Kia Seltos

The Kia Seltos is one of the hottest selling cars in the compact SUV segment, and not without a good reason. It offers sharp looks, premium interiors with loads of features, and a loaded on-paper safety kit with well-tuned autonomous driving features. To keep things fresh, Kia has given it a mild update with new features and variants rejig for 2025. So let’s deep dive into the Kia Seltos to know all about it.

• The Kia Seltos is one of the sharpest looking SUVs in its segment.

• The nose looks premium with sleek LED lighting elements. 

• The wide grille, busy bumper and the small skid plate add a pinch of aggressiveness to the design.

• The side profile looks clean, but also premium with the stylish 18-inch alloy wheels.

• The Seltos also gets 17-inch and 16-inch alloys with varying designs, depending on the variant. The base variant gets 16-inch steel wheels with covers.

• The Seltos’ styling looks premium at the rear with its connected LED tail lights, roof mounted spoiler and chunky bumper design.

• The turbo-variants get dual exhaust tips, which look really sporty.

• I really like the sequential animation of the Seltos’ LED lighting setup, which looks particularly cool at night.

• The 2025 Kia Seltos is available in 8 monotone shades: Pewter Olive, Clear White, Sparkling Silver, Gravity Grey, Aurora Black, Glacier White Pearl, Intense Red, and Imperial Blue.

• Glacier White Pearl and Intense Red shades are also available with a dual tone black roof.

• The X-Line variant gets an exclusive Xclusive Matte Graphite shade, which is one of my favourite colours of the Seltos.

Design & Quality

• The design of the Kia Seltos’ cabin looks and feels premium. 

• Depending on the variant, there are different mono and dual tone themes available.

• The cabin uses quality materials, with soft-touch leatherette on all touchpoints, and all plastics are finished in a smooth texture.

• I found the layout of the AC control panel to be a little cluttered, and it took me a while to get used to it.

Driving position

• Thanks to the tilt and telescopic steering wheel and the 8-way power adjustable driver seat, finding a comfortable driving position is easy in the Seltos.

• I like the sporty driving position that you get after pushing the seats all the way down.

• As for comfort, the front seats offer good cushioning and adequate side supports for all sizes.

Passenger comfort

• The Seltos can accommodate three passengers at the back for short journeys. 

• While leg and knee room is good, the headroom could feel a tad less for 6-feet+ passengers.

• It gets two recline angles for the backrest, which you’d appreciate on a long journey along with its central armrest and sun shades.

• The only real shortcoming of the Seltos’ rear seats is the base of the seat, which offers slightly less underthigh support than you’d expect.

Storage options

• The 2023 Kia Seltos gets plenty of thoughtful storage spaces with 1-litre bottle in all four doors, two cup holders with an adjustable partition tray in the central console, and a storage compartment underneath the centre armrest as well. 

• The pocket beside the central cupholders can be used to store your phone or key.

• The glovebox doesn't get a cooling function and isn’t considerably big, but you do get a sunglass holder on the roof and a storage space below the AC panel for keeping your wallet.

• Rear occupants get seat back pockets for storing documents and magazines, and two cup holders in the central armrest as well.

• The Seltos gets 3 C-type ports, one at the front and two at the rear. Front occupants get the option of a USB port and a 12 V socket. 

Features

• The Kia Seltos is one of the most feature-loaded offerings in the compact SUV segment with features like auto headlamps, keyless entry with push button start/stop, connected car technology, air purifier, dual-zone climate control, and a wireless phone charger.

• The 10.25-inch infotainment system is crisp and responsive. Gets Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but the connectivity is wired.

• The smaller 8-inch touchscreen in the lower variants gets wireless smartphone connectivity.

• The 10.25-inch digital driver’s display has a crisp resolution as well. It offers different graphics depending on the drive mode selected.

• The voice-assisted panoramic sunroof makes the cabin feel more airy, and lets more light inside the cabin.

• I like the thoughtful integration of the ambient lighting, which can change colours based on the music you’re listening to.

• The 8-speaker Bose sound system has a good audio quality with a surround-sense like feel.

• The 360-degree camera quality is good and the multiple angles make it easier to park in tight spaces.

• The X-Line variant also gets a 8-inch heads-up display, which shows information like speed and even turn-by-turn navigation.

• Despite the hefty list of features, the Seltos misses out on wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay with the bigger screen, rear seat ventilation, and a cooled glovebox.

The pre-facelift Seltos got a 3-star safety rating in Global NCAP. Now, Kia claims that they have made the Seltos stronger for a better score. Along with this, the safety features include 6 airbags, all-wheel disc brakes, front and rear parking sensors, 3-point seatbelts for all passengers and the remaining electronic aids are still there. But, we eagerly await the new crash test score. 

On paper, the Seltos offers 433 litres of space. But in reality, the practicality is compromised thanks to the shallow boot floor. Hence, keeping only one large suitcase is possible, and you cannot stack anything over it. After keeping a big suitcase, there is not much space left on the side either. If you carry small suitcases or small bags only, though, they will fit easily because the boot floor is long and wide. Another good thing is that the rear seats split in 60:40 and you can fold them and create a flat floor which is ideal to carry larger articles. 

With the Seltos you still get a 1.5 litre petrol and diesel engine. However, the new 1.5 litre turbo petrol engine is more powerful than the old 1.4 turbo petrol and produces 160 horsepower. Like the number suggests, this engine is exciting to drive. Its speed build up is very smooth and rapid, which makes overtakes a breeze. 

And the best part is that this engine has a dual nature. If you want to commute comfortably in this, this engine with its linear power delivery will feel effortless and when you want to go fast, just push the right foot harder and it accelerates with a purpose. The claimed 0-100kmph time is 8.9s, which will make this the quickest SUV in the segment. The DCT transmission is well tuned to suite this dual-nature as well.

The diesel engine is still the same -- laid back and easy to drive. It is refined too but the performance is not as exciting as the turbo petrol. However, if you are looking to simply cruise and commute, it feels effortless and gives good efficiency as well. 

But if you don't care much about excitement and want to drive easily in the city and cruise on the highway, then you should take that 1.5 petrol with CVT transmission. We have driven this powertrain in many cars and it is simply the best option for a laid back driving experience. 

Over time, Kia has improved the ride quality of the Seltos. The suspension was very stiff when it was first introduced, which made it difficult to drive in the city. But that has now been completely changed. In fact, even with the 18-inch wheels, the ride quality is now sophisticated and cushiony. Going over speed breakers and potholes no longer makes you brace for impact and the suspension keeps you well cushioned. Yes, the deeper bumps will be felt but they too don’t make you feel uncomfortable. The 17-inch wheels will definitely increase the cushion factor but you no longer will have to think twice about taking the GT-Line or the X-Line.

The Kia Seltos comes with 18 different variants and powertrain combinations. Don't worry, a Variants Explained video will soon be live on CarDekho to help you. As of now, all you need to understand is that it comes in 3 different trims: Tech-Line, GT-Line and X-Line. Tech-Line looks a bit sober from the front and gets up to 17 inches wheels. Inside, you get a black interior with fabric seats, beige and black interior with leatherette seats or brown interior with leatherette seats depending on the variant you buy. 

GT-Line is available in a single variant and with it you get a different and more aggressive grille and bumper. The wheels are also 18-inches and inside, it has an all-black theme with black and white leatherette seat upholstery. 

X-line is also a single variant and it has a matte paint finish. Outside, it has GT-Like looks but with some blacked out elements. Inside, it has black interiors with green inserts and a green leatherette seat upholstery.

The Seltos is doing the same thing it did back in 2019, which is spoiling us. This time around, it looks better, drives better and the feature list is not only the best in this segment, but also for the next one. And all this at a price point that easily justifies its value. Now there is only one question left: its crash test rating. But even if it gets just 4 stars, then you don't have to think twice about buying it.