CARVERSAL

So, you have 15 lakhs in your pockets and are confused which SUV to buy with this amount of money. Don’t worry, I am here to help you! It has become quite confusing now-a-days to decide which car to buy, then it doesn’t matter how much your budget is. Because now almost every amount of budget has got some worthy competitors in it. And when you talk about entry level cars, there are literally 8 - 9 cars competing for the same throne in their segment and in the next 2 - 3 years, there will easily be 3 - 4 cars more who would be competing for the same throne as well. Hence, with this amount of competition between cars in various segments, it is quite difficult to get your hands on the right one which would be perfect for your kind of usage. And that’s what I am going to decode for you today.

I will mention every SUV in the Mid - Sized SUV segment and then describe what kind of customers it caters to. But, before starting with this, let me just tell you what products the Mid - Sized SUV segment actually has in it. Well to tell you, India is a country where if you provide them a hatchback with taller ground clearance and some wheel cladding, they will start calling it an SUV. And this is absolutely wrong because in the first place, they don’t even know which car should be mentioned as an SUV. And to explain this I would need a whole article to get you understood about this particular concept. So, I am just going to name all the SUVs from the mid - sized segment which match the needs of becoming an SUV.

The names are as follows -

• Hyundai Creta

• Kia Seltos 

• Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara

• Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder

• MG Astor

That’s it! Yes I know, I haven't mentioned the names of the German siblings - Taigun & Kushaq, but unfortunately, their variants below ₹15 lakhs consist of a 1.0 L engine and to qualify as an SUV they need to have a 1500 cc engine. ( Though they do get a 1.5 L engine, but it is priced above ₹15 lakhs )

So, let’s get started with the work -

Hyundai Creta

Creta is an SUV which focuses on practical bits like spacious cabin, epitome of refined engines and feature rich car. Overall, it should be bought by those who don't care about a car’s structural rigidity, who just need a car which should be spacious enough to accommodate a family of 5 comfortably and it should also be good for city commutes.

Hyundai Creta’s a total of 3 variants are available below ₹15 lakhs -

E 1.5 Petrol - 113 PS & 134 Nm of torque

Hyundai Creta’s E 1.5 Petrol variant, it is the base variant of all Creta variants. It packs the basics of all features like Manual AC, Rear AC vents, Rear Parking sensors, All four power windows, Internally adjustable ORVM, Halogen Headlights / Tail lights, Front adjustable headrests, Average Fuel consumption and Average speed.

EX 1.5 Petrol - 113 PS & 134 Nm of torque

The EX 1.5 Petrol variant acts as the second variant of the Hyundai Creta. It packs more technological features than its base variant - Electrically adjustable ORVM, Distance to empty, 8 inch Touch screen display, 6 speakers, Android Auto and Apple car play, Steering mounted controls and voice commands, rest all features are the same as E 1.5 Petrol variant.

E 1.5 Diesel - 113 PS & 250 Nm of torque

The E 1.5 Diesel variant of the Creta is basically the base variant E 1.5 Petrol, but with Diesel engine. Therefore, it packs all the same features that the E 1.5 Petrol variant has.

After all this, Creta also offers some safety features which are standard throughout all the variants of the car - All four Disc brakes, 6 Airbags, ABS with EBD, ESP, TCS, Hill hold control, TPMS and ISO fix mounts.

Kia Seltos

Kia Seltos is a car which looks smartest of all the SUVs in the segment. It is basically a Hyundai Creta with some attractive looks, so, ultimately it has all the characteristics as the Creta like Spacious and comfortable cabin, very refined engines and a good city commuter.

Kia Seltos’ 3 variants are available below ₹15 lakhs -

HTE 1.5 Petrol - 113 PS & 134 Nm of torque

The HTE 1.5 Petrol variant packs plenty of useful features like Manual AC, Rear AC vents, Front and rear adjustable headrests, All four power windows, Internally adjustable ORVM, Rear parking sensors, Average fuel consumption, Distance to empty, Average speed, Gear indicator, Digital infotainment system, 4 speakers, Steering mounted controls, Bluetooth connectivity and Halogen Headlights / Tail lights.

HTK 1.5 Petrol - 113 PS & 134 Nm of torque

The HTK 1.5 Petrol is the second variant of the Kia Seltos. It already packs all the features which the HTE 1.5 Petrol ( base variant ) packs, but it also adds on some technological features like Rear parking camera, Electrically adjustable ORVM, Turn indicators on ORVM, Fog lights, 8 inch touch sensitive display, 6 speakers, Android auto & Apple Car play and Voice commands.

HTE 1.5 Diesel - 113 PS & 250 Nm of torque

The HTE 1.5 Diesel variant packs exactly similar features as in the HTE 1.5 Petrol variant, the only difference is that this variant runs on a diesel engine.

Over all of this, Kia Seltos also offers some safety features which are standard throughout all the Kia Seltos’ variants. Features - All four Disc brakes, 6 Airbags, TPMS, ABS with EBD, Brake assist, ESP, Middle rear three point seat belt and Hill descent control.

Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara

Grand Vitara is a car made for ‘fuel efficiency conscious buyers’ as the engine of the respective variants is a Mild Hybrid and also happens to be one of the most fuel efficient of all in the segment, excluding this, it is a car made for a family of 4 adults and one child, as it could not fit in 5 adults comfortably in it and also the engine on use would be quite stressed. But, one thing could be assured that the car could provide a comfortable drive throughout. And the most interesting fact about the GV is that it is the only SUV in the segment which provides a CNG fuel option with it. It is also decently packed in terms of the features.

Grand Vitara has a total of 3 variants which sits below ₹15 lakhs -

Sigma Smart Hybrid ( Mild Hybrid ) - 102 PS & 134 Nm of torque

The GV’s Sigma Smart Hybrid variant provides some very useful features in it - All four power windows, Automatic AC, Rear AC vents, Rear defogger, All 5 adjustable headrests, Armrest, Smart key, Request sensor on driver’s door, Electrically adjustable ORVM, Steering mounted controls, Engine start-stop button, Halogen Projector beams and Shark Fin antenna.

Delta Smart Hybrid ( Mild Hybrid ) - 102 PS & 134 Nm of torque

This happens to be the second variant of the GV. It can also be called the ‘value for money’ variant. It packs all the basic features which are available in the Delta Smart Hybrid ( base variant ), but it also brings in some technological features like 7 inch touch sensitive display, Android auto & Apple car play, Voice commands, 4 speakers and Cruise control.

Delta CNG - 87 PS & 121 Nm of torque

Being the CNG version of the Delta Smart Hybrid ( second variant ) variant of GV, it consists of all the features which the second variant already has. Just with one difference which is a CNG compatible engine.

After all this, the Grand Vitara also packs some safety features which are standard through all of its variant’s range - All five 3 pointers seatbelt, Dual front airbags, All four Disc brakes, ABS with EBD, Hill hold assist and ISO fix mounts .

Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder

Toyota Hyryder is nothing but a Maruti Grand vitara with a Toyota logo. Therefore, all the characteristics which the Grand Vitara has in it are also present in the Toyota Hyryder, like a Mild Hybrid system for a few particular engines, could fit 4 adults and one child comfortably and the engine used is low in performance, so it could get stressed once driven with a heavy foot. Though it has one thing which differentiates it with the GV - It doesn’t get a CNG option throughout its variant’s range.

The Toyota Hyryder manages to get 2 of it’s variants below the tag of ₹15 lakhs -

E Neo Drive - 102 PS & 136 Nm of torque

As the Hyryder is exactly similar to the GV, it also packs the same features for a few particular variants. Like this one, the E Neo Drive packs the same features as the Grand Vitara’s Sigma Smart Hybrid variant.

S Neo Drive - 102 PS & 136 Nm of torque

The S Neo Drive is a clone of Grand Vitara’s Delta Smart Hybrid variant. Hence, it packs the same features as of the Delta Smart Hybrid variant of the Grand Vitara.

Talking about the safety features, then even with the matter of safety features - it has exactly the same offerings as of Maruti’s Grand Vitara.

MG Astor

MG Astor is comparatively smaller than the others in the segment. Its appearance makes it look like a raised hatchback, though it still ticks all the boxes of being an SUV. It is a car which could keep a family of 4 adults happy, being small it could be congested to fit 5. The engine is decently powered, so no power issues could be felt. It is also the only car to score 5 stars, though in ASEAN N-CAP, yet, it could be considered as an equally safe car than others.

MG has provided a total of 2 variants below ₹15 lakhs -

Style 1.5 MT -  108 PS & 144 Nm of Torque

This particular variant of the MG Astor provides good enough features compared to others and it could also be considered over others because of features like Automatic AC, Rear AC vents, Average fuel consumption, Average speed, Real time fuel efficiency, Distance to empty, Rear parking sensors, Gear indicator, Electrically adjustable ORVM, 10 inch touch sensitive display, 4 speakers, Android Auto & Apple car play, Steering mounted controls and GPS.

Super 1.5 MT -  108 PS & 144 Nm of Torque

This variant sits above Style 1.5 MT being the second variant. It already gets all the features as the Style 1.5 MT, but it also adds up the list with features like - Reverse camera, Fog lights and Alloy wheels.

Over all of these features, MG Astor focuses on safety more than any other brand in this segment by offering features like Dual front airbags, Middle rear three pointer seatbelt, All four Disc brakes, ABS with EBD, TCS, ESP, Hill hold assist, Hill descent control and Brake assist. These features are standard throughout MG Astor’s line up .

Therefore, these were all the SUVs which I have differentiated according to their category of customers. I hope this could help you decide which one to make yours.