Mahindra Thar vs Kia Seltos: which is the better diesel-AT city SUV?

We are a family of four and already own an Audi Q5 and a Volvo S60. We plan to buy a new car for around Rs 20 lakh. The brain says go for the Seltos diesel AT GT line for Rs 21.7 lakh, while the heart says go for Thar diesel AT costing around Rs 18 lakh. No doubt the Thar is a little impractical, but I guess I can live with it. I need this car mostly for city driving and not highways. While the Seltos is feature rich, it is expensive and way too common, while the Thar is solid.

Nishant Dua, Delhi

Autocar India says: As you said, the Thar is for the heart and the Seltos is for the head. Since you already have two luxury vehicles in your household, which look after your requirements, you can indulge yourself with the Thar, which certainly has a lot of road presence. The Thar isn’t practical enough to be a replacement of your everyday car, but makes for a good secondary car for the city. On the highway, it is bumpy and not as plush as a regular soft-roader. Given your usage, however, it’s fine for the city, but we’d suggest you opt for the automatic. Both the diesel and petrol autos are good.

Also See:

2021 Mahindra Thar review, road test

2020 Mahindra Thar first look video

Kia Seltos review, road test

2019 Kia Seltos video review