Taking the Challenge Several Lakhs Above

Ever since its launch in 2019, the Kia Seltos has been nothing short of an incredible success story – both for the automaker as well as for the success of the particular car as well. All it takes is a quick glance at the numbers to realise the scale of the Seltos’ success. It is the fastest SUV to reach the 3 lakh sales mark in India, accounts for about 60 percent of Kia India’s sales, and as per the company, 11 units of Seltos have been sold every hour by Kia in the past three years. What’s also interesting is the fact that 58% of all Seltos sold are top variants. You get the idea, the Seltos is popular and people are willing to spend money to get higher variants of it. And during our time with the Seltos spanning three months and about 2,500 km, it was evident why.

Acing The X-Factor

The Seltos starts off very strong right from the first look you have at it and as we found out after spending time with it, it only gets better. It may not be the biggest car, in terms of size, that you can get with the money the top-end variant demands, but it certainly uses that size brilliantly. With sharp cut lines, connecting LED strips around the headlamp, neatly designed tail lamps, and a stance that is just the right mix of SUV and sportiness, the Seltos is still the best-looking SUV of the segment. More importantly, this design will continue to age very well which means the car will not look and feel dated even after years from now.

The same goes for the cabin of the car as well. A big infotainment system housing and a clean design along with the use of dark colour across the cabin makes the car premium and once again, it does not feel aged.

And with design touches such as the knurled finish on the front grille, smart use of chrome, and intricately designed wheels as seen in our tops-spec variant, the car feels premium. And this feeling gets carried over to the inside as well with additions like in-built blinds for rear passengers, racy-looking foot pedals, paddle shifters, ambient lighting, a heads-up display, an 8-speaker Bose sound system, power-adjustable driver seat, and (especially important for a place like Delhi) an in-built air purifier makes you feel like you are in a car that belongs to a class above.

And then there are the other bits such as the combination of Apple CarPlay/Android Auto with a highly responsive infotainment system with a crisp display, very well-finished toggle switches on the steering, drive modes, traction modes, cooled seats and superb quality of the 360-degree parking camera seal the deal. The cooled seats were also very useful during the summer temperatures of Delhi as it quickly makes sitting in the car comfortable even if the seats were left to boil with the car parked in the sun.

Take a Detailed Look at The Kia Seltos in Pics, Here

Inherent Sportiness and Character

With it clearly being filled to the brim with features and having a premium design, the Seltos continued to impress with its driving habits too. The 1.5-litre diesel engine with 115 horsepower and 250 Nm of torque coupled with the 6-speed torque converter gearbox was a delight to use. Despite being a diesel powertrain, the car does not get too noisy under the 3,500 RPM mark, and with ample torque available below that range, you don’t really go over that RPM range in city driving conditions. However, if you push the car hard, you will find the engine to sound a bit strained even though there is ample performance.

The ride quality is on the stiffer side when you compare it against some other SUVs in the segment but it is not stiff enough that you will need to be cautious on badly built roads. On the flip side, what you gain is a great driving setup that is a delight and will please those who delve into some spirited driving. With paddle shifters and minimal body roll, the Seltos is one of the best-driving SUVs in this price bracket.

As for the big question, during our run of almost 2,500 km, the Seltos returned a mileage of 16 km/l in the city and 19 km/l on the highway.

Punching Above its Weight

While there are a few things that we wished were a bit different, like the inclusion of an all-digital instrument cluster or a larger sunroof, the Seltos was an extremely impressive experience. So much so, that during the duration of the car being with us, we often ended up choosing the Seltos over SUVs almost twice its price tag. And this is because of perhaps the biggest positive that the Seltos brings with itself – being the perfect amount of everything.

Firstly, the size. Despite being this spacious and capable of fitting five passengers with a fair amount of comfort, the Seltos is not overly sized like some other SUVs in the segment. Not only does that give it a performance that is a cut above the rest, but it also gives the perfect exterior dimensions to easily find parking spaces in crowded areas without leaving you with a concern about whether it stretches out to the road a bit too much. While at the same time, it feels equally spacious on the inside and gives the same amount of a “big car feel” as compared to its rivals.

On top of that, the long list of features and a relatively frugal drivetrain makes the Seltos diesel a seriously strong suggestion. If you are in the market looking for an SUV in the 15-25 lakh price budget, you simply cannot overlook the Kia Seltos.

Read all the Latest Auto News here

Ever since its launch in 2019, the Kia Seltos has been nothing short of an incredible success story – both for the automaker as well as for the success of the particular car as well. All it takes is a quick glance at the numbers to realise the scale of the Seltos’ success. It is the fastest SUV to reach the 3 lakh sales mark in India, accounts for about 60 percent of Kia India’s sales, and as per the company, 11 units of Seltos have been sold every hour by Kia in the past three years. What’s also interesting is the fact that 58% of all Seltos sold are top variants. You get the idea, the Seltos is popular and people are willing to spend money to get higher variants of it. And during our time with the Seltos spanning three months and about 2,500 km, it was evident why.

Acing The X-Factor

The Seltos starts off very strong right from the first look you have at it and as we found out after spending time with it, it only gets better. It may not be the biggest car, in terms of size, that you can get with the money the top-end variant demands, but it certainly uses that size brilliantly. With sharp cut lines, connecting LED strips around the headlamp, neatly designed tail lamps, and a stance that is just the right mix of SUV and sportiness, the Seltos is still the best-looking SUV of the segment. More importantly, this design will continue to age very well which means the car will not look and feel dated even after years from now.

The same goes for the cabin of the car as well. A big infotainment system housing and a clean design along with the use of dark colour across the cabin makes the car premium and once again, it does not feel aged.

And with design touches such as the knurled finish on the front grille, smart use of chrome, and intricately designed wheels as seen in our tops-spec variant, the car feels premium. And this feeling gets carried over to the inside as well with additions like in-built blinds for rear passengers, racy-looking foot pedals, paddle shifters, ambient lighting, a heads-up display, an 8-speaker Bose sound system, power-adjustable driver seat, and (especially important for a place like Delhi) an in-built air purifier makes you feel like you are in a car that belongs to a class above.

And then there are the other bits such as the combination of Apple CarPlay/Android Auto with a highly responsive infotainment system with a crisp display, very well-finished toggle switches on the steering, drive modes, traction modes, cooled seats and superb quality of the 360-degree parking camera seal the deal. The cooled seats were also very useful during the summer temperatures of Delhi as it quickly makes sitting in the car comfortable even if the seats were left to boil with the car parked in the sun.

Take a Detailed Look at The Kia Seltos in Pics, Here

Inherent Sportiness and Character

With it clearly being filled to the brim with features and having a premium design, the Seltos continued to impress with its driving habits too. The 1.5-litre diesel engine with 115 horsepower and 250 Nm of torque coupled with the 6-speed torque converter gearbox was a delight to use. Despite being a diesel powertrain, the car does not get too noisy under the 3,500 RPM mark, and with ample torque available below that range, you don’t really go over that RPM range in city driving conditions. However, if you push the car hard, you will find the engine to sound a bit strained even though there is ample performance.

The ride quality is on the stiffer side when you compare it against some other SUVs in the segment but it is not stiff enough that you will need to be cautious on badly built roads. On the flip side, what you gain is a great driving setup that is a delight and will please those who delve into some spirited driving. With paddle shifters and minimal body roll, the Seltos is one of the best-driving SUVs in this price bracket.

As for the big question, during our run of almost 2,500 km, the Seltos returned a mileage of 16 km/l in the city and 19 km/l on the highway.

Punching Above its Weight

While there are a few things that we wished were a bit different, like the inclusion of an all-digital instrument cluster or a larger sunroof, the Seltos was an extremely impressive experience. So much so, that during the duration of the car being with us, we often ended up choosing the Seltos over SUVs almost twice its price tag. And this is because of perhaps the biggest positive that the Seltos brings with itself – being the perfect amount of everything.

Firstly, the size. Despite being this spacious and capable of fitting five passengers with a fair amount of comfort, the Seltos is not overly sized like some other SUVs in the segment. Not only does that give it a performance that is a cut above the rest, but it also gives the perfect exterior dimensions to easily find parking spaces in crowded areas without leaving you with a concern about whether it stretches out to the road a bit too much. While at the same time, it feels equally spacious on the inside and gives the same amount of a “big car feel” as compared to its rivals.

On top of that, the long list of features and a relatively frugal drivetrain makes the Seltos diesel a seriously strong suggestion. If you are in the market looking for an SUV in the 15-25 lakh price budget, you simply cannot overlook the Kia Seltos.

Read all the Latest Auto News here