In recent times, car buyers have been spoilt with a new trend of limited and special editions of mass-market cars. What these offer are enhanced aesthetic appeal and personalisation choices while retaining the same proposition. And now, the new space has a variety of options to choose from. Here, we pit the newly launched Kia Seltos X Line against the trendsetter Tata Harrier Dark to see which one makes more sense to buy while shelling out a little more dough over their respective vanilla versions.

Exterior

Kia is the first manufacturer to offer a matte paint scheme right from its plant! The Graphite matte shade with spatters of gloss black sprinkled with orange accents give the Seltos a meaner and bold look. Also new are the bigger 18-inch alloy wheels finished in matte. Besides this, the Seltos continues with all LED lighting, roof rails, and the new brand logo.

The Harrier was the first model to kick start the ‘Dark’ edition for the carmaker. With the 2021 update, Tata Motors has given the Harrier a de-chromed therapy. The chrome bits have been removed for Oberon Black gloss exterior hue. The 18-inch alloys are done in a single tone of black. Overall, the Dark look does blend well with the muscular and butch stance of the Harrier.

Interior

Coming to the interior, the only highlight of the X Line’s cabin is the new upholstery for the leatherette seats. It comes stitched in Indigo Pera and contrast grey colour stitching with a similar shade being used for the door pads. And that’s where the differences with the GT-Line variant end. However, it carries forward the feature-laden cabin with a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, a Bose stereo system, 360-degree camera, ventilated front seats, wireless charger, and more. To know more about the Seltos X Line, click here.

The Harrier Dark gets the brand’s ‘Dark Chrome’ interior pack wherein the chrome embellishments are swapped for a gloss black treatment. These can be seen on the centre portion of the dashboard, around the aircon vents, and on the door pads. Even the leatherette seats with the ‘Dark’ motif on the headrest are all black. However, the deep blue tri-arrow pattern on them looks newfangled and premium.

Engine and Transmission

Mechanically, the Seltos X Line can be had with both 1.4-litre turbo petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines. While the former is coupled with a seven-speed DCT unit, the latter is linked to a six-speed automatic transmission. Meanwhile, the Harrier sticks to the 2.0-litre diesel engine that puts out 168bhp and 350Nm of peak torque that comes mated to a six-speed manual and a six-speed automatic transmission.

Conclusion

So, which one of these special editions is a worthy buy? Well, both the models undoubtedly look appealing but also have their shortcomings. Where the Seltos X Line misses out on a manual transmission, the Harrier is not offered with a petrol engine. Price-wise, on comparing the diesel automatic versions of both the models, the Seltos with a price tag of Rs 18.10 lakh (ex-showroom) is affordable by Rs 1.34 lakh than the mid-spec XTA+ variant and a whopping Rs 3 lakh over the XZA+ trim of the Harrier. But what you get with the Harrier is a potent diesel powertrain and a strong road presence.