I am planning to buy a new car and am confused between the Sierra Petrol AT Accomplished+ variant and the Tata Harrier Petrol AT Fearless X+ variant. I like both cars equally. Can you recommend which one to buy? I want a bold, muscular look.

Autocar India

•50m

Do note that you will only get the base models of most of these SUVs in your budget of Rs 15 lakh (the two Mahindra cars are entirely out of your budget), so be prepared to increase your budget if you want more features or a more powerful engine. That being said, among your chosen options, the Tata Sierra is the most spacious and comfortable, and best suited for tall passengers, so that should be your choice from the five-seaters.If you want a seven-seater, the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga is the best value-for-money option you could pick, and it meets all your requirements, including the budget. However, another car worth considering is the Citroen Aircross X, which comes in both 5- and 7-seat options, and is priced really well. It's spacious, comfortable and gets a punchy engine with a smooth 6-speed automatic gearbox.

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga

Tata Sierra

Citroen Aircross

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Autocar India

•1d

You have correctly summed up the two cars for your requirements. While both the Tata Sierra and the Kia Seltos are yet to be crash tested at either BNCAP or GNCAP, the Sierra is likely to do very well, whereas the Seltos is a bit unknown. However, bear in mind that this does not mean that it is unsafe. The Seltos meets with the regulations, and the older car secured a 3-star rating, so it's likely the new model could better this. Besides crash ratings, the Seltos is also well equipped on the active safety front with ABS, ESC, downhill brake control and a full ADAS suite. Given that you are worried about reliability, the Seltos would thus be a safer bet. We would thus say you can go ahead with the Seltos, or if you can wait a few months and then decide on the Sierra.

Tata Sierra

Kia New Seltos

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Autocar India

•1d

Both these are very compelling SUVs that score high on desirability and road presence, as well as on interior space, but also do things very differently from one another. The Thar Roxx has the larger and more powerful engines which, combined with its aggressively calibrated automatic gearboxes, delivery strong and instantaneous performance. The downside, however, is that fuel economy takes a huge nosedive, which might be an annoyance on your long highway journeys. Moreover, the engines are not very refined and can feel a little too highly strung when you aren't driving quickly. And finally, while it is fun to drive in off-road and perhaps dirt-road conditions, it feels relatively large and cumbersome on tarmac, thanks in part to its ladder-frame construction. The Tata Sierra T-GDi, then, proves to be the better choice for you overall, as its monocoque chassis and sharper steering make it a lot more fun on the road. While not quite as powerful as the Mahindra, its 160hp turbo-petrol has more than enough punch and its 6-speed automatic is smooth too. It's also the more comfortable and fuel-efficient of the two by far, which should help on your highway drives.

Tata Sierra

Mahindra Thar Roxx

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