Nissan Kicks Turbo vs Kia Seltos Turbo: Spec comparison

If there's one segment besides compact SUVs that's hotly contested in India, then its the mid-size SUV space. And Nissan has decided to take one last shot at it by launching the BS6 Kicks with an all-new turbo-petrol motor. But, how goes it compare with the segment benchmark - the Kia Seltos? Here's a quick spec comparison for you to decide.

Now, both the cars are available with multiple engine and gearbox choices, but this story will focus on the turbocharged petrol motors as these bring direct-injection tech to the table. Nevertheless, we will brief you with the other available engine options on both these SUVs. The Nissan Kicks also gets a 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol unit that is coupled to a five-speed manual transmission. The Kia Seltos, on the other hand, gets 1.5-litre petrol and diesel units that are available with manual or automatic transmissions. Now, let's dive deeper into the turbocharged powertrains.

Nissan Kicks

The updated BS6 Nissan Kicks gets an all-new 1.3-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol unit that generates class-leading power figures of 154bhp and 254Nm. It is paired to a five-speed manual gearbox or an X-Tronic CVT with a seven-step M-mode. It would be interesting to gauge how this engine works with a CVT, especially knowing that CVTs, typically, aren't performance-centric.

This motor is jointly developed by Nissan in association with Renault and Diamler AG. Besides the Kicks, this also powers a few Mercedes-Benz cars globally, and will soon be introduced in the Renault Duster.

Kia Seltos

The Seltos gets a 1.4-litre four-cylinder TGDi turbo-petrol unit that punches out 138bhp and 242Nm of peak torque. It is offered with a six-speed manual transmission and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Now, the DCT unit is a technologically advanced gearbox, compared to the CVT on the Kicks, and offers quick gearshifts. However, this being a dry-clutch unit, it suffers from heating issue when you encounter dense vehicular traffic.