanicals and a reputation for durability on rough roads. The diesel engine is robust and well suited to long-distance running, and the suspension is designed to handle poor road conditions and heavy loads without complaint. It is not the most refined or feature-rich vehicle, but it is reliable, easy to maintain and has excellent service reach in rural areas. At your budget of Rs 10-12 lakh, it is also one of the few vehicles that genuinely meets your requirements without compromise.If you want something more comfortable and modern, the Mahindra XUV 3XO diesel is worth considering, but it will not be as rugged or as load-friendly as the Bolero. For your specific needs, the Bolero remains the most practical and dependable choice.

VehicleMahindra Bolero
VehicleMahindra XUV 3XO

Posted on: 11 Sept 2026