Need a Terrano replacement: Volkswagen Taigun vs Kia Seltos

The clean lines of the Taigun leave a lasting impression. It’s like the Polo GT among hatchbacks. Seltos is more like the Swift.
BHPian CkmGowda recently shared with other enthusiasts.
Background: My Nissan Terrano will be 8 years old in a few weeks. I am considering buying a new SUV using the corporate lease option.
Budget: The cap on my company lease plan is 22 lakhs on the road (Bangalore). This includes the price ex showroom + registration fees + insurance + TCS.
Use: My consumption is about 2000 km per month. About 600km in Bangalore city and 1400km on highway (Bangalore to Chikmagalur). Occasionally to Mangalore.
Conditions:
- Great to drive.
- Automatic transfer.
- Useful modern features.
- Safe car.
- Good look.
- Good mileage.
- Good ground clearance (driving on hilly terrain).
- Good resale value (I plan to see in 3 or 4 years after the end of the leasing plan).
- Good trunk (Terrano spoiled us).
- No nonsensical service and maintenance.
I have completed two cars that suit my needs very well – Taigun GT plus and Seltos GTX Plus.
Drive: Both ride and handle well, but Taigun feels a little better. It also feels fast when overtaking. Also NVH is better in Taigun (due to petrol engine). Seltos has a better sitting position (sitting high).
Transmission: Both automatic transmissions are good, but Taigun is slightly better in Sport mode.
Features: Seltos wins hands down. In addition to everything the Taigun offers, the Seltos has:
- 360 degree camera.
- Blind view monitor.
- Bose audio system with 8 speakers.
- Ventilated and electric seats.
- Heads-up Display (HUD).
- LED fog lights.
- Automatic headlights.
- Driver One Touch Auto Up/Down with Anti-Pinch Function.
- Rear door sunshade curtain.
- Rain-sensing wipers.
- All 4 disc brakes.
- All black sports interiors.
Safe car: While the Taigun doesn’t have an NCAP rating, I assume it’s better than the Seltos given its history of making solid (safe?) cars.
Looks: Appearance is subjective, but the Taigun GT wins hands down (personal preference). There simply isn’t a car that matches the class and elegance of the Taigun under 25 lakh (considering that the average price of the Jeep Compass is over 25 lakh). That doesn’t mean the Seltos is any less of a looker, but it does fall into the mass category. The clean lines of the Taigun leave a lasting impression. It’s like the Polo GT among hatchbacks. Seltos is more like the Swift.
Mileage and operating costs: Here the Seltos emerge victorious. Annual savings of 50,000 in fuel costs alone.
ground clearance: No significant difference here (190 mm Seltos vs. 188 mm Taigun).
Resale: I have a feeling the Seltos will be better here.
Good trunk: The Seltos has more trunk space on paper, but I had a feeling the Taigun will actually fit more luggage. Taigun trunk is deep.
Service and maintenance: Although the Hyundai Group has a better track record, I’m willing to believe VW’s commitment to improving the service and maintenance experience for Indian customers.
Placeholder: If work from home continues I am willing to wait until Q2 2022 for the all new Scorpio.
What do you all think?
Here’s what BHPian condor had to say:
Choosing a car today has one important factor – delivery times. I don’t know which of these is available for delivery as per your requirements.
Second is the price. And then service availability in your area.
My opinion on the features:
- 360 degree camera – not a must. But helpful.
- Blind View Monitor – Helpful.
- Bose 8-speaker audio system – Good.
- Ventilated and Power Seats – Good.
- Heads Up Display (HUD) – Good to have.
- LED fog lights – no advantage, e.g. B. if these are cool white.
- Automatic headlights – good to have.
- Driver One Touch Auto Up/Down with Anti-Pinch Function. good to have
- Sunshade curtain for the rear door – Good to have.
- Windscreen wipers with rain sensor – Good to have
- All 4 disc brakes – Not required. I have 4 disc brakes on my vehicle. But rear drum is sufficient.
- All Black Sports Interior – Personal choice.
Running costs: What you mentioned is a guide. The real numbers are known after you start using it.
Here’s what BHPians, you know better had to say:
I just bought a Seltos DCT last month and am happy so far as the whole package improves the owner experience, but I’m not sure how many of these features I’ll be using on a regular basis.
When looking at the Seltos you might also want to consider two aspects (besides security which you mentioned earlier) which I also considered but ended up buying anyway:
- It’s a very ordinary car. There is no exclusivity. While it’s nice to buy a tried and true product, I would have liked a little more exclusivity.
- A facelift is long overdue. Since the car is selling so well, Kia is holding back on an update. They did one last year but that was pretty limited. Consider the Creta for comparison, they will be launching the 3rd variant (from when Kia originally launched the Seltos) in India.
Appearance is subjective. Honestly, I prefer the Selto’s SUV body structure more (it’s not a true SUV, so play with the words) and it also offers more cabin space. At VW, I’m just not sure what thought process they have in terms of launching and maintaining their product portfolio. They are quite abrupt in terms of discontinuing products (example T-Roc, Karoq, Kodiaq, Taigun that I can remember) or continuing older generation products (Polo, Rapid, Vento which will be sold forever) .
Here’s what BHPians Iyencar had to say:
There’s no point in considering the Seltos because of the crash test rating. All of these feel-good features won’t save anyone in a crash. 20 lakhs is a lot of money to compromise on security, especially when other options are available. I would say wait and see. You don’t need a new car anytime soon, so wait. Even if you get one home tomorrow, you probably won’t risk a long drive with the rapid increase in cases. Until then, perhaps there will be a better idea of the Taigun’s safety. Also, the new Scorpio and five-door Gurkha will come out. They could only give you the best of Taigun and Scorpio.
Here’s what BHPian Shreyans_Jain had to say:
I see no point in spending 20L on a Seltos, a vehicle that barely managed a 3-star GNCAP rating with an unstable chassis. No amount of features can compensate for that, especially if you plan on driving a lot on the freeway. Secondly, you overestimate the mileage of the 1.4 turbo gasoline engine. The engine is extremely sensitive to throttle inputs and FE numbers tank very easily. The VW is at least as efficient under real conditions, if not even more so. Ride and handling are also better. The Seltos boot might be bigger on paper, but its shape doesn’t make it very useful. Neither car can hold anywhere near as much luggage as your Terrano.
I see the Tiguan and Kushaq as the best overall 4.3 meter SUVs on the market today as long as you only seat 2 people in the back. Mighty beautiful cars, these. If you want to wait, you’d better wait for the Skoda Slavia. Mainly for the much larger trunk. Don’t see how the new Scorpio will work for you. It will be much less efficient and awkward to drive than the smaller and lighter monocoque crossovers.
For more insight and information, read the comments from BHPians.