HYUNDAI CRETA VS KIA SELTOS POSITIVE PARENTING

Sibling rivalry between the Seltos and the Creta? Or a master plan to dominate the mid-size SUV segment by their Korean parents?

- ROHIT PARADKAR 

With the relaxation of the lockdown, we managed to get our hands on the Creta’s diesel variant. A good two months had passed since we drove the Creta 1.4 petrol, and by now we’d started to warm up to the design of the new Creta. I, for one, frequently referred to the design as polarising in my first review of the car. In the dimly lit parking lot from where I picked up the diesel, the coupe-SUVlike silhouette of the new Creta looked quite charming and the controversial daytime running lights added more drama in that mystic ambience. “Yes, this design has started to grow on me,” I told Anis, our photographer. But on the journey that followed, we came across a Seltos, painted in a gunmetal grey with the sporty red accents, and it instantly dented the infatuation I was beginning to feel for the new Creta. If I was to buy one purely based on an emotional connect with the design, the Seltos would be it.

Design

If I were to break down that verdict, the sharper detailing is what attracts me towards the Seltos. It has a sense of speed to it that I like. The dimpled pattern on the grille’s bezel is another likeable feature - an example of the attention to detail in the design. The Seltos marries the old Creta’s classic SUV poise to the exaggerated elements typical to Kia, and that balance just works.

The updated Creta is marginally smaller than the Seltos in terms of dimensions, and they have experimented with quite a few things – a more rounded-off-form, radical lighting elements, the concave wheel arches instead of ones that are flared out, and the bold accents akin to some premium cars. All of it comes together quite nicely and makes the Creta appear like a completely new car over its predecessor.