The Kia Seltos and the Hyundai Creta are currently two of the highest-selling SUVs in the entire country and have a lot in common between them
The first-gen Hyundai Creta was the undisputed king of the mid-size SUV segment in the country, but then the Kia Seltos arrived last year and made things difficult for the former. The Seltos ended up becoming the best-selling mid-size SUV in the segment, until Hyundai brought in the second-gen version of the Creta earlier this year to make things all square.
Talking about the two cars, the Seltos and the Creta are based on the same platform and get the same set of powertrains. While the two mid-size SUVs are identical underneath, they are two very different cars on the outside. Here is a list of all the differences between the 2020 Hyundai Creta and the Kia Seltos, as well as the price comparison between the two fierce rivals, take a look –
1. Design
In terms of design, the Kia Seltos ticks all the boxes. It looks like a proper SUV, and all the proportions seem to be right. At the front, the car gets Kia’s Tiger Nose grille, flanked by slim LED headlamps. The turn indicators are placed just under the headlamps, while the fog lamps are vertically stacked.
At the rear, the Seltos features wraparound LED tail lights which are connected together with a chrome strip that houses the Kia logo. The car gets a faux skid plate, as well as a chrome strip at the bottom of the rear bumper, that is shaped to look like it gets dual exhausts.
The Creta on the other hand, is built on Hyundai’s Sensuous Sportiness design language. Hence, it gets a large cascading grille up front, along with split LED headlamps that come with LED DRLs. The square wheel arches make it look muscular, but the alloy wheels look a little too busy.
The two-piece design of the headlamp has been carried over to the tail lamps as well. The Creta also gets a large LED brake light placed in the middle of the boot lid, and the Creta badging has been placed under the Hyundai emblem. Unlike the Seltos’ faux dual exhaust treatment, the turbo variants of the Creta actually come with twin exhaust tips.
As against the Seltos’ conventional design, the Hyundai Creta’s bold styling creates a divided opinion. You either hate it, or you love it, but you surely can’t ignore it.
2. Dimensions
In terms of size, the Kia Seltos measures 4315 mm in length, 1800 mm in width, 1620 mm in height, and has a 2610 mm long wheelbase. In comparison, the Hyundai Creta is 4300 mm long, 1790 mm wide, 1635 mm tall, while it gets the same wheelbase as the Seltos.
| Dimensions | Kia Seltos | Hyundai Creta |
| Length | 4315 mm | 4300 mm |
| Width | 1800 mm | 1790 mm |
| Height | 1620 mm | 1635 mm |
| Wheelbase | 2610 mm | 2610 mm |
This makes the Seltos 15 mm longer, 10 mm wider yet 15 mm shorter than the 2020 Creta. Both the SUVs come with 433 litres of boot space.
3. Features
Both the new-gen Hyundai Creta as well as the Kia Seltos are loaded up to the brim with similar features, with a few differences to set the two apart. The 2020 Creta misses out on some features like multi-colour ambient lighting, blind-view monitor, head up display, front parking sensors as well as the 360-degree camera; all of which are offered with the Seltos.
On the other hand, the Creta one-ups the Seltos with features like a larger panoramic sunroof which is voice-controlled, an electric parking brake with auto hold function, paddle shifters (DCT only), remote engine start for manual trims, puddle lamps with welcome function and rear seat headrest cushions.
The Seltos comes with a cruise control system and an air purifier, but Hyundai took it a step further and offers the Creta with one-touch cruise control as well as a touch-enabled automatic purifier.
4. Price Comparison
1) 1.5-litre MPi Petrol (115 PS/144 Nm)
Kia retails the HT Line petrol variants of the Seltos at a starting price of Rs 9.89 lakh, going all the way up to Rs 14.34 lakh. On the other hand, the Creta 1.5 petrol starts from Rs 9.99 lakh, and goes up to Rs 16.15 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom) for the top-end IVT auto variant.
| Kia Seltos | Hyundai Creta |
| HTE MT – Rs 9.89 lakh | EX MT – Rs 9.99 lakh |
| HTK MT – Rs 10.49 lakh | S MT – Rs 11.72 lakh |
| HTK+ MT – Rs 11.59 lakh | SX MT – Rs 13.46 lakh |
| HTX MT – Rs 13.34 lakh | SX IVT – Rs 14.94 lakh |
| HTX IVT – Rs 14.34 lakh | SX(O) IVT – Rs 16.15 lakh |
2) 1.5-litre U2 CRDi Diesel (115 PS/250 Nm)
The diesel variants of the Seltos are priced between Rs 10.34 lakh and Rs 17.34 lakh, whereas the Hyundai Creta diesel is priced from Rs 9.99 lakh to Rs 17.20 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom).
| Kia Seltos | Hyundai Creta |
| HTE MT – Rs 10.34 lakh | E MT – Rs 9.99 lakh |
| HTK MT – Rs 11.69 lakh | EX MT – Rs 11.49 lakh |
| HTK+ MT – Rs 12.69 lakh | S MT – Rs 12.77 lakh |
| HTK+ AT – Rs 13.69 lakh | SX MT – Rs 14.51 lakh |
| HTX MT – Rs 14.44 lakh | SX(O) MT – Rs 15.79 lakh |
| HTX+ MT – Rs 15.49 lakh | SX AT – Rs 15.99 lakh |
| HTX+ AT – Rs 16.49 lakh | SX(O) AT – Rs 17.20 lakh |
| GTX+ AT – Rs 17.34 lakh |
3) 1.4-litre TGDi Turbo Petrol (140 PS/242 Nm)
The 1.4-litre turbcoharged petrol engine is available with two trims on the Creta, i.e. SX and SX(O), priced at Rs 16.16 lakh and Rs 17.20 lakh respectively. Both variants can be had with a 7-speed DCT auto gearbox only, while Kia additionally offers the 1.4-litre T-GDi engine with a 6-speed MT as well.
| Kia Seltos | Hyundai Creta |
| GTX MT – Rs 15.54 lakh | SX DCT – Rs 16.16 lakh |
| GTX+ MT – Rs 16.39 lakh | SX(O) DCT – Rs 17.20 lakh |
| GTX+ DCT – Rs 17.34 lakh |
The Kia Seltos GT Line turbo petrol variants are priced between Rs 15.54 lakh – 17.34 lakh (all prices, ex-showroom).