I have decided to buy the Sierra Adventure Plus variant. But should I go for a diesel automatic or a petrol automatic? Please advise. My running is less than 6000km per year.

autocar.india

•1d

The Kia Seltos Diesel Automatic would be the recommendation here. Coming from a Duster diesel, both the Seltos and Sierra will feel like significant upgrades, but the Seltos is the more rounded package today. The 1.5-litre diesel is refined, proven and very efficient, while the automatic gearbox is smooth and well-suited to your 60-70km daily running. It also offers a premium cabin, good ride comfort and a strong ownership experience.The Tata Sierra Diesel Automatic is certainly appealing. It offers more road presence, a spacious cabin and should be an excellent long-distance cruiser. One advantage is that its diesel engine does not require AdBlue, as Tata has achieved the latest emission norms using a different emissions control strategy. However, it is important to remember that the Sierra still has a DPF, so it isn't completely free of modern diesel emissions hardware. Fortunately, your usage pattern of 60-70km a day with regular out-of-town driving is well-suited to a modern diesel and should help keep the DPF healthy.

Kia Seltos

Tata Sierra

autocar.india

•2d

The Kia Seltos GTX+ IVT would be the recommendation here. Given your annual running of 8,000-10,000km and predominantly city-based usage in Delhi NCR, a naturally aspirated petrol automatic is the right choice. That's why we'd suggest narrowing your decision down to the Creta IVT and Seltos IVT, rather than the Tata Sierra Turbo AT. While the Sierra is an impressive package, the turbo-petrol powertrain is likely to be less efficient and more expensive to run over the long term than the Hyundai-Kia 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol.Between the Creta and Seltos, the nod goes to the Seltos. It is the newer product, feels more premium inside, offers a slightly more spacious cabin and remains one of the most feature-rich SUVs in the segment. Ride comfort is also very good, and the IVT automatic is exceptionally well-suited to urban driving.Another factor worth considering is that the next-generation Creta is expected within the next year or so, whereas the Seltos has a longer lifecycle ahead of it, making it the safer long-term bet.

Kia Seltos

Hyundai Creta

Tata Sierra

autocar.india

•8h

Our suggestion would be to keep it in the Skoda family and pick the Kushaq. Your 600km highway runs will feel the easiest in this one, thanks to the TSI engine's strong pull and a stable, confident high-speed feel. Coming from a Fabia, you will also like the familiar solid build, but it's still compact enough for your weekend city drives. For your usage, the 1.5 TSI with the DSG gearbox is honestly the better bet, as it has the stronger yet smoother engine, snappier gearbox and almost no fuel economy penalty thanks to clever cylinder deactivation tech.However, these variants are several lakhs outside your budget, so you might have to choose the 1.0 TSI, which is also very good. The Kylaq with the 1.0 TSI is also a good bet, but it won't feel as significant an update from your Fabia in terms of size.The Honda Elevate hybrid, sadly, does not look like it will see the light of day, as Honda is focused on bringing out its midsize EV first, and other all-new models thereafter. You could look at the Elevate petrol, however, which is plenty efficient enough on its own. However, we still think the Kushaq is the best option for you.

Skoda Kushaq

Skoda Kylaq