2023 Kia Seltos Pricing and Specs

Kia in the US has copped plenty of flak over the two-litre petrol engine fitted to some Seltos and Soul models. In fact, there’s been a major service campaign undertaken to identify cars with the problem and attend to them. The problem seems to be within a batch of piston rings which were incorrectly heat-treated during manufacture and can lead to excessive oil consumption. In extreme cases, this can lead an engine to run completely out of oil and seize.

But just because that has happened in the US, doesn’t mean the problem is the same in Australia where different batches of engines might be built in different factories. In fact, Kia Australia tells me that there is no recall or service bulletin issued for this problem in Australia.

In any case, if you bought a brand-new Kia and it had this – or any other – problem caused by faulty materials or workmanship, then you’d be covered by the factory new-car warranty anyway.

You don't need to spend $30,000 to get a great small car to run around town in. A Suzuki Swift GL Navigator from $17,690 plus on-road costs ($1000 more for the auto) makes for an excellent choice, with a surprisingly roomy interior, a refined, frugal and lively engine, great handling and superb reliability. Great value for money, in other words.

Moving on from there, to the next size up and in our order of preference, are the Mazda 3, Ford Focus Active, Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Corolla Hatch, Honda Civic (turbo only) and Subaru Impreza. All are quality small cars that should fit the bill perfectly.

There's also merit in considering a small SUV, chiefly because their higher roofline and loftier seating positions make them easier to get in and out as well as see out of. Our value pick is the Kia Seltos S with Safety Pack. The Mazda CX-30 and Toyota C-HR are also high-quality and refined choices, though they're right at the cusp of your budget so you may have to search for a discounted demo model. Going small SUV does  mean extra outlay, but they do generally offer better resale value, as their popularity seems endless.

As you can see, there's lots of choice, so take your time, drive the ones you like the look of, and see which feels best. Out of scores of alternatives, these 10 are our top recommendations at under $30K.

There are two main reasons to service a car. The first is to keep the vehicle running in an efficient, clean, safe and comfortable way. The second is so that you maintain your factory warranty. A car-maker is not obliged to honour some aspects of a new-car warranty if the vehicle hasn’t been serviced correctly, so it’s important, especially since the Kia warranty is such a good one at seven-years/unlimited kilometres. In fact, the Kia warranty is the best in the business in Australia.

With that in mind, provided you use a properly accredited workshop that is authorised to stamp your service book, yes you can use a non-Kia workshop or dealership to have your car serviced and retain your factory warranty. That said, the Kia isn’t an especially expensive vehicle to have serviced with 12 month or 15,000km service intervals.

Have you investigated Kia’s seven-year capped price servicing deal? It stacks up very well over the full seven years and, in fact, a Seltos is really no more expensive to service than the little Kia Picanto under the capped-price schedule. Definitely talk to the dealer about capped price servicing if you go ahead and buy a Kia, you might be surprised how cost-effective it is.