7-seater Kia Seltos vs 7-seater Hyundai Creta - What's Your Pick?

by Kshitij Rawat | 26/04/2020
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Check out our on-paper, speculative comparison of the 7-seater Hyundai Creta and 7-seater Kia Seltos, using all the information we could muster up about the two SUVs.

Kia Seltos, has had a brilliant run in India ever since its launch in August 2019. Its sporty design, brilliant engine options, and decent price range, all worked in favour of the car and helped increase its popularity in the Indian market. Feeling threatened by its sister company, Hyundai brought in the new and improved, next-generation Creta to our country. The new model looks sharper than before, and uses new engines to power itself.

7-seater Kia Seltos vs 7-seater Hyundai Creta - What's Your Pick?

Considering the popularity of SUVs in the Indian market, there’s no reason for both the companies to stop there. According to plenty of spy shots, Hyundai is already working on a 7-seater version of the Creta. That could help boost sales, as there aren’t many 7-seater SUVs smaller (and cheaper to buy) than Toyota Fortuner. Even MG and Tata will bring their 6/7-seater SUVs soon. Why not Kia then? Surely the current king of the compact SUV segment could benefit from an additional row of seating!

Regardless of when they arrive, if they arrive, in India, we call all agree that we’d love to see the three-row SUVs based in the Creta and Seltos. But how would those two compare against each other then? To find out the answer to that, we must go through all the details available to us.

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7-seater Kia Seltos vs 7-seater Hyundai Creta – Exterior comparison

Kia Seltos 7-seater rendering

Kia Seltos 7-seater (digital rendering)

Kia Seltos 7-seater would be the sportier-looking car of the two, with the same headlamps design and tiger-nose grille at the front. The side profile would remain largely the same, with only the rear overhang being larger than before. Even the wheelbase would be the same as before. The rear section will have next-to-no changes, with perhaps an addition of bold “SELTOS” lettering on the tailgate, which is quite a popular new design detail.

Hyundai Creta 7-seater rendering

Hyundai Creta 7-seater (digital rendering)

Hyundai Creta 7-seater, on the other hand, would be the more subtle offering. It would have a relatively understated look, which is known to work wonders in the mass market segments. The vertically split headlamps would remain unaltered, but the front grille might have a new design. Even the taillamps could be different, single-piece units instead of the vertically split ones we have on the 5-seater model. Due to the Creta’s thick C-pillar, the rear section feels secluded, but with the addition of a huge quarter-glass, the side profile looks much better than the regular Creta.

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7-seater Kia Seltos vs 7-seater Hyundai Creta – Interior comparison

Kia Seltos Interior

Kia Seltos Interior (GT Line)

We don’t expect there to be many changes in the interiors of both cars. The Kia Seltos will continue to offer a dark interior theme with ambient lighting (GT Line). The lower trims (HT Line) will have a dual-tone interior theme. The 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system juts upwards from the dashboard and joins smoothly into the instrument cluster housing. The steering wheel has a three-spoke design.

2020 Hyundai Creta Interior

Hyundai Creta (next-gen) Interior

The Creta has a relatively simpler dashboard design, with a neatly integrated touchscreen in the centre console. The instrument cluster is unique though, with a giant digital speed flanked by semi-circular dials on either end. The steering wheel is also quite unique, with a four-spoke design. Both the SUVs feature steering-mounted controls for audio and cruise control.

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7-seater Kia Seltos vs 7-seater Hyundai Creta – Engine and Performance comparison

As the new Hyundai Creta shares its engine options with the Seltos, there is no difference between them, at least on paper. The first option is a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol (115hp and 144Nm), paired to either a 6-speed manual or a CVT gearbox. The second one is a 1.5-litre turbo-diesel engine (115 PS and 250 Nm), which can be had with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic.

The third and last engine choice is a 1.4-litre turbo-diesel (140 PS and 242 Nm).In the Creta, you can only have this with a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox with paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. In the Seltos, you can have this motor with the same dual-clutch gearbox, but without he paddles, or with a 6-speed manual. The seven-seater versions of these SUVs will probably have the same engine and transmission options as the five-seater ones.

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7-seater Kia Seltos vs 7-seater Hyundai Creta – Final Verdict

Professionally, we’d say that there isn’t enough real-world data to go by here, which means any decision we make at the moment would be meaningless once the SUVs are finally unveiled. There could be major design changes, the equipment list could be different, and even the engines might be new. As such, the final judgement is reserved until we get more, concrete details.

Hyundai Creta 3-row SUV looks impressive

Hyundai Creta 3-row SUV looks more impressive, at least in this rendering

Personally, however, I quite like the design of the elongated Hyundai Creta. It appears more proportionate than the compact, regular version. Surprisingly, I have the opposite opinion about the five-seater models. The Kia Seltos, with its sportier lines and consistent styling, is more appealing to me than the Creta. The latter may have a unique face and tail, but its conservative lines, especially on the side profile, aren’t very impressive. If the 7-seater looks as impressive as the rendering we have here, Hyundai might have a winner on their hand.

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