[ashvek3141]

This was a really easy one! Very well deserved KIA, no second thoughts. Now on to a bigger task of maintaining this reputation in terms of ASS and an equally better customer support. Hope KIA will not disappoint here.

[sgmuser]

I am not personally surprised to see an effort like this being appreciated by Indians. Hyundai was given such warm welcome when entered with Santro in the 90s. I still remember a curvy Accent with some sand filled sacks in the back, test run all over the places during that time. One of my brother's friend was given a Accent for testing and he used to talk highly about Hyundai's determination, when no one knew about this brand in India. What is astonishing with Kia is that the speed with which they have done everything from start to the launch.

Company's like Ford, Nissan (how many failed models they managed to make) and Toyota should learn from Kia. Personally, I would not buy anything Kia (I am outside of India) as the long term durability is not up to the Japanese levels, but Telluride is tempting for sure. In India, I will surely think of Seltos specifically, the GT series.

[Jakku]

I am not surprised with this choice and in fact I was looking at who the runner-up would be. Having said that, I did not vote to select the COTY this time; reason being -- 1) Seltos and Harrier is lacking some things which the other is making up for. 2) If I were in market now with this money at my disposition, will I buy either of these - NO. Hence I thought my vote to select either of them is cheating myself and stayed away. 3) Noting else in the list is exciting me.

[JoshMachine]

No brainer choice, given the huge number of positive impressions garnered by Seltos so far - be it in the area of advertising,sales, customer care etc.

Congrats to KIA for making it to the coveted list in the first attempt!

Hope they continue to meet the growing expectations of the Indian customer base, in the time to come.

Also noteworthy, to me atleast, is the rise of Tata to knock at the COTY doors time and again.
Speaking of the last few years, we had seen the Tiago win this in 2016, the Hexa/Nexon coming second (not talking about the huge percentage gaps though) in 2017 and now again the Harrier getting the runner-up position in 2019.

However, this also throws up a thing or two for Tata to reflect on the "killer instinct" to get it to the top every time they launch a new product.

[itzvicky201]

Vote for Kia Seltos...Kia came into the market with a bang. They just ensured all boxes were ticked with a near perfect first launch product. Not sure how their AM service's are and how the car will age into the second hand market as a used car later, but it's a definitely a great first product from house of Kia.

[Aditya_Bhp]

Team-BHP should cancel this award given to KIA Seltos, as it has scored a pathetic 3 stars in the GNCAP tests. KIA has cheated the people of country, and Team-BHP as well.

We were made to think the car is safe by the company and by the various reviewers. Even the official review of the Seltos by Team-BHP highlights its safety as a positive point.

Customers are being misled by these favourable awards and reviews, and they flock to the showrooms, unaware of how unsafe the car is. Sad to say even after paying 20 Lakhs, we Indians get a compromised car.

[chittybang]

It would be interesting to see how many would change their vote with the added info of the GNCAP ratings?
Maybe a re-vote is in order. I am not saying we cancel but atleast give everyone an opportunity to rethink. After all this is not a national election. Is it not intended to show which car has been loved by the majority? If that opinion has taken a beating then we ought to know.

[anb]

Originally Posted by chittybang

It would be interesting to see how many would change their vote with the added info of the GNCAP ratings?

How many have GNCAP ratings? Except for XUV 3OO, none of the tested vehicles have good GNCAP ratings.

[discoverwild]

Originally Posted by anb

How many have GNCAP ratings? Except for XUV 3OO, none of the tested vehicles have good GNCAP ratings.

XUV300 and Nexon scored 5 stars, while the Brezza scored a 4 star.

[RaghuVis]

Originally Posted by Aditya_Bhp

Team-BHP should cancel this award given to KIA Seltos, as it has scored a pathetic 3 stars in the GNCAP tests. KIA has cheated the people of country, and Team-BHP as well.

For reference, these are the ratings for cars rated as "Team-bhp car of the year" over the years!

How many awards should we take back? should team-bhp stop threads on these cars? Should all the good posts written on them be deleted?

I understand you are upset with this as we all are but please control your emotions and kindly do not deflect your anger at manufacturers to our forum.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by Aditya_Bhp

Team-BHP should cancel this award given to KIA Seltos, as it has scored a pathetic 3 stars in the GNCAP tests. KIA has cheated the people of country, and Team-BHP as well.

We were made to think the car is safe by the company and by the various reviewers. Even the official review of the Seltos by Team-BHP highlights its safety as a positive point.

Customers are being misled by these favourable awards and reviews, and they flock to the showrooms, unaware of how unsafe the car is. Sad to say even after paying 20 Lakhs, we Indians get a compromised car.

Isn't this the case with all other cars in list barring XUV300? None were tested and even now we don't know the safety ratings for many. Not supporting KIA but nowhere they have played the 5 star safety card. As I said earlier , did KIA do anything wrong- no, are they ethical- hell no!

With govt. washing their hands, unless majority consumer demand safer cars, manufacturers will not offer one!

[anb]

Originally Posted by discoverwild

XUV300 and Nexon scored 5 stars, while the Brezza scored a 4 star.

I was mentioning about cars launched in 2019 and under consideration for car of the year 2019.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by Aditya_Bhp

Team-BHP should cancel this award given to KIA Seltos, as it has scored a pathetic 3 stars in the GNCAP tests. KIA has cheated the people of country, and Team-BHP as well.

We can’t have any Car of the Year awards if we go by that logic.

• The vote is based on popular choice, not given by moderators. Unfortunately the votes reflect the relatively lower level of prioritisation for safety that even a section of esteemed TBHP members may have.
• One of the important determinants of safety is the level to safety equipment in the lowest variant - this is the variant most testing agencies pick up for testing. How many cars in the candidate list in a similar price bracket have 6 airbags in the lowest variant? Literally none, except perhaps Honda City.
• Although I would never vote to lower the priority on safety, please remember we are a country of aspirations and upwardly mobile people. When Hyundai and Kia are offering a base version of the mid size SUVs (Seltos and Creta) below the 10 lakh price threshold, this makes the category accessible to a large section of people who otherwise would not be able to buy into this segment. By imposing strict safety standards the lowest rung of prices in the segment will go out of reach of this segment of buyers. Many of them never drive their cars outside city limits and never exceed 60-70 kph, so the risk imposed by lower safety standards for these buyers has to be balanced with the quashing of aspirations of these folks and deprivation of the pleasure and prestige of owning a car in this segment.
• The official reviews clearly mention what safety features are present or absent. For example presence of disc breaks at the rear on all Seltos Diesel versions was highlighted. This is an active safety feature, but may not show up directly in NCAP ratings.
• Kia Seltos may not be the only surprise here, Tata Harrier has not yet been tested even though it was launched before the Seltos. Rumours of safety issues with engine placement have come up here and there. Even if these are not true, the question of why TATA, our Safety Champion, has not yet tested the Harrier is a mystery.
• The crash tests usually come months or even years after a car is in the market, if we wait for these, we can only award “Car of Last Year”

[jeganatu]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Not supporting KIA but nowhere they have played the 5 star safety card. As I said earlier , did KIA do anything wrong- no, are they ethical- hell no!

Yes! Because their export version has got 5 star rating. The Australian and USA's base version has got all safety like ESP and 6 airbags. Indian base version was compromised on the body shell and sheet metal? I know they only has ABS, 2 airbag in Indian base version, but cannot accept this unethical cheating!

The same was done deliberately with ford endeaover by removing chassis reinforcements.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...version-2.html (Pics: Chassis of Indian Ford Endeavour has less support than the international version!)

Originally Posted by PrideRed

With govt. washing their hands, unless majority consumer demand safer cars, manufacturers will not offer one!

I dont trust our biased government. They are always double minded. Has stringent emission norm for public, but the government factories emitt, busses emit, trains emit.
Has stringent norms for public insurance, but no insurance for Police, State transport, other govt vehicles.
Wants public to wear helmet, weat seat belt, but failed to give proper road with safety markings. Not even proper marking for a speed breaker.


How many of us buy the electronics based on star rating? Most look for the cheapest and with most discounts.

[Palio_2005]

Not surprised but disappointed. With so many reports of brake failures and lack of clear directive from Kia. In addition to the poor performance in GNCAP, and we still select this as COTY. It's a bit ironic isnt it