It seems like only yesterday the Seltos arrived in a blaze of acclaim, Kia's long-awaited compact SUV quickly capturing the imagination of buyers.
The Seltos nailed a tricky formula, delivering style, space and a solid ownership proposition at an impressive price.
During 2020 the Seltos scored a new touchscreen with Kia's excellent new media system, bringing that particular feature in line with the Sorento. Prices also went north across the range, with a final $300 impost added in December.
The car I had was the Sport+ front-wheel drive, which weighs in at $32,790. That gets you 17-inch alloys, a six-speaker stereo, climate control, reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, active cruise control, sat nav, power everything, cloth trim on the seats, leather wheel and shifter, full-size spare and a very solid safety package.
Annoyingly, just the Starbright Yellow is a freebie, the other six colours cost $520.
Kia Seltos 2021: Sport+ (fwd)
| Engine Type | Inline 4, 2.0L |
|---|---|
| Fuel Type | Unleaded Petrol |
| Fuel Efficiency | 6.8L/100km (combined) |
| Seating | 5 |
| Price From | $29,150 - $35,090 |
| Safety Rating |
|
What does it look like?
The Seltos works very hard to catch your eye and given how many cars are crowded into this segment, that's no surprise. I think it looks fantastic, particularly in this spec with the alloys wheels. It has a real Euro feel while also being quite upright.
The daytime LED daytime running lights add a bit of class, along with blacked-out pillars and window surrounds. Kia's trademark grille also helps define its very individual look.
Inside it's very contemporary but not too exciting. It all looks and feels very nice, but avant-garde it is not.
How does it drive?
The Sport+ front-wheel drive comes with the 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder, with 110kW and 180Nm. Quick it isn't, but it does the job with the aid of a continuously variable transmission that isn't terrible. A number of cars in this segment have these things - they don't have stepped gearing like, say, its Hyundai sibling, the Kona, but instead a pulley-and-belt system expands and contracts depending on how hard you hit the accelerator. These transmissions are my least favourite, but the Seltos' one is fine for the job, with a positive feel from a standing start and a responsive vibe when you're out and about.
The engine itself is very smooth and quiet, but will not get your pulse racing.
I'm a big fan of the way the Seltos drives - the steering is light but tells you what's going on underneath the tyres, the ride is only unsettled by the biggest of bumps or potholes and, even when it's loaded up, it feels just as happy as when it's empty, if a fair bit slower.
It's a wee bit firmer than, say, a Qashqai or a Honda HR-V, both of which are a bit more American in feel, a bit squishier. The Kia is a bit tighter too because the rear suspension is different to the all-wheel drive cars, so the engineers have less to play with. Still, I prefer it this way and I'm happy to live with the occasional judder when going over one of those horrible rubber speed bumps than have to deal with a car that leans over and makes everyone in the back feel crook.
How spacious is it?
This Kia's extra size over many of its competitors means you get a decent-sized boot of 433 litres under which is a full-size spare. Lower models score another 60 litres but the spare is a cheap space-saver.
When you drop the 60/40 split-fold and you have a massive 1393 litres. The load space is a good one, too, wide and almost flat with the seats down. The wheelarches aren't too intrusive either.
Rear-seat passengers have a lot of space for knees and feet and the headroom is plentiful even for my very tall son. The Sport+ has a more welcoming rear seat for passengers, too, with a pair of cupholders that you don't get in the entry-level car, which goes with the pair in the front, as well as the bottle holders in each door.
How easy is it to use every day?
Whenever there's a Seltos on the drive, you know it's the easy choice if you have some shopping or people-moving to do. We moved a huge amount of clothing to the Salvos that we'd have struggled to fit in most SUVs in the class, at least without resorting to dropping the seats. We were able to drive our son around in it to the various family commitments imposed...er...celebrated over Christmas and there were no complaints about space.
It's very easy to park, partly because of the excellent vision, but also because of the front and rear parking sensors and reversing camera. The quick-enough steering is also a great help in the car park war zone.
If you're loading younger kids in and out, the doors open quite wide and the aperture is big, handy when you've got to slot yourself in to strap in a writhing toddler. The loading lip for the boot isn't too high, either, and the false floor means you slide stuff in rather than having to lift it over and down.
How safe is it?
The Sport+ has six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, forward collision warning, AEB up to 180km/h with pedestrian and cyclist detection, driver attention alert, reversing camera, rear-cross traffic alert and lane keep assist.
You also get two ISOFIX points and three top-tether points for fitting baby capsules/child restraints across the back seat.
The Seltos scored a maximum five ANCAP stars in February 2020.
What’s the tech like?
The new(er) 10.25-inch touchscreen dominates the interior with its cool purple-tinged colour scheme and nifty new media system. It's a really great system, a jump over the old one which was already pretty good. Along with the built-in sat nav, you get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, both of which you connect with USB.
A slightly bizarre inclusion are the - I guess - calming nature sounds you can get the car to play through the speakers. Most of them are actually nature sounds, although if the kids have weak bladders, steer clear of the rainfall one. The spoon-clanking of a cafe sound is by far the oddest inclusion but, hey, I'm not here to shame those calmed by a bustling coffee shop.
How much does it cost to own?
My almost two weeks with the Seltos delivered an entirely consistent (as in the same as what I and others have scored before) 7.6L/100km against the official combined cycle figure of 6.8L/100km, which is a bit of a win. No doubt the CVT played its part there as we made our way around a COVID-compliant Sydney in late December.
The Seltos also cheerfully drinks either standard unleaded or E10, an important point if you're considering the AWD turbo version.
Kia's class-leading after-sales package starts with a seven year/unlimited kilometre warranty.
On top of that, you get seven years of capped-price servicing and roadside assist as long as you keep servicing at Kia. The 2.0-litre engine covers 15,000km (or 12 months) between services, in contrast to the turbo's 10,000km interval and you'll pay between $270 and $600 per service over the life of the program, averaging out at just over $400 per service. That's not especially cheap, but not outrageous either.
Verdict
While the price may have gone up, the Seltos Sport+ is still excellent value. With a very solid tech vibe, tons of space and an impressive after-sales package, it's a family car that's incredibly difficult to fault.
While there are faster compact SUVs and arguably better-looking ones, few pack in as much stuff, are as good to drive and are as practical an all-in-one packages this.
Pricing Guides
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
