Challenge ready - A Seltos review

High-value Seltos is more car than you may imagine

Billed as an exceptional value for money contender, Kia’s Seltos fills the gap below the Sportage, and above the Sonet. It’s had some pretty tough nuts to crack. A nonentity as recently as five years ago, this vital niche has rocketed to become the be all and end all of it all. So, now every man and his dog is fighting over a slice of this this middling MPV/SUV pie.

A reasonably stylish little thing, Seltos starts off well by offering a hell of a lot more car than many of its rivals, for similar money. And it does so without any significant sacrifice on space. Kia is famous for exceptional quality and comprehensive specification and Seltos delivers all of that, and more.

The first car to bear Kia’s current styling cues when it arrived, Seltos has a broad tiger nose grille flanked by striking new LED Daytime Running headlamps along with full LED tail and fog lamps and indicators. It’s a handsome car with a confident stance, bolstered by a robust shoulder line and a glasshouse tapering up to the rear. Ours had extra chrome trim, too.

Kia calls this design sporty. One rival has realised that bright colours makes any car sporty and has banned grey colours like this. So imagine Seltos in a beautiful bright metallic orange? Or a bright yellow or red? Better than this drab old grey, hey. We had to find something wrong. Because to be honest there isn’t much too else to criticise.

Step inside and a comfortable driving position offers a commanding view of the road ahead. OK, Seltos is basic, has hard plastics and a few rattles. And a tough ride on more dire surfaces are a thing. But at the price, who can complain? Boasting a blend of traditional SUV the space and capability in a more compact package, Seltos certainly appears larger than its closest competitors

Scratch a little and its soon clear that it is indeed among the larger and more practical compact SUVs out there. A vast standard spec includes multifunction steering wheel controlled 8-inch colour CarPlay and Auto touchscreen infotainment with six speaker RDS radio, Bluetooth, and front and rear USB connectivity.

Add cruise control, manual air-conditioning, auto headlights with ‘escort’ and ‘welcome home’, power windows and folding wing mirrors with indicator repeaters and smart leather trim, a centre console armrest. Our automatic EX+ rode on 16-inch alloys with 205/65R16 rubber and a full-sized spare wheel.

This Seltos 1.5CRDi EX+ auto came with Kia’s contemporary 86 kW 250 Nm 1.5-litre CRDI Common Rail Diesel turning the front wheels through an impressive little 6-speed automatic transmission. Packing McPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspension, Seltos has a stiff and safe Advanced High-Strength Steel chassis.

Safety is complemented by six driver, front passenger, front side, and full length side curtain airbags, ISOFIX child seat anchors and ABS Electronic Brake Force Distribution braking.  Add park distance control and a reversing camera, immobiliser, central locking, and Electronic Stability with Hill-start Assist.

Seltos’ looks and feel good. The cabin is well-specced and comfortable. The ribbed EX+ leather chairs are inviting I easily found a comfy solution for my bulk behind the wheel. We were intrigued and buoyed by its simple, easy to use, yet most effective infotainment interface. It looks good and works quite intuitively. We were also impressed by the quality, which is on the top side at this price point. It feels good in there.

On the road, the Kia Seltos has a really good ride. It’s quiet and pliable, while the slightly rowdier turbodiesel pulled along well enough. Beat of all, it should not be much affected by Jozi’s 1500m altitude sickness. It’s torquey and responsive for what it is though, and proved a pleasure to drive. Its attitude and aptitude even impressed over Franschhoek Pass.