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Kia Seltos Research

MotorBeam Team
Kia Seltos

Kia entered the Indian automotive market in August 2019 with the Kia Seltos. Since then it has been no looking back for the Korean carmaker. It has produced more than 1,00,000 vehicles in the fiscal year 2020 and has posted revenue of 10,838 crores and that too when the domestic market delivered the worst performance of the decade courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pros –  Variants Offered, Sharp Exterior Looks, Features

Cons – Build Quality, Limited-Service Network

Kia Seltos Exteriors

The Seltos is a handsome looking compact SUV. On the front, one will find the tiger-nose grille which looks stunning. After a careful examination of the Seltos, one will find the front parking camera somewhere hidden in the nose grille. The Seltos gets a lot of chrome surrounding around the nose grille. The chrome finishing can also be seen above the LED headlamps. The car looks beautiful from the front with the multi-layer indicators adding the perfect ingredient to make it look like a beast. There are plenty of things that would catch one’s attention towards the Kia Seltos. The ice cube LED fog lamps are one of them. Overall the Seltos looks like a pretty upmarket car from the side with the chrome treatment merging into the rear spoiler, also giving it a sporty look. The black body cladding just adds to the already sharp looks of the Kia Seltos. Coming to the rear, the first thing that would catch one’s attention is the multi-layer LEDs with the chrome treatment connecting the backlights. The fake exhaust and the artificial skid plates are like a cherry on the cake. 

Kia Seltos Interior

The Seltos boasts of a practical and feature-loaded cabin. To start with, the rear seat experience on the Kia Seltos is pretty good. With a flat floor, comfortable seats and three headrests, it can accommodate three passengers at the back. However, under-thigh support is average. The car gets smart pure air which shows the air quality index. One also get the heads up display on the GT line trim of the Kia Seltos which is one of the unique selling points of the car. The Seltos gets a D-Cut Steering Wheel in the top trims which has both the tilt and telescopic functions. One can find some piano treatment inside the cabin of the Kia Seltos above the glove box and on the centre console which gives it a premium feel but the Seltos does get a lot of hard plastics which does lower the appeal of the cabin slightly. The Seltos gets a 7-inch coloured TFT multi-information display which shows information such as the tyre pressure, range and average. The reverse parking camera gets adaptive guidelines and has reasonably good visibility. It also gets features like push-button start/stop, cruise control, ISOFIX child seat mounts, electrically adjustable and auto foldable OVRMs to name a few.

Kia Seltos Space

The boot space of the Kia Seltos happens to be 433 litres. The 60:40 seat split can ease out more volume for the luggage. The door pockets on all the doors are more than capable of accomodating one-litre water bottles. The glove box is decently sized but doesn’t get a cooling function. The Seltos gets front and rear seat armrests with the latter getting twin cup holders. 

Kia Seltos Engine Performance

The Seltos gets a 1.5L petrol manual, a clutchless manual and an automatic CVT. The 1.4L turbo petrol is available in manual and automatic (dual-clutch) transmissions. The 1.5L diesel gets a manual and an automatic torque converter. The 1.5L petrol engine produces 115 PS of power at 6300 RPM at a torque output of 144 NM at 4500 RPM.  

The 1.4L turbo petrol unit produces 140 PS of power at 6000 RPM with a torque output of 242 NM at 1500 RPM. The car gets from 0-100 km/hr in 8.8 seconds in the manual variant but it gets a bit slower in the DCT trim of the GT line with the Seltos going from 0-100 km/hr in 9.6 seconds.

The 1.5L diesel engine produces 115 PS of power at 4000 RPM and 250 NM of torque at 1500 RPM. The power delivery is linear and redlines up to 5000 RPM. 

It goes from 0-100 km/hr in 11.2 seconds. The 1st gear can go to 50 km/hr, the 2nd can go to 80 km/hr and the 3rd can go to 120 km/hr on the diesel manual. The Seltos also gets an anti-stall technology that prevents it from juddering below 1000 RPM.

Kia Seltos Mileage

The ARAI mileage of the 1.5L petrol manual and clutchless manual happens to be 16.5 km/l. The ARAI mileage of automatic CVT is slightly more than the manual with it being 16.8 km/l. One can expect around 10-11 km/l in the city and 13-14 km/l on the highway. 

The ARAI mileage of the 1.4L turbo petrol manual is 16.1 km/l which increases out with an automatic dual-clutch by 0.4 km/l. 

The ARAI mileage of the diesel manual of the Kia Seltos is 20.8 km/l but one won’t be able to extract more than 15-16 km/l on average in the city. It would surely increase out on the highway.  

Kia Seltos Handling

The suspension of the Kia Seltos is on the stiffer side. The gearbox is very smooth but the steering feels artificial and appears to be over-assisted. Nevertheless, as soon as one puts their foot on the gas, the car loves to be revved. The Seltos has a wheelbase that is 20mm more than the Hyundai Creta which implies that the aerodynamic stability is better in the Seltos at least on paper.

Kia Seltos Comfort

Since the suspension of the Kia Seltos is on the stiffer side, the Seltos would do wonders on smooth roads, however, the potholes and bumps will trouble passengers on bad roads. The bolstering on the front seats offers exceptional comfort while the rear seats also offer good comfort. 

Kia Seltos Safety

The Seltos secured a 3-star global NCAP rating in the crash test. Some top variants also come equipped with 6 airbags. Some of the safety features offered in the Kia Seltos as standard include ABS with EBD, ISOFIX child seat mounts, high-speed alerts and dual airbags. 

Kia Seltos Service

Kia is not yet there when it comes to the number of service centres pan India which is understandable considering they entered the Indian market in 2019. Nevertheless, they are quickly picking up pace and doing their best to offer services to their customers. 

Kia Seltos Prices

Following are the prices (on-road Mumbai) of the Kia Seltos :

Kia Seltos Resale Value

Kia has established a firm grip in the Indian market. With the success of Kia Seltos in the compact SUV segment, it’s no brainer that the Korean car is selling like hotcakes. This has obviously affected the resale value which also depends on the number of kilometres driven along with the condition in which the vehicle is in. 

Kia Seltos Colours

The Seltos is offered in the following colours : 

Kia Seltos Specs

The following are the specs of the Kia Seltos :

Kia Seltos Variants

The Kia Seltos is offered in the following variants in the petrol trim : 

The Kia Seltos is offered in the following variants in the diesel trim :

Kia Seltos Rating

We gave the Kia Seltos a rating of 4/5.

Kia Seltos Upcoming Models

Kia recently launched the X Line in the Seltos in India. With over 25 options to pick from, Kia has only increased the confusion amongst its customers regarding which variant to choose.

Kia Seltos vs Hyundai Creta

The Kia Seltos is 15mm longer, 10mm wider and 10mm taller than the Hyundai Creta. The unique selling point of the Hyundai Creta is its panoramic sunroof which is not yet offered by its Korean sibling. Another factor to consider before choosing among the two is the service network offered by them. Kia is still a new face in the market whereas Hyundai has a well-established network in India. 

Kia Seltos vs Skoda Kushaq

The Kushaq has a longer wheelbase compared to the Seltos, 41mm to be precise. It’s no brainer that the Czech automaker has better-built quality than the Korean automaker. The main difference that lies between the Kushaq and the Seltos is the fact that the Kushaq is only offered in the petrol trim whereas the Seltos is offered in the petrol as well as the diesel trim thus limiting one’s options.

Kia Seltos vs XUV700

In terms of dimensions, the Mahindra XUV700 is significantly bigger than the Kia Seltos. The XUV700 is 380mm longer, 90mm wider and 110mm taller than the Seltos. The Mahindra XUV700 has a longer wheelbase than the Kia Seltos by a huge margin of 140mm. The XUV700 is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, while the Kia Seltos is offered with two petrol engines, a 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol & a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol. The turbocharged motor of the XUV700 produces 200 PS of power and 380 Nm of torque. Thus if someone is looking for sheer power at this price point then the XUV700 is the way to go. 

Kia Seltos vs Volkswagen Taigun

The Taigun just like the Kushaq is not available in the diesel trim. The Seltos is 94mm longer, 40mm wider and 33mm taller than the Taigun. The Taigun’s boot space is also compromised when compared to the Seltos which has a boot capacity of 433 Litres compared to 385 Litres offered in the Taigun. 

Kia Seltos vs MG Hector

A longer wheelbase, a flat rear flooring and a panoramic sunroof mean more comfort offered. That’s the unique selling point of the MG Hector. Some of the key features offered in the MG Hector which is not offered in the Kia Seltos include automatic wipers and a 360° camera. The Hector is also more spacious and practical than the Seltos making it an ideal choice for large families.

Kia Seltos
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