A fresh face - A Seltos review

Our Kia Seltos has made a splash in South Africa's competitive family crossover market with its enhanced aesthetics and improved feature set. This dynamic SUV is truly the perfect balance of style, comfort, and performance. Find out more about Kia’s  newest family member in Top Auto’s  review by Michael Taylor.  

Kia recently updated the Seltos family crossover for South Africa, enhancing its visuals and overhauling its equipment list while simultaneously lowering its starting price. Having been given the opportunity to spend a few days with the range-topping Seltos GT-Line as my runaround vehicle, I came away from the experience disappointed that I wasn’t able to spend more time with it, as it seemed like I had only scratched the surface of what it has to offer. 

Looks are subjective, of course, but I’d argue that the Seltos is continuing the winning streak that Kia’s design team has been on with its current generation of vehicles. Something that I personally appreciate about Kia’s roster of SUVs is that each model has its own design, rather than abiding by a homogeneous approach seen by a few other carmakers. While it is clear that the Seltos is cut from the same cloth as the Sonet and Sportage, the former has its own stature with a prominent front end complemented by the brand’s simplified logo, a chrome strip, and redesigned LED daytime running lights.   The larger “tiger nose” grille and restyled bumpers give the crossover rather muscular proportions compared to its segment rivals, and the GT-Line benefits from some bespoke badges and 18-inch alloy wheels. The modern design language extends to the interior, where you’ll find two-tone black-and-white perforated artificial leather seats and white leather covers for the armrests. What elevates the cabin experience is the fact that it feels light and spacious, which can be attributed to the tall windows and roof-spanning sunroof. As a result, driving visibility is excellent, and blind-spot indicators in the side mirrors provide a welcome safety net on the highway.  

The large leather steering wheel is fitted with all the buttons you’d want without feeling cluttered, and there are paddle shifters that you can make use of when you want to get serious. On that note, there is a dial in the centre console for rotating between the three driving modes for Normal, Eco, and Sport, which appreciably changes the look of the digital instrument cluster. The 10.25-inch infotainment screen feels large without dominating the dashboard, which helps to make the driving environment feel spacious and uncluttered. It’s also very easy to use as all the major portals are displayed at once, and setting up the wireless Android Auto connection takes no time at all. Thankfully, the dual-zone climate controls are still given physical buttons, making it easy to adjust without compromising what’s on the touchscreen like the navigation app. Another detail I liked has to do with the wireless charging pad, which is tucked away underneath the climate controls and has its own air vent to prevent overheating. This means you still have another storage area below the pad for loose items, and your phone is hidden from view while driving which is a smart safety consideration. The centre console also has a shortcut button to pull up the camera on the screen which is an inclusion I always appreciate. One of the coolest additions in my opinion is the sound system, as the speakers use an interesting polygonal aesthetic that adds to the modern theme of the car. The sound quality is decent, and the music is synced to the Seltos’ customizable ambient lighting which creates an fun aesthetic when you’re driving around on a Friday night. 

The ambient lighting isn’t particularly bright even on its highest setting, however, which means the light show isn’t obnoxious or distracting, and you can disable the music sync on the touchscreen if you want to. As for the drive itself, the Kia’s throttle response is rather subdued in Normal mode which lends itself to a relaxed style of driving. You have to put your foot down to really tap into the power, but when you do, you’ll find that the GT-Line is kitted out with a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine with a respectable 118kW and 253Nm. The result is that the crossover is quite fun to drive on a quiet stretch of road, and the experience is nicely complemented by the responsive seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, paddle shifters, and Sport mode for keeping the revs up. It should be noted that the flagship is the only model with access to this powertrain, as the other options include a 1.5-litre, naturally aspirated petrol or turbocharged diesel block. The only downside to the GT-Line’s drivetrain that I can see is the fuel consumption, as my short time with the Seltos yielded an average of 9.0l/100km. This included highway driving, morning commutes in Eco mode, and a late afternoon stint in Sport mode, but again I only had a brief period with the car so I’m sure you could knock off at least another litre with everyday driving. Of course, if fuel consumption is your main concern, the diesel is probably your best bet and it still packs a good 85kW and 250Nm. The ride quality is very comfortable as I barely registered speed bumps and road imperfections in my travels, and the advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) like the adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist are easy to set up and non-intrusive. There’s even a heads-up display with key information like your speed, which can be deployed and retracted with the push of a button. 

The updates to the Kia Seltos have helped to cement its place as a valuable model in the family crossover space in South Africa. The entry-level unit is actually R5,000 cheaper than before at a starting price of R467,995, which is a rare and commendable thing to see in today’s market. That being said, the GT-Line specifically is a little pricey as it goes for R626,995, not far off the base Sportage and similar midsize SUVs. Then again, the Seltos is here to bridge the gap between the Sonet and Sportage, and between the three models, Kia fans have a wealth of options to choose from. For its part, the Seltos makes a compelling case with three engines that cover customers thinking about price, economy, or performance, and its great looks and feature list help to sweeten the deal for a well-rounded crossover in one of South Africa’s most important segments.