[dark.knight]

Good news, on a Sunday and because of the massive crowd (20+ people) surrounding the cars inside the KIA showroom and keeping the sales-force busy, I was able to find a test-drive Seltos and check it out fully all by my lonesome for over 20 minutes.

I really don't know what kind of cars people drive that they find the Seltos small, but to me it seemed big, it looked bigger than the Creta visually. As I suspected, absolutely NOTHING wrong with build quality externally. If Toyota Etios which in my experiences has possibly the worst, clangy, tinny door shut of any car I've ever sat in, the KIA is nothing like that, it shuts with a thump, kinda different from Hyundais but absolutely nothing wrong since everything from the door handles (both inside and outside) and sheet metal feel well-damped and solid. Is it in the same level as Zest/Punto/Ecosport? No, but such build quality will disappear soon as the focus is on weight-savings, and frankly I find that Hyundai/KIA have the best balance of weight-saving & tactility over any brand today. That said here are some pros and cons :

+ Good overall packaging & feature distribution.
+ Decent space for the size (I'm 5'10, taller with shoes, and I fit back to back easily with 3 inches knee room to spare).
+ Good design externally, neither controversial nor boring.
+ Deep footwell, helps people with long legs get a good sitting position.
+ Bonnet is super-heavy, as has been said by others.
+ Good ergonomics for my size at least, frontal visibility is good.
+ Boot is fantastic, that's my opinion anyway as the most I need the boot for is groceries.
+ Steering wheel is good to hold, the logo could've been way smaller though.
+ Rear sun-shade, finally.

- The entertainment console design is not for me, I dropped it altogether after seeing it in the flesh. That part simply doesn't feel solid enough and is bathed in a sea of glossy plastic.
- Fixed roof handles, Hyundai and Kia must be flogged for this.
- Slightly clicky buttons (compared to the Elantra).
- Price for the high end variant is high, but mostly because of the unnecessary gimmickry, there was no need for BOSE speakers or mood lights, focus should've been on enhancing tactility and more subtle bits and bobs.
- Black interiors are utterly BORING, too much black does kill the mood.
- Don't care much for connected features, its a minus for me.
- It looks more sporty than elegant, a bit confused actually.

Its not for me, but I prefer this over the design of Creta any day. Build quality may not be Elantra/Tucson level, but perfectly matches with its current price. Discounts will start, in my opinion as early as Diwali, or at most year-end, one can wait until then if they can.

[ahuja365]

It is the Kia seltos and I don't see Tata blackbird

[sunil.marine]

Originally Posted by bsdbsd

Did anyone notice the language or verbiage in their advertisements? What was the need to use the word 'badass'. How many people would know what it means.

'The badass in you'. Is it me alone or anyone else found this line cringe-worthy. In their eagerness to appeal to a youth-base, they are badly messing up. Distasteful.

I totally agree that Kia could have come up with better slogan. But I am sure of the fact that it means tough or hard to beat.
I feel, it would be better if we say Google messed it up with the meaning of "badass" in hindi.

[tirumalavoleti]

The KIA seltos pricing is not attempted at one price point, but rather covering a range of two.


The HT line competes with cars like Creta, Duster
The GT line touches the starting prices of compass, harrier


On the whole, the kia seltos got the pricing very aggressively but definitely falls short of the sheer presence. Been to the showroom and found the car little small than expected. HT line is for the regular car buyers and pricing is little higher similar to creta price. GT line is defintely not for regular buyers, but for enthusiastic people who wants a small suv with fun.


From the showroom pulse and friends view, GTX Automatic is the best version having turbo petrol, Automatic Gearbox and 6 airbags which were sorely missing in creta.

[govs]

Originally Posted by Guna

Based on my experience with the Hyundai CVT (on i20), I would advice anyone who is considering a Hyundai/Kia car with CVT to be very cautious. Better to do as much research as possible, including getting the data on real life FE before sinking the money.
Problem with the i20 CVT: Fairly heavy car with a weak engine (for the size/weight of the car), CVT tends to stay in lower ratio anytime you accelerate, resulting in pathetic FE (I am getting 6.5 kmpl in Bangalore traffic) At the same time, the car doesn't feel under powered and in fact feels lively since it is happy to operate in the lower gears (or 'ratio' on the CVT)
This could be a similar case with the Seltos CVT since it has similar recipe which includes not so powerful/torque engine,mated to a CVT which needs to power a heavy car.

Thanks Guna for your reply and appreciate it. Now I'm gonna cancel my Seltos booking, my booking was one of the initial booking with dealer much before the Kia bookings started hoping that I would get GTX+ AT for ~18L. I waited for this car by ignoring suggestions given by my family . Now I'm back to square one and I'm going back to check Creta P Auto/Ecosport P AT. Hope this time I would pick one of these two. Thanks.

[simeonovitch]

Originally Posted by govs

Thanks Guna for your reply and appreciate it. Now I'm gonna cancel my Seltos booking, my booking was one of the initial booking with dealer much before the Kia bookings started hoping that I would get GTX+ AT for ~18L. I waited for this car by ignoring suggestions given by my family . Now I'm back to square one and I'm going back to check Creta P Auto/Ecosport P AT. Hope this time I would pick one of these two. Thanks.

I, for one, don't like the Seltos, at all. But I'm going to put my personal bias aside, and tell you that the 1.5 HTX gets the CVT gearbox, and the GTX series gets a dual clutch gearbox. How good or efficient it is, nobody knows as of yet. It may be blissful, it may be horrendous.

The only point I'm trying to make here is that the inefficiency of the CVT is irrelevant when we are talking about the GT line.


Do I think any variant of the Seltos is worth anything over 15? Nope.

But if you think it's worth your dollar, wait for a few reviews.

Also check out the ARAI numbers.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by simeonovitch

I, for one, don't like the Seltos, at all. But I'm going to put my personal bias aside, and tell you that the 1.5 HTX gets the CVT gearbox, and the GTX series gets a dual clutch gearbox. How good or efficient it is, nobody knows as of yet. It may be blissful, it may be horrendous.
The only point I'm trying to make here is that the inefficiency of the CVT is irrelevant when we are talking about the GT line.
Do I think any variant of the Seltos is worth anything over 15? Nope.
But if you think it's worth your dollar, wait for a few reviews.

Also check out the ARAI numbers.

In bumper to bumper Bangalore traffic I don't think any petrol version of Seltos will deliver more than 8KMPL. Most of 1.2L hatchback struggle to deliver anything beyond 10. That said FE has to do with driving style, time of travel and road used. But by any means I don't see Seltos Petrol giving beyond 10KMPL within city.

If you think spending 20L on top spec Creta here in Bangalore is worth it, I don't see a reason why Seltos won't be. Please note here in Bangalore 1.2L premium hatchbacks costs 11-12L on road.

[YC.BALENO.CHD]

Well, sorry for the disappointment but there is a Kia Seltos under the camouflage. Rushlane has clearly reported incorrectly over here.


Regards

Originally Posted by volkman10

Speculated to be TATA's Creta rivalling C/SUV- Blackbird, now spied testing .

Attachment 1909575

Attachment 1909576




Link

[momsonlydriver]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

- Fixed roof handles, Hyundai and Kia must be flogged for this.
- Black interiors are utterly BORING, too much black does kill the mood.
- It looks more sporty than elegant, a bit confused actually.

The top varients don't get fixed roof handles, they are retractable.
The top varients HTX, HTX+ and GTX+ get dual done interior. (Chewing gum white + black)
Kia is known to be a sportier Hyundai worldwide.

[jmktm]

Hi,

Is there any feedback on the efficiency ( whether bright enough) of the headlamps and the LED fog lamps ?

Have not had a test drive , just saw the ,stationary, vehicle at Cochin. The Kottayam, Kerala showroom will take another 10 days or so to open.

[shashankrt]

Originally Posted by tirumalavoleti

The KIA seltos pricing is not attempted at one price point, but rather covering a range of two.

The HT line competes with cars like Creta, Duster
The GT line touches the starting prices of compass, harrier

Seltos cannot compare to compass / harrier / Hector especially in build quality and space. Hence not sure what they were thinking by positioning themselves in that bracket.

[rajvardhanraje]

I visited the Kia showroom yesterday to check out the Seltos at Baner in Pune. My friend intends to buy it.

I must say the showroom experience was not that good. For starters, it was overcrowded to such an extent that even moving around was a challenge. The place was small (can accommodate only 3 cars) and there must be about 60 people inside. The lady at the counter asked us a formality what we were looking for. We mentioned we were looking for the Seltos 1.5 HTK petrol. She told us to check it.

Then came the big challenge - checking out the car. People were literally standing in queue to just sit at the driver's sear and have a glimpse. Some were pushing around forcing themselves into the car. Some were waiting patiently. Somehow we managed to get inside the car. At the same time there were 2 guys seated at the back and 2 more checking the boot. Must say the interiors looked really premium. The center console looked good and the interiors felt well built. After some pushing around we managed to check the rear seat. Leg room was good and under thigh support was decent. The boot is adequate and would fulfill the needs of most.

After a while we asked a representative who was roaming around inside if anyone could attend us. She mentioned she will. So our conversation with her went as follows.

Me : We are looking for the HTK petrol.
Sales Rep : Yes fine. When are you booking it?
Me : Can you get us a test drive? Based on that we will decide.
Sales Rep : No. We are not giving test drives today. The crowd is huge.
Me : So when can we expect it?
Sales Rep : Try coming tomorrow.
Me : Can you send the car to our residence?
Sales Rep : No.
Me : Do you have the 1.5 NA variant for a test drive?
Sales Rep : No. Only the 1.4 GTX is available. Although you can book the 1.5 HTK if you want.
Me : Will decide after the test drive. So where is the service center? Will you be using the Hyundai ones initially?
Sales Rep : (She looked surprised). Why would Hyundai service our cars?
Me : Since you are a part of the same group.
Sales Rep : No way. Hyundai and Kia are completely different entities. We are not related to Hyundai in any way. Kia owns Hyundai.
Me : But you share the same components i.e. engines, chassis, gearbox, etc.
Sales Rep : This is false. We are independent and do not share anything with Hyundai.
Me : Ok. Thanks for the revelation (I said this on a sarcastic note but she didn't get it).

At this point I felt there is no use in discussing anything further. Now coming back to the car. The petrol HTK variant felt value for money considering what if offers at that price. Although the petrol engine is something that must be driven first to proceed. The mileage will surely be low. Can expect single digit figures in the city traffic. The price difference with respect to the diesel is huge. Petrol HTK is priced at 11.69L and the diesel HTK at 13.52L. For those with low usage, the petrol would be just fine.

[Ajaybiz]

Originally Posted by biplab3110

Went back to the showroom today. I could hardly get a proper look at the car on 3rd August so went back before 10am today to make sure I get some good time with the car. I have booked a GTX DTC, for which TD vehicle is expected to reach by 28th. I ended up taking a short TD on the Diesel manual. I had been planning to check out a few things after having read so many different opinions and views. Here are my observations:
==============
I wish SKODA Kamiq was an option now. But I have to wait for almost two more years for that. I absolutely need a new car now - driving the Rapid Diesel with a super heavy clutch is getting too strenuous on my left knee!!

I drive a 2015 Skoda Rapid DSG and having a same need in a SUV form which I felt only Skoda or VW can do with Kamiq or Karoq, currently I don't have any issue with my car and can wait for Skoda to launch their SUV, is it worth waiting a year or two or KIA makes sense with their DCT models?

[NGM]

Originally Posted by govs

Now I'm back to square one and I'm going back to check Creta P Auto/Ecosport P AT. Hope this time I would pick one of these two. Thanks.

I am also thinking in the same line. But waiting for the team bhp review of Seltos to get more inputs for my decision. Can we expect it any time soon.

Since all vehicles has to be BS6 from April 2020, there could be rate hike and am not sure whether manufacturers will plan production of lot of vehicles in Jan 2020 to March time frame to optimize/clean up their inventory.

[aarvee]

Originally Posted by AGwagon

Here is a marginally clearer picture from Sparsh Auto, New Delhi

What is this statutory charge thing? Registration changes are applied on ex showroom. For Delhi (>10 lakh ex showroom), this should be 10%.

Any idea? Kia website doesn't add such changes when calculating the on road.