Autoportal India

With the midsize SUV segment booming, and buyers being spoilt for choice, we round up options to help you lock onto the model that’ll fit your requirements best.

4.2-4.4m-long SUVs have been the rage for a while now, and there’s lots of reasons why. There’s the typical SUV draws of high ground clearance, an elevated seating position and, of course, street cred, and then there’s the matter that these midsize SUVs also seem right-sized for India. They portray that much wanted big-car image, yet don’t feel unwieldy on our congested roads like the larger models from the SUV universe.

For carmakers, the midsize SUV segment is the segment to crack. And that’s telling in our line-up, because, of the six models featured here, three were launched over just the past year. To give a brief of the contenders, the MG Astor is the newest and is relying on comfort and tech to wow buyers. The Volkswagen Taigun and Skoda Kushaq are the VW Group’s new entries in the segment, and the promise is of European engineering at wallet-friendly prices. Hyundai’s original Creta ruled the segment since launch in 2015, and this second-gen model that’s been on sale since 2020 builds on the very successful formula. The Creta’s cousin from Kia, the big selling Seltos, offers a different flavour with the same ingredients. And last but not least, we have the Nissan Kicks that’s the oldest model here, if you go by launch chronology, though it’s fresh from an update of its own with new engines and gearboxes for the BS6 era. We’d have loved to have included the Kicks’ cousin and OG midsized SUV Renault’s Duster too, but it’s just bowed after a near-10 year production run. The S-Cross, though dimensionally similar, is a bit too crossover and not SUV enough to mix in this company.

It’s the Kia Seltos and Hyundai Creta, in that order, with the widest range of engine-gearbox options and are the only ones with diesel powertrains too. However, in consideration here are the most powerful turbo-petrol and automatic gearbox-equipped versions of each of the contenders. We’ll be relying on facts, figures and feel to tell you all about them, and what each one stands out for.

Heart of the matter

A quick specification comparison will reveal that the Astor’s 140hp and 220Nm, 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine is the only three-cylinder unit here, and the MG’s also the only one to use a torque converter gearbox. The Volkswagen Taigun and Skoda Kushaq share their 150hp and 250Nm, 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine and 7-speed DSG dual-clutch transmission, and it’s a similar story with the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos that use the same hardware of 140hp and 242Nm, 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engines and 7-speed dual-clutch transmissions. The Nissan Kicks is the only one with a CVT, while its 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine has bragging rights with the most power and torque of 156hp and 254Nm, respectively. SUVs these may be, but they all channel their power to the front wheels only. That’s that for the on-paper comparison. What’s each one like to drive?