Futuristic Kia's new kid Seltos has stellar future

Our favourite segment is at it again, the compact SUV cup is overflowing and I am loving it. The compact SUV segment is a gift that keeps on giving. Every year car manufacturers battle it out in this segment. The new compact family car from Kia made its debut on our shores early this year and the Koreans aren’t here to play.

The Kia Seltos comes in 3 model ranges, the EX, EX+ and the flagship GT-Line. Speaking of kicking butts and taking names, this is what Kia aims to do with this offering. For starters the Seltos has a much more futuristic and distinctive look compared to its competitors in the segment, there was no playing it safe in the design. Direct competitors include the likes of Suzuki Vitara, Ford Eco Sport and the VW T-Cross to name a few. None of the aforementioned cars look as aggressive as the Seltos thanks to what Kia is calling a ‘wide tiger nose grille’.

Ever since the word got out about the Seltos, I had been looking forward to getting my hands on it. When it happened you can imagine my excitement and lucky for me the lockdown restrictions were eased enough to allow for a sufficient drive around to get a proper feel of the car. My test was the EX+ spec with the 1.6-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine with 90 kW of power and 151 Nm of torque and a 6-speed automatic gearbox. I admit, I can be a bit hard on the accelerator, I am sure like any of you right? A responsive engine is something that we can all appreciate. The Seltos drives very well, however, a bit sluggish on the climbs and the overtaking takes longer than it should due to the delayed gear shifting. Am I going to be hard on the Seltos because of this, No.? I will tell you why. Kia Motors had the family in mind whilst designing this car. This car caters for most of those needs, 90% to be exact. In my humble opinion.

Family Compact SUV

The right amount of space, awesome tech and of course stylish. The car is big, there’s more than enough legroom and the distance between the front and back seats is perfect. The toddlers’ fidgeting will not affect your driving at all. The boot space is reasonable, about 433 litres, enough to carry groceries and probably could fit those toddlers too if it were legal (DO NOT PUT TODDLERS IN THE BOOT).

Another joyful area of the Seltos is its interior. I can tell designing this must have been fun. The interior is lush and youthful, what stood out the most is the door panels that have some origami looking and shaped speakers. The seats are as comfortable as they look with options of leather and cloth upholstery available. You also find steering wheel mounted controls, electric windows and an 8-inch colour touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for smartphone mirroring as well as Bluetooth connectivity with voice recognition.

Safety features

All models are equipped with six airbags as standard. Throw in the likes of ISOFIX child seat anchors, ABS brakes, and electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) and you have all you need and more. Cherry on top is the rear park distance control sensors and reverse camera with dynamic guidelines, integrated into the vehicles touchscreen infotainment system.

What’s the verdict on the Kia Seltos? A definite winner for me. Another good car thrown into the mix in one of my favourite segments. Stylish, safe, reasonably priced for such an enjoyable suspension. I think we will be seeing the Seltos a lot more on the road over the next months and probably a nominee at award shows as well.