MG Astor vs Hyundai Creta vs Kia Seltos: Which One is Better?

MG has expanded its lineup with the all new Astor, which enters in a hotly contested segment already being ruled by the likes of Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos.

MG is on a roll in the Indian car market. After successive launches of the Hector, ZS EV, Hector Plus and Gloster, the next big launch from the brand is the Astor midsize SUV. There are high hopes from the MG Astor, for it is going to drive the volumes of MG in India from now onwards. However, the task is not going to be too easy for the MG Astor, as it takes on a wide array of competition which is undisputedly led by two Korean siblings, the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos. Here’s an elaborative comparison of all the aspects of the three SUVs here, which will give you an idea of which one offers you the most and best for the money you intend to spend:

Price

MG has created some serious ripples in the midsize SUV segment by pricing the Astor below all of its rivals. The range of the MG Astor starts at Rs 9.78 lakh for the base ‘Style’ variant, which makes it the most affordable car in this segment now. What works in the favour of MG is the fact that the Style variant is as well-equipped as the second variants of the Creta and Seltos, thus making it a terrific value for money option. Even the top-spec variant’s pricing is on par with those of the other two, but the Astor gets the much talked about ADAS features, which the other two simply don’t have.

(All prices mentioned above are ex-showroom, pan India)

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Engine and Performance

Unlike the Creta and Seltos, the MG Astor is being offered as a petrol-only model, and there are two engine options to choose from. The volume driver will be the 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine, which makes 110 PS of power and 144 Nm of torque, and is available with a 5-speed manual and CVT gearbox options. Then comes the juicier 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine, which pumps out 140 PS of peak power and 220 Nm of torque, which is offered exclusively with a 6-speed AT.

On paper as well as in the real world, these engine options of the MG Astor are a touch behind those of the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos. These distant Korean siblings get the same petrol engine options – a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, which makes 115 PS of power and 144 Nm of torque (offered with a 6-speed manual and CVT) and a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine which produces 140 PS of power and 242 Nm of torque (offered with a 7-speed DCT). The turbo-petrol engine of the Kia Seltos is also available with a 6-speed manual gearbox.

In addition, both the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos are also offered with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, which belts out 115 PS of maximum power and 250 Nm of maximum torque and is available with both 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic gearbox options. The MG Astor simply doesn’t have a diesel engine, which reduces its targeted audience size.

Exterior and Dimension

On paper, the MG Astor is now the benchmark in its segment, for it is the longest, widest and tallest car in its class now. This gives it a bigger road presence as compared to the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos. Even the boot space of the MG Astor, which has not been defined for the India-spec model but stands at 448 litres for the almost similar UK-spec model, is more than both the other two SUVs. However, the wheelbase of the Astor is lesser than the identical 2610mm wheelbase of both Seltos and Creta, which reduces its knee room and legroom as compared to the other two.

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Design and Features

All the three SUVs are densely equipped in their way – select one of the three here, and you might not go wrong with either of them. On the outside, all the three SUVs here get LED headlamps and tail lamps, 17-inch machined alloy wheels, roof rails and body cladding all around. However, the MG Astor misses out on LED fog lamps and gets conventional halogen ones.

On the inside, all three SUVs here are well equipped with large touchscreen infotainment systems with Apple Carplay and Android Auto, sunroof (panoramic in Astor and Creta, single-pane in Seltos), automatic climate control, rear AC vents, TFT instrument console, ambient lighting, paddle shifters (automatic variants), powered driver’s seat, push-button start with keyless entry, leather upholstery, air purifier with PM2.5 air filter and height-adjustable driver seat.

The Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos, in addition, also get ventilated seats, wireless charger, drive and traction control modes and a cooled glove box. However, the MG Astor gets the first-in-India feature of a personal AI assistant, which has a talking robot mounted on the dashboard. This robot works in sync with the i-Smart connectivity features of the Astor and provides all necessary information and communicates with the driver through voice commands.

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Safety Features

All three SUVs here are well-equipped with premium safety features like front, side and curtain airbags, ABS with EBD, reverse parking sensors and camera, electronic stability control, hill start assist and tire pressure monitoring system. Both the MG Astor and Kia Seltos also have front and side parking cameras, while the latter gets an exclusive head-up display as well.

However, what strongly pulls the matters in favour of the MG Astor here is its exhaustive list of autonomous driving assistance systems (ADAS), which include adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, lane departure prevention and lane keep assist, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking and automatic emergency braking-pedestrian, intelligent headlamp control, speed assist system, blind-spot detection, lane change assist and rear cross-traffic alert. None of these ADAS features is there in the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos.

Verdict

The more affordable pricing and a longer list of safety features do make the MG Astor a stellar value-for-money option in comparison to the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos. The MG Astor is on par with the Creta and Seltos in terms of equipment and fit and finish levels, and while the engine options of the Astor are not as perky as those of the Korean duo, they are decently powerful and refined and are easy to live with.

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