Spec comparison: Nissan Kicks vs Hyundai Creta vs Mahindra Scorpio
The Nissan Kicks is the latest in a segment rich with choice. If you're in the market for an SUV (and the upward sales statistics over sedans show you likely are), you've got everything from compact SUVs that drive like cars, to seven and eight-seater SUVs vying for your attention. To that end, the Hyundai Creta is the most popular crossover-SUV in the segment, with its smart styling, easy-to-drive nature and Hyundai service network. In the same vein as the Kicks, but of a different flavour is its more slickly-styled sibling, the Renault Captur, which generated interest but never really took off. At the other end of the size scale, is the Mahindra Scorpio, which is also the most popular full-size SUV in that price bracket. Here's how the four stack up on paper.
Dimensions
The Hyundai Creta is the most compact of the bunch, with a length of 4,270mm, followed by the Captur at 4,329mm. The Kicks, at 4,384mm, is placed between them and the obviously larger 4,456mm long Scorpio. But the overall length is not very indicative unless wheelbase is also taken into account, where the Kicks and Captur share the same 2,673mm distance between the wheels, and their cabins are similarly sized, with the ability to seat five in comfort. The Creta at 2,590mm, doesn't really feel smaller inside than these two, despite its dimensions. Surprisingly, while the Scorpio doesn't boast that much of a larger wheelbase at 2,680mm, it does incorporate a third row of seats. If that's a consideration, it's pretty much your only choice. Also, they're all pretty even in the cargo space area, with the Captur at 392 litres, the Creta and Kicks at 400 litres, while the Scorpio is more substantial at 460 litres.
Features
The new favourite buzzword of the Indian car buyer. All these SUVs are fairly well-specced at the top end â€" offering most of what a modern consumer could want. All offer touchscreen infotainment, and standard smartphone integration, while the exception of the Captur and Scorpio which only feature Bluetooth connectivity, and not Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. The Creta is the only one to have another fairly useless-in-our-conditions, but important feature, one a lot of consumers seem to ask for, which is a sun-roof. All are fairly safe too, all offering two airbags as standard, but the Creta comes out ahead with a choice of six airbags on the top-end variant. All also get cornering lights and LED DRLs, but the Kicks and the Captur offer LED headlights to boot. The Kicks is also the only one to offer a 360-degree parking camera, a feature not seen before in the segment.
Powertrains
Here again the larger, third-row equipped Scorpio stands out by being the only SUV to be available in diesel only, and with an option of 4WD. Its 2.2-litre engine makes 142PS and 320Nm of torque, with only a six-speed manual available. The Kicks and Captur get the choice of the same 1.5-litre petrol or diesel engines, with the petrol producing 106PS and 142Nm down to a five-speed manual, with the diesel making 110PS/240Nm transferred to a six-speed manual. Both are manual-only, and (2WD) front-wheel drive only. The Creta is 2WD only as well, but engines span a 1.4-litre diesel (90PS/220Nm), a 1.6-litre petrol (123PS/151Nm) and a 1.6-litre diesel (127PS/260Nm). The Creta stands out as being the most city-friendly, with an option of a six-speed automatic gearbox in both petrol and diesel guise.
Price
We'll update this bit when Nissan launches the Kicks in January 2019, but we expect/hope Nissan can price it just under the segment leader from Hyundai, under the Rs 9.5 -14 lakh, ex-showroom mark. That should provide some incentive for people to look past Hyundai's substantial service network, to the Kicks. The Captur starts at Rs 9.9 lakh and goes up to Rs 13.9 lakh, while the Scorpio is pretty evenly priced at Rs 9.95 lakh to Rs 15.9 lakh for the top-variant eight-seater, all prices ex-showroom.
Also see: Tata Harrier vs Hyundai Creta vs Mahindra XUV500 vs Jeep Compass Comparo Video
Also see: Nissan Kicks v Hyundai Creta v Renault Captur v Maruti Suzuki S-Cross Comparison test Video