The mid-sized SUV space is getting busier by the day. Just a few weeks ago Toyota India showcased their new 1.5-litre offering called the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder with a mild & strong hybrid powertrain option and now Maruti Suzuki who has co-developed this SUV with Toyota India has pulled the covers off the Grand Vitara.
What’s exciting is this is the first SUV from Maruti Suzuki to offer a hybrid powertrain! This powertrain also comes with Suzuki’s all-wheel-drive tech which distinguishes the Grand Vitara and Hyryder from the competition.
Speaking of competition since Maruti Suzuki does not offer diesel engines in its portfolio we will focus on only the petrol options while comparing this to the others in the segment, the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Skoda Kushaq, VW Taigun and the MG Astor.
To run through the engine specs barring the Taigun & Kushaq, the other SUVs offer a 1.5-litre petrol engine, and the Grand Vitara & Toyota Hyryder offer a 1.5-litre K15C engine with a mild-hybrid tech supplied by Maruti Suzuki & a strong-hybrid tech from Toyota.
The strong hybrid powertrain is offered with an e-CVT that promises to return best-in-class fuel economy numbers of close to 28kmpl which is almost 10kmpl more than the competition. Though we’ll have to wait till we get these SUVs for a real-world tested mileage which could go down to 19-20kmpl.
It boasts of economical numbers with the manual and 6-speed automatic variant as well. (Smart Hybrid – MT 21.11kmpl, AT – 20.58kmpl, AllGrip MT – 19.38kmpl)
While good fuel economy is something that puts a smile on our face it’s engine performance that will make a difference and in that respect among the 1.5-litre natural aspirated versions, its the Creta and the strong hybrid variant of the Grand Vitara & Hyryder that are evenly matched in terms of the power output which is 115PS while the Creta and Astor are torquier at 144Nm than the Grand Vitara & Hyryder that puts out 122Nm.
But while the Grand Vitara & Hyryder boast of hybrid powertrains that might appeal to your pocket, the other SUVs offer turbo variants which might entice petrol heads.
Interesting turbo engine choices from these SUVs, the 1.0-litre turbo-petrol from the Kushaq offers as much power & torquier (115PS/178Nm) than the 1.5-litre naturally aspirated engines in the Seltos & Creta (115PS/144Nm), more than what’s offered in the Astor (110PS/144Nm) & the mild-hybrid variant of the Grand Vitara & Hyrdyer (103PS/136.8Nm).
The Creta’s 1.4-litre turbo petrol though is slightly more powerful than the 1.3-litre turbo petrol from the MG Astor, but that’s not the most impressive turbo engine of this lot. It’s the Kushaq & by extension the Taigun with a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine that is the most powerful and torquiest of the lot (150PS/250Nm).
Coming to gearbox options you get an interesting mix of manual and automatic transmission options 5 & 6-speed options for the Grand Vitara, Hyryder, and Astor, with paddle shifters in the mild-hybrid variant of the Grand Vitara & Hyryder. The mild-hybrid manual variants also offer you the choice of an AWD variant which is a big plus in case your adventurous side comes calling.
The Creta & Kushaq on the other hand also offers 7-speed DCT & DSG gearboxes with paddle shifters in some variants. The eCVT comes into play with the strong hybrid powertrain of the Grand Vitara & Hyryder making this a very frugal option to consider.
Of course in this compact SUV space we still want an imposing-looking SUV which offers comfortable space inside as well so in terms of dimensions the Toyota Hyryder is the longest (4,365mm) SUV, the MG Astor is the widest (1,809mm) & the tallest (1,650mm), while it’s the Kushaq & by extension the Taigun (2,651mm) too that offer the longest wheelbase in the comparison.
Though it would be wiser to sit in the rear seat back-to-back to get a proper sense of where you’re most comfortable. Now we don’t have boot space numbers yet for the newest SUVs but from the initial walkaround, it looked pretty impressive until you go in for the strong hybrid option which uses up a portion of the boot to house the battery pack.
Now in terms of features, convenience & safety tech, these SUVs are pretty much at par with the others but a few highlights worth taking note of are the multi-drive modes including snow in the Grand Vitara & Hyryder including hill descent control for the all-wheel drive variant & integrated Amazon Alexa support.
Barring the Kushaq, Creta & Taigun the others get a 360-degree camera but the Seltos have a slight edge by offering a blind-view monitor on the instrumentation console.
MG Astor sits at a slight disadvantage by skipping ventilated seats, paddle shifters and wireless smartphone chargers. Of course, passenger ride comfort is one of the priorities so a reclining seat is a plus, that’s a missed opportunity in the Astor, Kushaq & Taigun.
But the Astor stands tall with level 2 ADAS features which none of the SUVs in this segment offer as yet. Of course, there are plenty of rumours in the market that the updated Seltos & soon to be launched Creta will get ADAS features but how much of that will make it to India, only time will tell.
Though given we’ve just seen Hyundai offer the latest Tucson with a gamut of ADAS features it seems highly probably the Creta will up its game as well. Let’s not forget the AI Assistant in the MG as well.
From what I listed some can be called gimmicks while some are essentials, I leave it up to you to differentiate. Now we can’t really talk much about pricing but we’re expecting the two new SUVs to be priced between 10-22 lakh rupees.
Among the 1.5-litre manual options the Seltos offers the best pricing starting at ₹10.19 lakh, ex-showroom by a fraction of a margin & it’s the same if you consider an automatic variant at ₹12.75 lakh, ex-showroom as well.
While considering the turbo-petrol depends on what you would want but if it’s the 1.0L turbo you’re looking for then the Kushaq offers you the most affordable manual variant starting at ₹11.29 lakh (ex-showroom) while Volkswagen offers you the most affordable automatic in the top trim at ₹16.90 lakh (ex-showroom).
The 1.3l turbo-petrol of the Astor stands at a slight disadvantage at ₹16.48 lakh (ex-showroom) considering Kia & Hyundai offer 1.4-litre turbo-petrol at a better price band between ₹15.58 – 18.15 lakh (ex-showroom) and also offer the choice of a manual and automatic transmission while MG turbo is available with a 6-speed automatic gearbox only.
Finally coming to the 1.5l turbo engines the Taigun manages to undercut its sibling starting at ₹15.80 lakh, ex-showroom even though it offers fewer trims.
After going through this exhaustive spec comparison it’s easy to get confused with so many choices but we will be driving these cars soon to get a better sense of the driving dynamics of each car when compared to the other.
In the comments section below though let us know which of these SUVs would you pick and which engine option. Or would you prefer to wait for the updated models of the Kia Seltos & Hyundai Creta?
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