In the 1985 sci-fi classic ‘Back to the Future’, Marty McFly travels back in time to repair history. If most carmakers in India want to create a product as good as the Seltos, and do it fast, they too need to travel back to their drawing boards, repair old concepts, and think into the future. Kia Motors India is marketing the Seltos as badass; it might as well call it brutal and brilliant. We drive it in Goa.
How does it look?
The Seltos has the most modern exterior design amongst all SUVs in India. It has a large front grille—called the Tiger nose, a unique Kia design element—and a lot of LED lights all over the body. The jewellery-inspired LED headlamps with DRLs are unique. The top-end variants that we drove look premium, even though there appears to be an overuse of chrome at some places. It has 13 body paint options: eight colours and five two-tone colour options. And yes, there is a sunroof.
How is the cabin?
The Seltos takes premiumness onto a different plane—the quality of the material used matches what you see in premium cars such as BMW or Audi. It has a lounge-like cabin (with features such as mood lighting, a large 10.25-inch touchscreen, and the driving position has a commanding view of all things outside). The top-end variants have an 8.0-inch head-up display system (it projects relevant driving information, such as navigation and speed, on to a glass panel behind the steering wheel). Space is enough for five adults.
Is it loaded with technology?
In this age of ‘connected cars’, how could Kia have left behind? The Seltos has Hyundai Venue-like connectivity features. The technology that powers it is called the UVO—available for both Android and iOS, and has a three-year free subscription—and it offers smart features. Like the Venue, the Seltos can also be tracked remotely, and sitting in your office you can switch on the engine and the AC (using the UVO app on your smartphone). You can even check tyre pressure on the UVO app, as well as fuel level. A very usable feature is a remotely-operated air purifier and in-car air quality monitor.
Which engines power it?
There is a choice of three BS6-compliant engines (petrol, turbo petrol and diesel) and four gearboxes (6-speed manual, 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, intelligent variable automatic transmission and 6-speed automatic). There is no AMT as an option. The engines offer different driving modes—Normal, Eco and Sport. And like some 4×4 SUVs, the Seltos has multiple grip controls (mud, wet and sand modes), but it’s not an all-wheel drive SUV.
How does it drive?
1.4-litre turbo petrol (GDI): It produces 140PS power and 242Nm torque. Acceleration is intense—it flies from 0-100kph in just 9.7 seconds. Even at high speeds on wet roads, as we found out in a rainy Goa, the Seltos rides sticking to the road. The steering feedback—the mechanical signals that the front tyres send to the steering wheel—is accurate, and you feel every bump and dip in the road through the steering wheel. This leads to safer driving. The claimed fuel efficiency is 16.1kpl (MT) and 16.5kpl (DCT).
1.5-litre diesel (VGT): It produces 115PS power and 250Nm torque, and accelerates from 0-100kph in 11.5 seconds. The claimed fuel efficiency is 21kpl (MT) and 18kpl (automatic). We drove the 6-speed automatic, which shifts gears quite fast, and a good thing about the diesel is that the engine noise barely enters the cabin.
1.5-litre petrol: It produces 115PS power and 144Nm torque. There are two gearbox choices: 6-speed MT and IVT automatic. It accelerates from 0-100kph in 11.8 seconds, and the claimed fuel efficiency is 16.5kpl (MT) and 16.8kpl (IVT). All three engines—especially turbo petrol—are bizarrely sublime, but their claimed fuel efficiency leaves more to be desired.
Should you buy one?
We expect the Seltos to be priced in the Rs 10-16 lakh range, and at that price-point it’s a brilliant vehicle—one that has features generally found in cars almost twice as expensive. The top-end variants are so well equipped that you simply won’t desire anything else from a car. From a macroeconomic point of view, while the Seltos may or may not expand the car market in India, it will certainly hit the sales of vehicles such as Hyundai Creta and most sedans in the Rs 10-20 lakh range.
(Kia will launch the Seltos, and announce its price, on August 22.)
