[14000rpm]

I used be Car Salesman in my 1st job 19 yrs ago. Sold Toyota Qualis for about 18 months. In all those months, every 3rd prospect would walk up and compare with Scorpio which clearly looked better. I had a standard line -'' How long are you going to stand outside and stare at your car? aren't you going to sit inside and go? that's where the Qualis is far better.''. This line worked most of the time and killed some Scorpio's sales.

I believe the Creta salesman will have the same line to cite and will sell on the Hyundai USP's.

[buntee90]

Voted yes!
When launched, I thought what an ugly car ! , now that I have seen a few on the road, it doesn't look half as bad. The awkward design grows on you, the interiors are better in Creta(plus sunroof) in my opinion and the brand recognition is also a major factor!
So I believe Creta will outsell the seltos if not by a large margin though.

[Sahilrai166]

Not a big fan of the 2020 Creta but definitely a product which will be a big hit like its predecessor in the Indian market. Will it outsell the Seltos?Maybe yes and these are the reason's
•Looks bigger than the Seltos
•Stands out in the crowd(looks unique)
•Panaromic sunroof (this reason alone can outsell its sibling)
•Wider showroom and service network.
•Even the base variants (E and E+) does not look too different from the top end variants.

[ashvek3141]

Voted a NO.

Considering the two cars are nearly identical, it boils down to pure looks. No wonder the Seltos garnered so much attention and has clocked some serious figures in terms of sales.
Being a 1st gen Creta owner, I don’t like the new Creta one bit. It’s too overdone for my liking. Heck, I even like the Hector more then the Creta.
Hyundai will manage to sell the Creta due to the novelty aspect of the car, but I doubt the sales numbers will outrun the Seltos in the long run.

[Bibendum90949]

Seltos after having sold 82K units has already got a head start. The prime differentiator is in the looks department. One factor which I feel that will have a huge bearing on this race is the impending downcast economy and auto sector is poised for some degrowth as people have already started to tighten their purses. In my immediate circle, 3 of them have back burnered or given it the deep six with their new car purchase.

It will take a lot of derring-do from Creta to surpass Seltos numbers. Had it been a pre covid market, Creta would've cantered through this race in an year and half. So I guess the stellar position will be maintained by Seltos for at least for 2 years - the wide network of Hyundai, it's brand image, panoramic sun roof, paddle shifters etc notwithstanding.

Kia is not sitting on it's laurels either, they're fast expanding their network besides the hunt for a second plant, those are bold steps in these troubled times. The reception Kia has got in India has a lot to do with it being a Hyundai subsidiary. So the upper hand of Creta being an established brand gets nullified to an extent.

Hence I voted NO.

[kpzen]

Yes by a small margin.
Reasons :
a) The interiors is classy & modern.
b) panoramic sunroof
c) paddle shifts
d) Service network

Personally, I would love to have Seltos exterior + Creta interiors.

[landcruiser123]

Voted Yes.

The Indian and Korean HQ will be happy as long as both cars sell in good numbers. It'll be a close competition as:
1. Hyundai has the greater dealer network (critical in tier 2 and 3 cities)
2. Creta is an established product existing Hyundai small car owners can easily upgrade to
3. Kia Seltos has the better interior design

[Mat095]

Voted No

I agree with GTO, being a newer product Creta will enjoy the initial success but the Seltos will eventually regain its throne as the segment leader. Both cars have the same engine but the Creta still has the bling with its new panoramic sunroof whereas Seltos has the design advantage. Also, Kia has the more premium brand image in India compared to Hyundai. Having said that the difference between the two would be minimal.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by GTO

But over a period of 1 - 2 years, I will have to vote for NO.

Originally Posted by GTO

when it comes to styling, you can say that the Seltos is neutral and will appeal to 9 out of 10 buyers. But the Creta is way too ugly! Hyundai's polarising design language might win over 50% of the market, but the other 50% will hate it. It's literally a love-it-or-hate-it design,

Originally Posted by GTO

It is the Creta's weird styling that just gave the Seltos a major advantage.

Nailed it on each one above. The polarising style is THE big factor. The other factor, though not as in your face, is the ride quality. I believe the Kia is unduly hard. If the Creta is much better on this front then it may sway a few more buyers but overall its hard to argue with that verdict.

[VS1811]

Voted a wholehearted No.

My reasons for the same:
1. Seltos is definitely an exponential times better looking car and after a certain price point, lets say beyond 15L, people do care about the exterior looks and the car is not just a Point A to Point B commute. A first gen Dzire like looking car did well in 5L - 7L bracket but i cant remember a bad looking car doing great numbers above 15L bracket.

2. Features are almost identical give and take some. A person with attention to detail will prefer Seltos for its features which are more useful but lesser of a selling point like 360 degree camera and front sensors, rain sensing wipers, telescopic steering adjustment, HUD, remote car start, LED foglamps, etc. Ofcourse its just an easier sell in the showroom for Creta with Panaromic Sunroof, Paddle Shifts and Electronic parking brake. I will anyday take Seltos extras over Creta.

3. GT Line differentiator compared to a very bland Turbo model in Creta which fails to distinguish itself from non turbo/ Diesel version. Kia GT Line stands out from other variants and just a glance will tell you its GT line. It coming with Sporty black interiors with red stitching, Crystal cut alloys and red highlights makes its sporty intentions crystal clear.

4. A big one for me. We all think of Hyundai having 20 years headstart and the huge purchase and aftersales setup as a key advantage. I for one, also think of the baggage that comes along with it. Kia is still a more aspirational brand in Indian context compared to Hyundai. People would rather see a 30L MUV (Carnival) parked next to Seltos in the showroom than a 5L Santro next to Creta.
People do care about the brand and its aspirational vaue when shopping in 15L and above segment. That is exactly where Kia has hit the jackpot. Carnival was never a volume model for them but more of an image and premium branding exercise. I, shopping in this segment, would get bit of a novelty with my car for it being from a new and premium brand yet playing it safe for how Kia has invested in the market, how rapidly they are expanding and their after sales availability and quality being right up there basis the initial feedback.

Easy "no" for me in the end.

[bluevolt]

Voted No.

Creta will not be able to do so. While Creta has few features that Seltos doesn't include a panoramic sunroof, paddle shifters etc. There is something in Seltos which Creta just don't have - doesn't matter if someone agrees or not. And that is it's 'looks'

Seltos looks way better than 'Current' Creta any day from any angle in any given color.

Even though looks are subjective, they do matter when you have a choice to make.

[pganapathy]

I voted NO. The Creta doesn't really any "up" to go. It is already a best seller and had large dealer network. Increasing either is a very difficult job.

On the other hand, Kia dealers can easily grow manifold, and other than a new car bump, it can only go upwards. Additionally, Hyundai has done the hard work of showing people that Korean cars are good and reliable. Kia will ride on that and see growing sales provided they pick the correct cars to launch, as that will get more footfall into the showroom and potentially convert buyers to the Seltos over another vehicle they came in to look at.

[PrasannaDhana]

Seltos may be the latest hot kid in the block, but Creta is a brand in itself, just like how Innova is in MPV segment.

Hyundai has the following advantages

1. Better reach - both dealerships and the name

2. More mature look - trust me, a lot of middle aged and older folks find creta better. "Badass" tag of seltos isn't received well by the elder ones too.

3. Service costs and reliability (though the parent is Hyundai) of Kia are unchartered territories.

4. I personally felt creta to be a little spacious than the seltos.

5. Obviously better resale value.

6. This may be a bit odd, but going into a showroom to buy the cheapest product in it and going to a showroom to buy one of the costlier products in it has very different feelings to it. Most of us don't mind, but there are a lot of sensitive people out there in our country.

Creta will sell better than the seltos, not because the former is better, but because of the same reasons why the Baleno sells better than the polo.

Car enthusiasts will definitely go for the Kia.

[aniyo]

I have a completely different question, why is that Hyundai and Kia could find such a perfect car in this price range but no other company could get 1/4th the success.

Kicks and Captur the interiors were average with same asking price and not a great Afetr sales to boast about,

Mahindra for some strange reason decided to chop the tivoli when launching similar size would have been faster as well cheaper

TATA is completely missing from this scene and this for a company that gave us Sierra

Maruti goofed up (rare occasion) with S-cross and boring engines and interiors

Ford never thought about this segment in their entire 20+ years in India is plain shocking. Not that they have many models to manage.

Toyota which is largely a UV player would have been easily able to cash in on popularity.

Not mentioning Honda, have no hopes left from them.

I really wonder what do all the high paying executives do in office

[BLACNWYTE]

Voted Yes

Initially I too thought that the new Creta with the quirky exteriors will be no match for the Seltos. It is but after seeing it in the flesh I have realised that the design will grow on you and also the few extra features might push it over the top. IMHO, give me the new Creta features in the prefacelift first generation design and I'll keep the car for life.

My only grouse with the new Creta interior is the AC controls, the old one (top end) was so beautiful.