Kia has been immensely successful in our market after the launch of their Creta-crushing Seltos SUV. At first, Kia might have seemed like a bolt from the blue in the Indian market, but thanks to its intense market research and promotional activity, the brand readied itself with the Seltos. And what a huge success the model has been for the Korean brand here! Kia and Hyundai share the same DNA but are proper competitors all over the globe.
Tiger's appearance?
The Kia Seltos is no mighty SUV to behold, but it has the presence that an SUV buyer is looking for in this segment. It has a proper SUV stance and has design cues typically seen on Kia's cars. The Korean brand has managed to retain much of the concept's design and that's a good thing. Up-front, it features the tiger nose grille, massive headlights and a shapely bumper. The grille gets bordered by chrome and has a knurled effect to it. It gets full-LED headlamps with unique LED indicators and cubical fog lamps; plus you get an LED strip running the width of the nose.
Quality comes first
Ingress and egress is easy with the Kia Seltos, thanks to the cabin being placed at a good height, plus once you're in, you get a good view out-front. The seats offer fantastic comfort and interior quality levels are up there with the competition. There's enough on the inside to leave you impressed, including the leatherette seats, the leather-wrapped, flat-bottomed steering and the soft-touch material on the dashboard. It all adds up to an uplifting ambience. Everything feels built to last, including the controls. The Tech Line variants sport black-on-beige interiors and the GT Line variants get a full-black theme with red stitching on the seats, gear lever and steering.
Turbo kicks in yo
The Kia Seltos we're driving is powered by a 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine that was made keeping in mind driving enthusiasts. The motor is silent and smooth in the lower revs and the engine doesn't have to be worked hard to get the most out of the engine, since it is paired to 7-speed DCT gearbox. Push down on the throttle, and the engine feels responsive from the get-go itself. The engine pushes out 138bhp and 242Nm of torque, and this is enough grunt for an SUV of its type. The engine revs happily and the exhaust note is a nice throaty one, but refinement levels cannot be compared to that of Skoda's new Kushaq. The auto 'box is also rapid in terms of responses whilst also being smooth. For those of you who'd like to get a bit more involved in the driving experience, you can take manual control via the gear lever. The gearbox even lets you downshift at relatively high rpms. Sad it doesn't feature paddle-shifters though. It comes with three driving modes: Eco, Normal and Sport; these adjust engine behaviour and steering weight. In Sport is where you find the big difference; the steering feels more connected, and this is a bliss when cornering. Body roll is pretty much there but the Seltos changes directions without feeling unnerved. The ride is stiff, unlike the softly-sprung Creta, also one of the latest cars in India. The Seltos maintains great composure at high speeds and low-speed ride quality isn't all that bad either.
Buy one, then?
After the Seltos making its entry, it's hard to ignore. Kia is slowly but steadily gaining traction in our market and the aftersales service is expanding. It looks great, is built well and comes loaded with the latest tech. And for those who don't want diesels anymore, the 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine offers ample performance to play with. The Seltos is one of Kia's latest cars in India.
