I’ve been driving a manual Hyundai Creta Petrol for the last six years and am now looking to upgrade to an automatic with better specifications and superior comfort. My driving split is roughly 75% city and 25% highway. I’m currently torn between the New Kia Seltos IVT (NA Petrol) and the Turbo Petrol DCT. As this will be my first automatic car, I’d appreciate insights on which gearbox better suits my heavy city usage versus occasional highway runs. Kindly suggest.

Autocar India

•10h

Go ahead with the Seltos HTX petrol automatic. For your mostly-highway 1000km a month with four on board, the 1.5 petrol with the smooth automatic is relaxed at cruising speeds, has enough space and comfort for a City owner to feel at home, and its simple engine-gearbox combo is the safer long-term bet for a 10-year ownership.The Kia Seltos hybrid was initially planned for later this year, but has since been pushed to 2027 as Kia wants to localise the hybrid powertrain as much as possible before launch for a competitive price, though it will still be noticeably higher than the petrol version. Moreover, hybrids work better in city traffic than high-speed highway driving, so given your usage, the petrol is probably a better bet. We'll have to test drive it to know this for sure. The next-gen Hyundai Creta is also due only next year, and it will share its platform and engines with the Seltos. If you really value the Hyundai brand over Kia, then it's worth waiting, but in most aspects, you're already getting everything from that car in the Seltos, so it's probably not worth the wait.All things considered, then, go with the Kia Seltos 1.5 Petrol IVT.

Kia Seltos

Hyundai Creta

Honda City

Autocar India

•1d

Go ahead with the Seltos in October; it already offers the same core package the new-gen Creta is likely to bring, without waiting on launch dates or risking a price jump. Both share engines and most features, and the Seltos’ facelift brought all the modern, feel-good bits, so you are not missing anything major. October also tends to bring festival deals, and quicker delivery on the Seltos, which you can actually use.The next-gen Creta is likely to hit showrooms in the first half of 2027. And even post launch, deliveries could take a few weeks. Hence, your wait is likely to get even longer.

Kia Seltos

Hyundai Creta

Autocar India

•1d

You seem to have answered your own question. The Kia Seltos seems to be the better pick for you on account of its comfier seats, and proximity of its service centre. Sure you might miss the Elevate's energetic performance, at least initially. However, the Seltos' 1.5-litre petrol engine is smooth and has adequate pep for most scenarios. Also, this engine has been doing duty in many Hyundai and Kia models for many years now, and it has proven to be quite reliable so far.

Kia Seltos