Hi Autocar Team, I am planning to upgrade from my Hyundai Venue to a 6-seater SUV with captain seats for long-term ownership. My top priorities are low maintenance, reliability and a good ownership experience. My budget allows me to consider options like the MG Gloster, MG Majestor or the Volkswagen Tayron, although I do not want the Toyota Fortuner as it is very common on the road. I have also driven the Tata Safari and Mahindra XUV700, which would cost significantly less. Since I plan to keep the car for 8-10 years, which option would offer the best reliability, lowest maintenance and overall peace of mind among these SUVs? Additionally, with a monthly running of about 1,200-1,500 km, mostly in the city, should I choose a petrol or diesel SUV for better long-term ownership costs?

Autocar India

•4d

Buy the Kia Seltos. It is simply easier to live with for most buyers, thanks to a much wider service network and many more variant and powertrain choices, including good automatics across a wider price range. For daily city runs with the odd highway trip, the Seltos will feel like the more complete package and it has a more spacious and premium cabin. The Skoda Kylaq will suit you only if you really enjoy driving. It feels tighter and more confidence inspiring on the move, and the steering has more feel. If you plan long, frequent road trips and care more about how it drives than gadgets, that’s where the Kylaq shines. The flip side is fewer dealers and fewer variant choices.

Kia Seltos

Skoda Kylaq

Autocar India

•5d

Given your low annual running and predominantly city use in Delhi, a diesel does not make sense. Modern diesels are happiest when regularly driven on longer runs, and with just 4,000km a year, the higher purchase cost and potential emission system issues are difficult to justify.As for DCTs, they have become far more reliable than early examples, but if the priority is a smooth, stress-free ownership experience in heavy urban traffic, a torque-converter automatic is still the safer bet. It is generally smoother at low speeds and better suited to constant stop-start driving.Rather than moving to a Syros DCT, it would be worth considering the Skoda Kylaq automatic or the Mahindra XUV 3XO automatic. Both use torque-converter gearboxes and offer a more relaxed driving experience in city conditions. The Kylaq feels particularly polished to drive, while the 3XO counters with a richer feature list and a more spacious cabin.If you like the Syros, the manual remains a sensible choice given your limited annual usage, but if an automatic is preferred, a torque-converter-equipped rival would be a better fit than a DCT.

Kia Syros

Skoda Kylaq

Mahindra XUV 3XO