2020 Kia Seltos: Review

It has been more than a year since the Kia Seltos was launched. It has received an overwhelming response from the Indian buyers despite being the first offering from Kia Motors. However, in the initial phase, customers had faced a lot of problems, but to a large extent, those issues have been checked, due to which the Seltos has now come as a more mature product. It comes as a head-to-head competitor of segment leader Hyundai Creta and in the early days of the launch, the Seltos also ruled the compact SUV segment, beating Creta with a huge number of sales. Therefore, what is so special about this new Korean offering that it is being liked so much? Let’s find out. 

Exterior

The Kia Seltos looks striking with its boxy silhouette and upright design. 

Kia's signature tiger-nose grille at the front is one of the exciting design elements that give the car's front an up-market look. It's LED headlamps with long LED DRL strip and ice-cubed shaped vertical fog lamps give it a premium feel.

The design on the rear is a lot cleaner but lives up to the car's perspective legacy. It makes the seltos stand out in the league. 

It comes in two trims: – Tech Line (HT Line) and the GT Line. 

The GT line variant is pitched as a more sporty offering, perfectly suited for some enthusiasts' appeal. It features a silver skid plate at both front and rear with a red color accent on it. The side cladding and the brake calipers are also finished in red. 

In terms of dimensions, the Seltos is slightly bigger than the Hyundai Creta. It is 45mm longer and 20mm wider. Also, its wheelbase is 20mm more than its sibling.

Interior & Features

The interior of the Kia Seltos feels premium, yet a bit busy. The upmarket plastic quality and plush interior elements all around give the Seltos's cabin a rich feel. 

The main highlight of the Seltos, which impresses the most is its Mercedes-Benz’s inspired infotainment housing which also incorporates the instrument cluster in it. It comes as the most appealing trait of the Seltos. A similar kind of design now can also be seen in some Hyundai cars like Aura & Nios.

Its 10.25-inch horizontal touchscreen display comes with UVO connected car technology, apple carplay, and android auto smartphone connectivity. Other notable features include a flat-bottom steering wheel, 8-way power-adjustable driver seat, front-seat ventilation function, electrically adjustable and foldable ORVM, auto-dimming IRVM, auto climate control, rear AC vent, wireless charging, semi-digital instrument cluster incorporating color MID (multi-information display), leatherette upholstery, air purifier, electric sunroof, premium sound system from BOSE with mood lighting and the segment-first heads-up display (HUD). However, the HUD is only available in the GTX and GTX+ variant.  

The 7-inch color MID of Seltos displays various information like wiper settings,  navigation guidance, the video forage from the ORVM-mounted cameras while turning side indicator on whereas the 8-inch HUD display the speed and navigation feed. 

As we mentioned earlier, the GT line trim gets some sporty appealing highlights, hence it gets an all-black cabin with red color highlights in the cabin as well. Apart from this, GT line variants also get "GT" badging on the lower spoke of the steering wheel and the backrest of the front seats.

The GT Line comes with the two leatherette upholstery option, black seats with contrasting red stitching or dual-tone black-beige leather upholstery. On the other hand, the Tech line comes with a beige/black theme. Also, the pattern on the leather upholstery is different in the HT and GT line trims.

As far as the safety features are concerned, the protection of passengers is ensured by 6 airbags (Driver + Co-Passenger + Side + Curtain), ABS with EBD, Brake Assist (BA), front & rear parking sensors, ESP, ISOFIX child seat anchorages, traction control (DCT only), speed-sensing door lock, blind spot detection system, tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) and 360-degree cameras, lane watch camera, engine immobilizer, etc. 

Note: All the features mentioned here are of the top-line variant GTX +. Click here for variant-wise features details.

Space & Comfort

The front seats of Seltos are carved well and are broad enough to serve large occupants. Getting a convenient driving position is much easier with the help of an 8-way power-adjustable function.

Further, the telescopic and tilt adjustment function of the steering wheel works as a boon. However, you won’t get the height-adjustable function on the passenger side seat, which is really disappointing when you consider its price range.

Moving on the rear seats, it provides an adequate amount of legroom, headroom, and knee room, however, taller passengers might complain about a lack of under-thigh support. 

The rear seat of Kia Seltos is wide enough to accommodate three passengers but one might feel a lack of shoulder room, especially if the middle occupant is an adult or taller by 6 foot. Nevertheless, to make rear passengers more comfortable, it offers a 2-step recline function, dedicated rear AC vent, a USB port, sunblinds on windows, and adjustable headrests for all-three passengers. 

Boot space

This Korean compact SUV offers 433 liters of boot space, which is the second largest in the segment after the (475litre). The boot is large enough to carry plenty of luggage.

Performance

Kia Seltos comes in three engine options, two petrol (1.5-liter Naturally Aspirated petrol, 1.4-liter turbocharged petrol) and one diesel (1.5-liter) unit. The 1.4-liter turbo petrol engine is only offered with the GT Line variants. 

Let's have a look at their specifications first:- 

As it is clear from the above table, the Kia Seltos comes in 6 engine-transmission combinations but we only got the 1.4-liter turbo petrol model that too with a manual gearbox. 

The turbo-petrol mill offers a massive 140PS of peak power. It is well suited for those who want crisp performance with some kind of enthusiast feel. Its 6-speed speed manual gearbox is tuned well and provides a wide powerband just from 1000-12000rpm. The engine responds very quickly and always feels active and energetic even on the load conditions. Though it has a hard clutch in comparison to the 1.5-liter petrol model yet it doesn’t cause any big trouble in city driving.

Overall, the refinement & smoothness of the engine, well-controlled NVH, and the way it pulls the car, will make you fall in love with this machine. 

On-Road Mileage

With this particular engine-gearbox combination, Kia claims a fuel economy of 16.1kmpl but taking out these figures would be challenging, especially if you are hard on throttle. In city driving conditions, the mileage figures mostly remain under 12kmpl while on highways you can expect a mileage of around 14kmpl.

Ergonomics & Visibility 

The ergonomics on Kia Seltos are pretty nice and all the controls and switches fall to hand easily. The visibility up is incredible and the video feeds from the ORVM-mounted cameras and the rearview camera adds to the convenience and practicality of the car. And if you opt for the GTX+ trim, the HUD feature comes as an icing on the cake.

Ride Quality and Handling

The Seltos offers a good ride quality, especially on highways. Its stability on high speed is commendable and the car feels composed on even three-digit speeds. However, on city speeds, you may discern the suspension noise over sharp bumps and potholes but that doesn’t create much discomfort inside the cabin. The handling of the car is also quite appreciable, the steering wheel is very precise and feels direct. It provides an accurate amount of feedback at both city and highways speeds. The braking bite further feels very accurate thanks to its all-wheel disc setup on higher variants.

Variant Line-up 

As mentioned above, Kia Seltos comes in two trims: Tech Line and GT Line. Both trims are further divided into sub-variants. The Tech Line is available in 5 sub-variants: HTE, HTK, HTK+, HTX, and HTX+, whereas the GT lines come in 3 sub-variants: GTK, GTX, and GTX+. Their pricing are as follows:-

Tech Line:

GT Line: 

*All prices, ex-showroom Delhi.

Colour Options

Kia offers the Seltos in 8 monotones and 5 dual-tone shades. 

Monotones

• Intense Red
• Aurora Black
• Glacier White
• Punchy Orange
• Intelligence Blue
• Gravity Grey
• Steel Silver
• Clear White

Dual-tone  

(available only in HTX, GTK, and GTX)

• Intense Red with Black Roof
• Glacier White with Black Roof
• Steel Silver with Black Roof
• Steel Silver with Orange Roof
• Punchy Orange with Glacier White Roof (HTX+ and GTX+)

Pros And Cons

Pros:

• Segment first features like HUD and lane-watch camera. 
• The cabin feels premium.
• Good build quality and fit-finishing. 
• Most features loaded compact SUV
• Wide range of engine-gearbox options.

Cons:

• Only two airbags with the diesel-manual combination. 
• Features like HUD and 360-degree cameras are only limited to the GT Line trim.

Verdict

Seltos is Kia Motors' first product in India and the company has left no stone unturned to make it a great option. Its simple yet attractive design, features loaded cabin, and wondrous performance make it a great package.