Creta vs Grand Vitara vs Seltos – Which SUV to Buy in 2025?

If you’re planning to buy a compact SUV in 2025, three names will surely dominate your shortlist: the Hyundai Creta, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, and Kia Seltos. These SUVs have carved a strong reputation in India for offering a great mix of style, comfort, features, and performance — all within a reasonable budget.

But with each updated for 2025 and loaded with new tech and design tweaks, it can be tricky to decide which one suits your needs best. Here’s a detailed comparison to help you make the right choice.

Design and Road Presence

Hyundai Creta
The 2025 Creta now gets Hyundai’s global design language with a large parametric grille, sleeker LED DRLs, and a more upright stance. It looks slightly more premium and sophisticated than its rivals. From the rear, the connected tail lamps and crisp lines give it a very modern look.

Maruti Grand Vitara
The Grand Vitara has a muscular front grille, bold bonnet lines, and a slightly boxy design that gives it a rugged, SUV-like character. For buyers who want a strong, planted look with a hint of off-road appeal, the Grand Vitara stands out.

Kia Seltos
The new Seltos facelift looks the sportiest among the three. It features sharp LED headlamps, aggressive bumper lines, and connected tail lamps. Its slightly lower and athletic stance adds to its dynamic road presence.

Interiors and Features

Hyundai Creta
The new dashboard design integrates a large touchscreen along with a digital instrument cluster. It comes with features like ventilated seats, panoramic sunroof, ambient lighting, and advanced driver assistance (ADAS) features. The cabin feels slightly driver-focused with the console angled towards the driver.

Maruti Grand Vitara
It offers a practical, well-built cabin with soft-touch elements. Key highlights include a panoramic sunroof, wireless charging, a head-up display, 360-degree camera, and comfortable seats. The infotainment screen is slightly smaller compared to the Creta and Seltos, but the cabin feels quiet and refined.

Kia Seltos
The Seltos continues to be the sportiest inside with red stitching in GT Line models, a flat-bottom steering wheel, and a twin display setup (10.25-inch infotainment plus 10.25-inch digital cluster). It also offers ventilated seats, a Bose sound system, panoramic sunroof, and ADAS features like lane keep assist and blind spot monitoring.

Engine and Performance

Below is a quick technical overview:

Creta
Petrol options include a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated engine and a 1.5-litre turbo petrol. It also comes with a 1.5-litre diesel. The turbo petrol is the pick for enthusiasts, offering around 160 PS and paired with a smooth DCT.

Grand Vitara
Focuses on efficiency. Offers a 1.5-litre mild hybrid petrol and a 1.5-litre strong hybrid developed with Toyota. There is no diesel option. The strong hybrid is known for its exceptional fuel economy and silent city drives.

Seltos
Very similar to the Creta underneath. Offers the same 1.5 NA petrol, 1.5 turbo petrol, and 1.5 diesel options. The suspension tuning and steering are slightly sportier than the Creta, which makes it more engaging to drive.

Ride, Handling and Mileage

Creta
Tuned more for comfort, it absorbs bad roads easily. It feels slightly soft at higher speeds but is very friendly in city traffic.

Grand Vitara
Has a balanced ride. The hybrid version is very quiet at low speeds, running often in pure EV mode, which makes it great for urban use.

Seltos
The Seltos is tuned to feel sportier. Its steering is slightly heavier, and the suspension is a bit stiffer, which helps it handle corners better but also makes it feel bumps more than the Creta.

Mileage Comparison (Approximate)

Creta Petrol: 12-14 km/l in city, 16-18 km/l on highway
Seltos Petrol: 12-14 km/l in city, 16-18 km/l on highway
Grand Vitara Hybrid: 22-24 km/l in city, 26-28 km/l on highway

Safety and After-sales

Creta and Seltos now come with six airbags standard and ADAS in top variants. Both brands have wide service networks across India. The Grand Vitara is built on Toyota-Suzuki’s platform and also offers six airbags and stability control. Maruti’s service reach is unmatched, plus the hybrid tech comes with longer warranty support.

Price in 2025 (Ex-showroom estimate)

Creta: Starts at around 11 lakh, goes up to 19 lakh
Seltos: Starts at around 11 lakh, goes up to 20 lakh
Grand Vitara: Starts at around 10.8 lakh, goes up to 19.5 lakh (for strong hybrid variants)

Which SUV Should You Buy in 2025?

Choose the Creta if you want a comfortable, feature-rich family SUV that feels plush and modern.
Pick the Grand Vitara if your priority is maximum fuel efficiency and a calm, refined city drive — especially with the strong hybrid.
Go for the Seltos if you enjoy driving, want a sportier feel, and like slightly sharper handling along with a youthful cabin design.

Conclusion

The Hyundai Creta, Maruti Grand Vitara, and Kia Seltos each bring something unique to the table. Your final choice should depend on what you value more — comfort and features (Creta), unbeatable fuel economy and hybrid tech (Grand Vitara), or a dynamic, sporty drive (Seltos).

No matter which one you pick, all three SUVs offer solid quality, modern tech, and the assurance of strong after-sales support, making them top choices for Indian buyers in 2025.