[HK. Oby]

Finally went for a long test drive of the Kia Seltos HTX IVT Petrol Automatic variant. Here are my thoughts.

Unlike the last time, during which I drove mostly in traffic conditions, the rubberband effect was more pronounced in the open roads that I drove it in. That is definitely not to say that it is as bad as the Hector or the City, which literally make yor head bang onto the seat whenever the accelerator is floored.

There is only a slight delay, and no lurch. I was the only one who felt it because I was driving, as all the co-passengers assured me that they felt no lag whatsoever.

Hence, I reiterate my opinion that this is the best automatic I've seen yet, and that I will be buying it as soon as the factory starts sending the cars.(Lord knows whats taking them so long, I booked the day the bookings opened.)

Also managed to go in a very bumpy road, and the suspension was quite good. It should be noted that tyre pressure was 43, and even with that, I felt that I would not fear taking it into rough conditions after obtaining one. With optimal pressure, it should be even better.

All in all, it is almost assured that I will be taking the delivery, unless something goes wrong(aka reports that might make me want to run).

Also, luckily, the test drive vehicle was in blue, which is the color I'll be taking. Attached are some pics, and there's also one with the red beside it to show, again, just how 'off' the red shade is.

Also attached is the reading of the MID for my trip. It was part traffic conditions, part open road, and I am very satisfied with the mileage. I feel it might pleasantly surprise everyone with the figures soon.

Finally, one little tidbit that I found in the accessory sheet: there is a Rs. 38k refrigerator that one can order, which will be placed in the boot! The accessory person was convinced that no one would buy it, but hey, it's an option!

PS. Also attached some pics of the black GT line Seltos, which was gorgeous.

[NevGin]

Thank you Don Dasco for your insightful post. Yes the first year depreciation will hit the value of the Baleno but unfortunately my shoulder and knee pain is there to stay as it seems from the doctors I am consulting. What you have said definitely helps. If it is not going to be much larger I am wondering if I would be doing the right thing.

Please do keep posting on your experiences. Perhaps I have some time to make up my mind finally before they do tell me they have a car to deliver.


My apologies but I am unable to delete this post now as I wanted to respond to Don's response but somehow ended up creating a new post.

[dadu]

Originally Posted by HK. Oby

Finally went for a long test drive of the Kia Seltos HTX IVT Petrol Automatic variant. Here are my thoughts.



There is only a slight delay, and no lurch. I was the only one who felt it because I was driving, as all the co-passengers assured me that they felt no lag whatsoever.

Hence, I reiterate my opinion that this is the best automatic I've seen yet, and that I will be buying it as soon as the factory starts sending the cars.(Lord knows whats taking them so long, I booked the day the bookings opened.)

Well, congratulations! The battle is almost won when you have a decision

But my experience on the 1.5 IVT diesel was different when it comes to the automatic, just as I was accelerating i felt that the initial 2-3 gears changed too fast leading to that rubber band effect and pulling back the Seltos from accelerating.

Styling and Creature comfort wise, nothing in the current market can beat it, but cabin space and IVT leaves a lot to wish for....

[Karthik Chandra]

Checked out the Seltos and test drove the GTDi MT along with BHPain Chillout. The turbo petrol moves seamlessly albeit with little turbo lag but not to an extent that it'll be a bother though. The motor has a punchy mid range and looked like it'll have a good top end whack too (couldn't check). The cabin oozes quality and NVH levels are excellent. It has solid build quality with tight and uniform shutlines/panelgaps.

There is a front camera that goes live on clicking the button near gear lever marker with a cam symbol. The SA couldn't confirm if the front cam has recording facility. If not it is a big miss as people now prefer to have dash cam.

The camera under the ORVMs turn on when indicator is operated and shows the view in the MID in the instrument console. A very useful feature but would cost a bomb to replace in.

Seltos looks a million bucks (costs 2 million though). Clicked few pics of the GT line. The red highlights are really well done. IMO the Seltos isn't over priced since it has the necessary features/quality to claim the listed price but isn't VFM either except for the variants upto HTK+.

The comparison with Hector and Harrier in terms of price would need to be re checked with both SUVs in BS6 form. Hector undoubtedly offers more value for money with a bigger motor & has comprehensive safety kit - Airbags, ABS, ESP, TC, Hill hold, 3 point seatbelt for all passengers, rear defogger as standard.



















Leg room with front seat all the way back. I'm 5'11" for reference.


Engine Bay is neatly laid out and has enough space for a bigger engine.


HTX+ diesel and GTX+ TGDi

[HK. Oby]

Originally Posted by dadu

Well, congratulations! The battle is almost won when you have a decision

But my experience on the 1.5 IVT diesel was different when it comes to the automatic, just as I was accelerating i felt that the initial 2-3 gears changed too fast leading to that rubber band effect and pulling back the Seltos from accelerating.

Styling and Creature comfort wise, nothing in the current market can beat it, but cabin space and IVT leaves a lot to wish for....

The diesel is a regular torque converter, not IVT, so it is to be expected. IVT is only in petrol. And yup, deciding is half the battle.

[dksv]

Originally Posted by dksv

For my HTK Petrol booking the “Final Deal Amount“ was earlier showing Rs.11,99,023 on the online portal, which is the same amount that the dealer has quoted in his printed price chart.

But when checked this evening I see a revised/reduced final deal price of Rs.11,92,963. I immediately called my SA to check the impact of today’s GST meeting on the pricing. He was clueless and said they haven’t received any communication in this regard.

Do you think this Rs.6,060 reduction corresponds to the reduction of cess that has happened today? I’m confused because the change is effective only from 1st Oct if I read it correctly.

Regardless, the online payment system allows me to pay for the car at this reduced price at the moment. I’ll visit the dealer tomorrow and see what they have to say.

Visited my dealer today. Apparently the online portal price has reset to ex-showroom of a different state with a different road tax and therefore shows a mismatch. So the SA advices to consult the dealer before one makes any payment online.

Additionally, learned that Advaith KIA is getting only 16 cars per week. It gets stock twice a week, one truck-load on Wednesdays and another on Fridays, 8 in each truck with a mixed bag of variants and colours. If this is the norm across all dealers currently, then get ready for longer wait periods.

[seasoned_rubber]

At the outset, let me thank humbly the TeamBHP for approving my membership!

My first post!!!

From Octavia 1.8 tsi to Honda Civic petrol 2019, and then finally settling with the GT line DCT, the journey was tiring and interesting as well - the elaboration on which I will cover once I bring home my first ever.

There's not a single day when I didn't check this ongoing thread. My booking is 2nd in the list of DCT models, and my SA has assured me the delivery before Dussehera - fingers crossed! The quotation is Rs.19.72 lakhs OTR price, and I am going with the company insurance as outside insurance parties will struggle on the road side assist. My SA is throwing in the comfort KIA-badged pillows for free! My chosen colour is white GTX+, so I am also planning to get the black wrap for the roof part. I confirmed from the SA that the most valuable tech, DCT, is well covered under warranty. I know it's a dry clutch with unavoidable heating issues which will, for sure, affect the longevity. However, I am willing to take the chance.

Test drive - Okay, I and my wife had the privilege to see the GTX+ manual red in flesh (only the bonnet was covered with a black cloth) when the first car arrived in Bhubaneswar. It was somewhere around Aug 5. As I have been an ardent lover of Bose sound systems (having the speaker and wireless headphone), we loved the output of those speakers present in the Seltos. The SA said the car is all ours, and we spent a good time, testing various tracks! They invited us for showroom inaguration and on the car launch day too! I don't know in other cities, but here they are very cordial and courtesious. Test drove the GTX DCT for about 20 mins - all in sports mode without wasting time. It was twilight and the traffic was moderate on the NH. Seltos was making roads effortlessly and loved the inside roar on the sports mode too. I could feel the bumpy roads a bit to my seat which may be due to the tire pressure. I am content with my decision! I have not cancelled my Civic booking yet. Someone wrote in one of the posts before that he didn't want to be a part of the herd, so he chose Civic. Even I wanted to have Civic but when you have a realistic feeling of not getting what you deserve by shelling out 26 lakhs rupees, you don't really bother whether you are lost in the crowd or you are a loner - all that matters most is the grin of satisfaction. And I will proudly wear that on my face when I overtake a Civic 2019 effortlessly on the road. I know it's not always about performance but let me defend it a bit. The DCT Seltos will beat a handful on the road - Compass, Harrier, XUV 500, Hector, and the biggies - Fortuner, Endeavour, you just name it. Did I unknowingly term the GT line Seltos as the fastest SUV in India?

If Stinger is really on the cards for India (my SA sounded very confident), I won't hesitate to trade this for good!

[v6kgang]

The my order page in Kia website shows empty after authenticating with Mobile number based OTP. I have prebooked the car by paying 25K to the dealer directly about a month ago. There is a confusion from dealer level as well on the variants. Got a call from epitome confirming I have booked for GTX+ DCT whereas I have booked GTX+ D AT. Am I suppose the see the order details on Kia website? I am searching for a mechanism to verify if the order was placed and if my preferential color has been ordered

[dksv]

Originally Posted by v6kgang

The my order page in Kia website shows empty after authenticating with Mobile number based OTP. I have prebooked the car by paying 25K to the dealer directly about a month ago. There is a confusion from dealer level as well on the variants. Got a call from epitome confirming I have booked for GTX+ DCT whereas I have booked GTX+ D AT. Am I suppose the see the order details on Kia website? I am searching for a mechanism to verify if the order was placed and if my preferential color has been ordered

The online page works only for online pre-bookings as far as I’m aware. Yours being an offline booking get your SA to send you a screenshot/photo from the dealer booking system showing your booking details.

[DASKD24]

Agree totally.

Saw a few of them over the last couple of weeks.All White & all GT lines. Didn't seem to stand out in a group of Creta - at least from rear and side rear views.
Saw one of them with front LEDs in night, the strip was unmistakable though.
Its a good car. Still, someone doing anything compact so far and looking for an upgrade, this probably ain't the one.

Originally Posted by simeonovitch

Saw a White one today. Almost mistook it for a lowered creta.
Has literally 0 presence.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by seasoned_rubber

At the outset, let me thank humbly the TeamBHP for approving my membership!

First of all, congrats on the booking. I am in the same boat as yours as I have narrowed down my choices to Seltos GT line and Octavia 1.4/1.8 TSI.
I also considered the Compass and Tucson and rejected those for various reasons.

I am wondering why you chose the Seltos over the Octavia because I am leaning more towards the Octavia. The Seltos does have more gadgets but the Octavia is a bigger car and feels from a segment above. Also, the 1.8 TSI (even the 1.4TSI) offers explosive performance which no car <25 lakhs can match. WIll be looking forward to your answer. Does anyone have the performance numbers for the Kia turbo petrol?

[Durango Dude]

Originally Posted by HK. Oby

Unlike the last time, during which I drove mostly in traffic conditions, the rubberband effect was more pronounced in the open roads that I drove it in. That is definitely not to say that it is as bad as the Hector or the City, which literally make yor head bang onto the seat whenever the accelerator is floored.

For your info, you don't floor a CVT. That's not the correct way to extract performance, you should caress it.

[HK. Oby]

Originally Posted by Durango Dude

For your info, you don't floor a CVT. That's not the correct way to extract performance, you should caress it.

Ah, that makes sense, then. In my defense, this is not intuitive
In this case, the smoothness is definitely the best, then. With a proper caressing touch, I reckon anyone driving the IVT will face almost no rubber band effect, at all.

[springisking]

Originally Posted by adimicra

First of all, congrats on the booking. I am in the same boat as yours as I have narrowed down my choices to Seltos GT line and Octavia 1.4/1.8 TSI.
I also considered the Compass and Tucson and rejected those for various reasons.

I am wondering why you chose the Seltos over the Octavia because I am leaning more towards the Octavia. The Seltos does have more gadgets but the Octavia is a bigger car and feels from a segment above. Also, the 1.8 TSI (even the 1.4TSI) offers explosive performance which no car <25 lakhs can match. WIll be looking forward to your answer. Does anyone have the performance numbers for the Kia turbo petrol?

I have been the same path really, Octavia is my first love for it's sheer performance. However Octavia is due for an upgrade next year. My friend just sold his 1 year old Octavia as he was relocating outside India and the depreciation was a whopping 8 lakh.

So to summarise here are the reasons I am still sticking to Seltos:

1. Seltos is BS6 compliant, brand new in the market, part of the herd meaning easy and good resale value. State of art gadgetry. Compact with enough power for Bangalore roads(have booked GTX+ DCT)
2. Octavia has a huge hump in the back seat so 3 folks is tough to accomodate. Seltos cannot either but then the difference of 7-8 lakh would help my decision. Looking for Octavia L&K or Style variant atleast.
3. Would have bought RS if they were still selling though
4. Ground clearance for broken Bangalore roads, Seltos is better

These are my reasons.

[BoneCollector]

I have a question and sorry if I missed it earlier. Is Seltos BS6 ready or is it BS6? I'm asking this because I saw a report shared by someone on a thread which says that using BS4 fuel in a BS6 engine will damage it. So with all BS6 cars coming now, won't the engine get damaged if BS4 fuel is used? BS6 fuel is not available everywhere as of now, atleast in my city which is a tier 3 city.