I want to buy a 7-seater for my family with a 70:30 highway-to-city usage pattern and an annual running of around 10,000 to 12,000km. I am considering the Invicto Zeta Plus with year-end discounts, the HyCross GX, and the XEV 9S. My buying motivators are Comfort, build-to-last quality and low maintenance, as I will be keeping it for a long time. Which one should I choose?

Overall, the new Mahindra XUV 7XO is the better car. It is more refined, has stronger engines and is much nicer to drive thanks to an updated suspension system. The cabin has also been updated, and the talking point is the three-screen digital display carried over from the XEV 9e and 9s.The new Mahindra Scorpio has a special tough-as-nails character and feels indestructible, but compared to the XUV 7XO, it doesn’t have the same polish or sophistication.

Between the Hyundai Creta and Seltos, both cars offer the same engine and gearbox options. However, the Kia Seltos is all-new, features a larger body, more cabin space, and feels a notch up in quality as well.Your choice of seven-seaters isn’t as similar. The Mahindra Scorpio N is built on a body-on-frame chassis, which means it's very tough and can take a lot of beating, but it's nowhere near as comfortable as the XUV 7XO, which has a larger cabin and far more features.The biggest difference between the two is ride quality: the Scorpio N, a tall-riding SUV, rocks from side to side and is quite bumpy on rough roads. In contrast, the Mahindra XUV 7XO, with its updated suspension, feels incredibly refined and comfortable. It softens the bumps and feels very stable at high speeds. So if you don’t travel on really bad roads, the XUV 7XO is a far better option.

Within a Rs 15 lakh budget, your best option is the Kia Carens Clavis HTE (O), which comes with two engine options. As a family car, the 1.5 NA engine does the job. It is smooth and quite responsive in slow traffic. If you want a bit more power, the 1.5 turbo-petrol is a good option, particularly for highway runs and long weekend trips.The Kia Carens Clavis has a well-designed cabin with a spacious and comfortable third row, which is good even for adults.

Both these SUVs are closely matched, but the Hyundai Creta H has the edge thanks to a more responsive engine and a cabin that feels more upmarket than the Grand Vitara’s. The Maruti-Suzuki Grand Vitara has a marginally better ride and feels more composed over potholes than the Creta. Overall, we would choose the Creta as the better all-rounder between the two.