neatlyintegratedwithinthefrontarm-restandhasa displayforrearseatpassengers.
Oneofthereasonsmid-sizedsUvs aresopopularinindiaisthattheyprovide
uncompromisedrearseatcomfort.theseltosisnoexceptiontothis.Whencomparedtothe
existingCreta,theKiaislongerby 45 millimetresandwiderby 20 mm.eventhoughtheheight
hasgonedownby 45 mm,youwon’tnoticea starkdifferenceintheheadroom.sincethe
wheelbasehasbeenincreasedby 20 mm,rear-seatpassengersaredriveningoodcomfortwith
ampleknee-roomanda relaxedsittingposition.therearseatcanbeinclineda coupleofnotches
tocatcha naponlongerdrives.there’snovisiblecost-cuttingastheKiaoffersreara-cvents,
centrearm-rest,andsegment-firstfeaturessuchas60:40splitseatsandadjustablecentrehead-
rest.Moreover,the 433 litresofbootspaceisabout 28 litresmorethanthehyundai.it’sKia’s
firstcarmodelforindiaand,clearly,theywanttoleavenostonesunturned.
it’sevidentinthepowertrainline-upaswell:twonewpetrolenginesanda newdiesel.all of
themefficient,clean,andreadyforbs-viswitchover
rightfromlaunch.igota chancetosampleallofthem
brieflyatKia’stest-trackearlier,butinGoaifocused
onthe1.4-litrepetrolseven-speeddCt petrol and the
1.5-litremanualdieselversionsonlyowingtotime
constraints.
if youpreferenthusiasticdrive,thenlookatthe
peppy1.4-litreGdiversion.thisfour-cylinderturbo-
chargedpetrolpunchesout 140 hpat6,000rpmand
hasanimpressivetorqueoutputof 242 nmwhich
peaksbetween1,500and3,200rpm.thisgivesthecar
a niceandmeatymid-rangeandoutrightperformance,
buthastoberevvedhardtogetmostoutofit.the
turbo-petrol can be had with a smooth-shifting six-
speed manual or a modern seven-speed dual-clutch
transmission.
Obviously,thedCtversionwilldemandquitea premiumcomparedto
theothervariantsoftheseltos,butit remainsthemostdesirableoption
simplybecauseit hasthebestmixofperformanceandconvenience.More
premiumbecauseit comespackedwithfeatures,includingdriveand
tractionmodes.thetractionmodesincludeMud,Wet,andsandwhich
alterthethrottleresponseandabsset-up.thesportdrivingmodealters
theengine,gear-shifts,andsteeringfeeltomakeit moreengagingtodrive.
however,inthecity,sportmodefeelsa littletooaggressiveandalmost
jumpy.steponthegasandit makestheenginerevharderbutthere’sa
slightlagbeforethespikeofpowerreachesthewheels.isuggestyou
reservesportforhighwayswhereyoucanenjoybriskaccelerationandthe
sportyexhaustnote.
normal modeisbettersuitedforregularcommutingwithitsseamless
power delivery.it’s a free-revving engine that can be revved all the way to(Right) The 433
litres of boot
space is about 28
litres more than
the Creta54 car india^ August 2019 http://www.carindia.in