Naturally aspirated petrol automatic midsize SUVs ranked by 0-100kph times – Introduction

The midsize SUV segment is exceedingly popular among Indian mass-market buyers, as this body style strikes a fine balance between aspiration, practicality, and affordability. Not to mention, midsize SUVs offer a great deal of diversity in powertrains – petrol, diesel, CNG, and hybrid. Of these, naturally aspirated petrol-automatic midsize SUVs are hot commodities, but how do they rank in terms of performance? We pored through our test data to find out. The rankings below are arranged in descending order of 0-100kph times.

6. MG Astor 1.5 CVT

0-100kph time: 17.53 seconds

Though it isn’t the least powerful car here, the MG Astor exhibits the most leisurely pace in the 0-100kph sprint. The Astor is powered by a 1.5-litre engine outputting 110hp and 144Nm, which is pretty par for the course among its rivals. 

However, the Astor’s heavier kerb weight and sedate power delivery do put a damper on outright performance. Rolling acceleration times tell the same story, with the Astor taking the longest to complete both the 20-80kph and 40-100kph runs.

5. Maruti Suzuki Victoris 1.5 AT AWD

0-100kph time: 15.09 seconds

Maruti Suzuki’s second midsize SUV, the Victoris, uses the carmaker’s venerable 1.5-litre K15C engine. At 103hp and 139Nm, this engine is the most down on grunt in this company, but it does come paired with a smooth Aisin-sourced 6-speed torque converter automatic. The Victoris is also among the few midsize SUVs to offer an AWD option, which is the spec we’ve tested.

However, the Victoris is on the heavier side and the K15C is tuned in the interest of fuel efficiency. So, despite the added grip from the AWD system, the SUV’s 0-100kph time is the second-slowest here, though it’s a substantial 2.44 seconds quicker than the Astor. In terms of rolling acceleration times, the Victoris AWD beats the Astor by 1.37 seconds and 0.7 seconds in the 20-80kph and 40-100kph tests, respectively.

4. Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara 1.5 AT

0-100kph time: 14.39 seconds

The Grand Vitara uses the same K15C and 6-speed AT powertrain as the Victoris, and is also available with AWD. However, we’ve tested the Grand Vitara in its standard FWD form. Since the Toyota Hyryder is the Grand Vitara’s badge-engineering sibling, the former’s performance figures will likely be comparable to those of the Maruti SUV.

Since the Grand Vitara is 90kg lighter than the Victoris AWD, it achieves a 0.7sec advantage in the 0-100kph sprint. Interestingly, the Grand Vitara is slower than the Victoris by 0.1sec in the 20-80kph rolling acceleration test, but is quicker by 0.28sec when it comes to 40-100kph times.

3. Hyundai Creta 1.5 CVT

0-100kph time: 13.73 seconds

First up on the podium is the long-running midsize SUV sales champion, the Hyundai Creta, which comes equipped with one of the smoothest NA petrol-automatic powertrains in the segment. Its 1.5-litre engine belts out 115hp and 144Nm, figures that are higher than those of most rivals.

In our 0-100kph testing, the Creta achieved a 13.73sec run – 0.66 seconds quicker than the Grand Vitara and a full 3.8 seconds quicker than the Astor. Coming to rolling acceleration, the Creta was 0.27sec ahead of the Victoris in the 20-80kph sprint, and it’s also the first SUV in these rankings to pull a sub-10sec 40-100kph time.

2. Kia Seltos 1.5 CVT

0-100kph time: 13.07 seconds

The second-gen Seltos is the most recent contender on this list, and shares the Creta’s 115hp 1.5-litre petrol engine and CVT combo. Interestingly, the Seltos’ CVT has two additional steps through which it simulates gear changes. While we don’t have precise kerb weight figures for the new Seltos yet, it’s underpinned by the newer K3 platform and has grown dimensionally, so it will likely be heavier than the Creta.

Despite the assumed increase in bulk, the Seltos manages to outperform the Hyundai SUV by a margin of 0.67 seconds in the 0-100kph sprint. The Kia SUV is also quicker than the Creta by 0.58 seconds and 0.5 seconds in the 20-80kph and 40-100kph tests, respectively.

1. Honda Elevate 1.5 CVT

0-100kph time: 11.89 seconds

First place in the performance rankings goes to the Elevate, which is powered by Honda’s rev-happy 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine. This famed powerplant churns out 121hp and 145Nm – the highest output here, but by a very slim margin. The Elevate is also the second-lightest SUV here.

From 0-100kph, the Elevate is a substantial 1.18 seconds quicker than the Seltos and a whopping 5.64 seconds quicker than the Astor. Meanwhile, rolling acceleration tests show that the Elevate is the only SUV here to complete the 20-80kph run in under 7 seconds and the 40-100kph sprint in less than 9 seconds.

Autocar India’s testing standards

Before we conduct our performance tests, we check and maintain tyre pressures based on the manufacturer’s recommendation and ensure the car has a full tank of fuel. The car is then tested in a controlled environment with two people on board, and the data is collected via highly accurate GPS-based timing equipment.