[ashis89]

Insurance renewal:

I checked a couple of websites and got quotes between 21k and 31k for insurance coverage for 4th year. Went with Tata AIG this time as they gave the lowest quote:




Bangalore (off)roads, rains and cat paws!



Yes, they all play a role in keeping my car clean. So I took it for a quick cheap wash at the nearby washing centre. Once back, I applied some Turtle ceramic spray, some interior polish and some tyre polish.

The cats had soiled the car cover too. Washed it thoroughly, dried it and have put the car under cover for now until the long weekend plan is in place.

[ashis89]

Drove down to Kochi over the weekend. The onward journey was a disaster, all thanks to weekend traffic, uncountable road jams, pile-ups and bloody mis-directions.

There were not one but multiple instances of:

1. me entering a toll plaza and following a bus only to realize that the bus(es) were not in any line but bullying their way into a lane at the front. Embarrassing as it was, I had to follow suit.

2. Google diverting us through "short-cuts" where roads were closed due to maintenance or too small for a car to go.

3. KM long jams on the highway which I thought to be accidents or toll-plaza. They turned out to traffic signals and speed barricades put up by the cops on the highway.

4. Google directing us to restaurants' location where there was nothing. With our schedule going haywire, we had to look for places impromptu. For example, we were targetting Rice Bowl, Walayar to lunch and had expected to reach the place by 1PM. But we crossed it only at 5:20PM.

What should have been a 540 km, 10 hr journey including breaks, was eventually a 14 hr journey for the 2 of us. On the return leg, with very sedate driving, detour to Malampuzha dam, lunch and dinner breaks, I did the 555 km drive in 11.5 hrs.


All that said, the car continues to be a joy to drive on such long trips. Keep cruising at 80-100 and when the need comes, just a dab on the accelerator is enough to overtake anything in front. Even the ghat section near Krishnagiri was happily dismissed in the 5th gear without needing a downshift. Single lane narrow KL roads and short window to overtake? No worries. Just point and shoot!

The Continentals have done 9k kms so far. While returning from Ethirapilly falls, we got some very heavy rains. The tyres and brakes continue to do a very commendable job on wet as well as dry conditions, good 6 lane roads, bad roads or ghats. The passenger side wiper is leaving some streaks of water and would need a replacement.

Coyote would complete 3 years in another 4 days time. Odo stands at 49.3k kms. I will take it for the next service over the next 2-3 weeks. Apart from the wiper, the stock brake pads might be due for replacement.


Current odo reading after a rather sedate drive back from Kochi


Happy companions! While I had got the car washed, polished the body and wheels myself, thanks to Google taking us through some God forsaken roads/fields, those alloys were muddied almost as soon as we had crossed E-City!



Arduous onward trip. Out of the 30 odd kms, the first 20 kms took 30 mins and the next 16 hrs took 2 hrs


Saravana bhawan near Krishnagiri was packed. So stopped by roadside stall for a hearty breakfast while enjoying the cool breeze


Some free space after crossing Palakkad. The traffic remained super dense until we entered KL. Thereafter, some junctions in KL had long jams. Given I had had a long day, I took service roads, off road shoulders and even slush to get ahead





On Sunday afternoons, most places were closed and wore a deserted look. So the store front was used up as parking


On the way to Kuzhupilly beach


Through the Sholayar reserve forest to reach Athirapilly, Charpa and Vazhachal waterfalls











The 49k mark


The Kuthiran tunnel

[ashis89]

Coyote turned 3 today. The odo stands a little shy of 50k kms but doesn't ever feel its age. Whenever I joke about replacing the car, my wife exclaims that we got the Coyote only recently, I completely agree.

Except the bumper to bumper congested city roads (where I miss my WagonR), the Seltos has been bliss to drive - open fast 6 lane roads, narrow 2 lane highways, uphill tight ghat roads or broken washed out roads, the car never fails to please!


Just like every year, it needed just 2 routine services and nothing else. Apart from usual consumables (filters, oil, wipers) there have NOT been any replacements yet. NO complaints too, except for a juddering RHS wiper which was fixed after replacing the wiper arm.
And yet, the expenses this year was higher thanks to the new Continental tyres, new seat covers and slightly higher insurance costs.

The outgoing Kumho weren't doing justice to the car




The running cost per km is close to Rs.10 including fuel costs






With my heavy foot driving in a quest to enjoy the acceleration, the average FE has been 15.85 KMPL till date. Formatting my phone, I lost the data for the first 10k kms. All the data are for the last 40k kms










Dormancy and hyperactivity are intermixed. Some months are pre-planned and much anticipated. April, June and Aug 2022 were such examples. Others are impromptu surprises. Oct 2022 was supposed to be a slow dormant one but turned out to be otherwise








Ended up adding 17k+ kms in the past year




Some snaps captured during trips across OD, AP, TS, KA, TN, KL and GA










Nothing special for the 3rd birthday. A water wash was due after returning from Kochi. Got it washed at the nearby centre and placed it under covers. I continue to turn down the apartment watchman's offer to clean the car and I maintain it myself with occasional water wash or a dressing session at service center during scheduled service. The paint and its shine has held up well.


Next update should be after the scheduled service in a couple of weeks.

[rajeevsulu]

Wow! That is pretty exhaustive! I find the Seltos great value for the money paid. If one is prepared to live with the less than ideal Safety ratings, it is fantastic value.

[thugz_doge]

I bought the same HTK Plus for my father. It's an absolutely amazing family car. I have done many trips and I don't have any complaints apart from safety of course.

Now, I'm buying Tiago for myself since I'm moving to a different city and I will miss Seltos so much.

[SilverHawk]

Hi ashis89,

Based on your experience with the vehicle, what is your feedback/review about the overall software related stuff in the car?
Have got a few friends complain about everything related to software/chipsets in Kia Seltos (instrument cluster, various sensors not responding etc.)

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by SilverHawk

Hi ashis89,

Based on your experience with the vehicle, what is your feedback/review about the overall software related stuff in the car?
Have got a few friends complain about everything related to software/chipsets in Kia Seltos (instrument cluster, various sensors not responding etc.)

Mine is a poor man's variant so it might be a Gala apple to Ambri apple comparison.

It means my car doesn't have fancy fittings like TFT instrument cluster, heads-up display, sunroof or TPMS. But whatever is there in my car, has been working flawlessly. That includes the analog instrument cluster, manual AC, parking aids, auto-headlamps, cruise control and the 8" touchscreen music system.

The Android Auto acts up at times but the phone is to be blamed for it. Disconnecting and reconnecting the cable does the trick here.

Like I mentioned earlier, I have had no complaints so far.

[SilverHawk]

Well, these are actually premium(and fuss-free) features which Kia is generous (read smart) enough to provide in the base / mid-variants of their cars.
Good to learn that you haven't faced any major issue with them.
Your testimony makes the vehicle seem more VFM nonetheless..! :-).

Another query:
The vehicle isn't very highly rated by NCAP.
However, one of my colleague who owns a Seltos is quite happy with the overall build quality (in terms of ruggedness of the car).
I have checked the car myself and felt the car to be well built too.

What's your opinion on this point?

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by SilverHawk

Your testimony makes the vehicle seem more VFM nonetheless..! :-).

Thank you. If I try to overlook the crash rating of the car, I am one happy customer.

Another query:
The vehicle isn't very highly rated by NCAP.

This is something I am NOT sure I can test and live to share my experience.

However, one of my colleague who owns a Seltos is quite happy with the overall build quality (in terms of ruggedness of the car).
I have checked the car myself and felt the car to be well built too.

What's your opinion on this point?

Given my travels across half the country, my car has seen very bad roads frequently. After 50k kms, car still feels tight and doesn't seem its age. The doors shut with the same thump, there's no suspension noise and the cabin is rattle free/silent. My nephew sits on the centre armrest when the car is stationary and even that has survived the abuse so far.

That said, there's minor creak sound from the dashboard when going over very sharp potholes/joints. I must credit the old service advisor from the Bhubaneswar center who tugged very hard and multiple times at the instrument panel/music system to show me that it is built strong and told me that it will eventually rattle someday as it is afterall, plastic.
This was at the 32k service. I felt these creaks have started since then.

[valar183]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Coyote turned 3 today. The odo stands a little shy of 50k kms but doesn't ever feel its age. Whenever I joke about replacing the car, my wife exclaims that we got the Coyote only recently, I completely agree.

Nothing special for the 3rd birthday. A water wash was due after returning from Kochi. Got it washed at the nearby centre and placed it under covers. I continue to turn down the apartment watchman's offer to clean the car and I maintain it myself with occasional water wash or a dressing session at service center during scheduled service. The paint and its shine has held up well.
Attachment 2374014

Next update should be after the scheduled service in a couple of weeks.

I bought a new Kia seltos GTX top version a month back. What app are using to monitor the km run and expenses involved. Like it so much. Please inform.
Regards

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by valar183

I bought a new Kia seltos GTX top version a month back. What app are using to monitor the km run and expenses involved. Like it so much. Please inform.
Regards

It's the Fuelio app.

[ashis89]

60k service update

I have been servicing the car at 7-8k intervals as usual and so, the 60k service was due whole ODO stands at 50k. I had booked an appointment at Epitome Kia yesterday. Reached the service centre by 8:45am and left by 1:15pm.

Engine oil, oil filter, air filter and AC filter were replaced, along with 2 wiper blades (per my request). Tyres were rotated and the brakes cleaned up (brake pads passed the health check). Since it was raining, I asked them to vacuum the interiors and give me the car. Overall bill came to Rs. 9204.





I received these images on WA while waiting for the car







Saw this Yacht blue EV6 at the service centre. It's a thing of beauty if not anything else. Reminds me of a blue whale





My friend got the delivery of his Astor turbo a couple of weeks ago. So we went for a breakfast drive today morning to catch up and check out his car. While there, I saw this diesel mammoth gracefully waiting at the parking. It was running without any number plates.






It was raining and hence, I couldn't click better pics



The new MG with the old Kia.


Rest of November should be dull, I hope.

[ashis89]

Another Bangalore Vijayawada trip done yesterday. Started around 12:45PM and made it home by 11PM. I was traveling alone but carrying a full size air cooler, an xxl bean bag, 2 small trolleys, 2 laptop bags and a food bag. After placing everything safely, there's space for some more.





I tanked up at the IOC COCO bunk after Hoskote.
Maintained steady speeds of 90-110 throughout the trip except for the Tirupati to Gudur stretch (GMaps suggested the Gudur route to hit NH16) and ended up getting a good FE.


I got some mild rains between Chittoor and Tirupati. Rest of the time, it was overcast with an occasional sprinkle here and there.





Took lunch break at a roadside food truck after crossing over to AP. The parota and curry were good




Crossed the 50k mark finally. The car had barely run in November. December would be the opposite




Somewhere before Ongole, I was feeling tired and immediately, I took a longish break. So I tried my hands at night photoshoot using some pro mode (used it for the first time) on my phone camera while sipping my coffee.



















Not bad for a Samsung. I wonder how they would have fared on the Pixel.


End of trip


Parked safely for the next 2 days



Trivia: This trip has become an annual exercise and the circumstances have been so similar.

In 2020, me and wife had planned the trip home. Cyclone Nivar struck 2 days before we were supposed to start. All thanks to BHPian Narayans80 who informed me in time about the Nellore road being cut off (Penna bridge?) and suggested I take the Hyderabad route. Drove through a lot of rains and reached fine. This was Nov 28.

In 2021, I started from Bangalore alone on Nov 27. No cyclone but there was a low pressure all the same. I got heavy rains until I crossed Ongole.

And yesterday, my sister quipped that this year I have delayed my start by 10 days but the weather report remains the same.

[ashis89]

Next part of the trip, drove down to Bhubaneswar which took 13 hrs. for the 780 kms journey, including one break at Anakapelle for lunch. This time I had my sister for company.

Refueled again (after Hoskote) near Annavaram . The FE was 17.25 kmpl. I chose Kovvur (no traffic, good roads) and Anakapelle bypass options to avoid Rajahmundry and Vizag.



I encountered rains before and after Rajahmundry so the car was eventually soiled. The sky remained overcast throughout the trip. Post 2pm, every moment felt like it was dusk already. The following pictures were clicked around 4:30 in the evening (even though it looks like later than 6).








The MID has been consistently optimistic by 1 kmpl only.

[ashis89]

Drove to Bargarh and then, Balangir yesterday. One mistake that I did was to take the Sambalpur route to reach Bargarh. The under-construction road continues to be a mess, especially post Boinda. The Bargarh-Salebhata stretch is equally bad.

Tanked up first thing in the morning. The last tankful returned 17.53 kmpl.



Squinted through the fog



Slowly, the Sun shone across the fields



Went along the river





Went across the jungle



Waited for the steel rolls to roll away on iron wheels



and then, crawled underneath


The pipe dream called Sambalpur Bhubaneswar highway







Until, the dusk







75% of the trip was on single carriageway. 50% of the trip I was crashing into potholes or flying over unmarked speed breakers.

Alone these lights do a great job on a dark road


But if the road is pitch black (fresh tar) and there's oncoming glare, even these fail. That said, flash the high beam and even the trucks switch to dipper



Slow and steady, I made it home having burnt little less than half a tank of diesel


Coyote was reunited with the Ford cousin