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-   -   Ownership Review | My Kia Seltos HTK+ 1.5L Diesel MT (Coyote) | EDIT: 4 years, 70,000 kms up! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-term-ownership-reviews/215733-ownership-review-my-kia-seltos-htk-1-5l-diesel-mt-coyote-edit-4-years-70-000-kms-up.html)

Likes

• Engine refinement for a diesel
  
• Performance from a diesel; almost nil turbo lag. The 1.5L CRDi VGT is almost at par with the 1.6L unit in Hyundai, if not more!
  
• Handling
  
• Brakes
  
• AC is a chiller!
  
• Feature distribution across variants (lower variants of Seltos are better loaded than the Creta)
  

Dislikes

• Slightly stiff suspension
  
• Initial niggles (windscreen fogging)
  
• Rear AC vents are not very effective
  
• FE is relatively low
  
• BS6 car running on BS4 diesel; Owners of diesel cars are getting Check Engine light due to clogged DPFs.
  
• Mismanagement by KIA and its dealers (opaque delivery timelines, unavailability of spares)

Why a new car?
I drive a WagonR K10 which is 8 years and 86k kms old, fondly called the RoadRunner. Tall, lanky and agile in the traffic. There’s nothing wrong with him. It has started showing some age but nothing that a few thousands can’t improve (much less than a single EMI for a new car!).

The long term review of the RoadRunner can be found in the following thread: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...000-km-up.html

With every long drive I make with the RoadRunner, I feel the need for something safer and a little more comfortable car. I was expecting a fire sale towards the end of 2019 and wanted to use that opportunity to upgrade. I was pretty clear I wanted a crossover (sorry I won’t call it a SUV) and not a sedan. I have never done a test drive unless I (or a friend/relative) is in the market for a car. After some reading and brainstorming on paper, I felt Creta was the best upgrade though I wanted to TD it before taking a decision. The base diesel 1.4. Then Hyundai announced the 1.4 EX variant and I was the happiest. Even though it was expensive, it had all the features that I was looking for and didn't want to do after-market modifications (all this plans without even a TDlol:).

When the Seltos was announced, It looked fabulous. Like most people, I also anticipated that Seltos would command a premium over Creta and I didn't disagree. Rather I hoped if Creta would see some price cut and I could save some money. A few days after KIA announced the prices, I looked the prices, variants, feature list and then realized that KIA was significantly more VFM than the Creta (there’s news of price hike for the Seltos!).


Why a Diesel?
A lot of people – friends, family and strangers, have asked me why I got a Diesel when the market is moving tilting towards Petrol. Well, I have been driving a petrol car since the past six years and we have owned petrol cars only till date. Over the years, I got to drive diesel cars of different generations (IDI, DI and CRDI). One particular car left a lasting impression – an Accent CRDI (3-cyl) which I drove multiple times back in 2006. Diesels could be fast, refined and fuel efficient at the same time. Since then, I longed for a diesel car “when possible”.

Fast forward to 2019, things have changed. One has to factor in all the following points before making a choice:

1. NGT rules (not applicable cross country yet)
2. Falling price difference between fuels
3. Availability of good petrol cars
4. Lower price difference between petrol and diesel models

I ignored all the above points to decide on a diesel car! It also stemmed from my experience driving few petrol models of the crossovers – an Dragon Ecosport, a Creta 1.6P and a Seltos TGDi. I knew the “punch” and the city driveability I was looking in my next vehicle was not enough in the above models. The Seltos was the best option for me but the GTK was much beyond my budget. Single digit FE numbers are also psychologically disturbing but I have learnt to enjoy my drives rather than run after good FE.

I created the following thread to discuss the initial shortlists and my dilemma.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/suvs-...hing-else.html

One Sunday afternoon, I went to the KIA showroom (Automotive Kia) in Hyderabad. The spectacle was no less than a fish market! Sea of people jostling around for space in the small showroom, trying their hands on any vehicle available – display cars or customer delivery cars. We sat in the display car (a GTX manual) to get a feel of the seating posture and visibility of the car). Then with some difficulty, I caught hold of a SA for a TD. He says I need to book a TD slot on their website, come to their showroom in the same slot and wait for my turn. Half way through his sentence, I had lost interest. Took the brochure with price list, had a look at the colors and drove away. I will share my observations of the Seltos later in the thread.

Hyundai Creta
Next stop was the Hyundai showroom. Walked in and was immediately attended by a SA. There’s no TD vehicle as it had gone for repairs and would be back after 4 days (not exactly confidence inspiring!). Next we checked out the display car in the showroom. The dimensions were the same as the Seltos but I felt the following differences:

• Due to a low set dashboard, the visibility from the driver seat was better in the Creta.

• After setting the driver seat as per my comfort, I moved to the rear seat to check the comfort and leg space. I had more space in the Seltos than the Creta.

• The Creta interiors look old-age after coming from the Seltos. This particular Creta’s door panel was creaking too.

With no TD, I checked for the discounts. The SA confirmed there was a 50k discount going on (Oct 1st week) only on the 1.6D while 1.4D didn’t have a single rupee discount as it always has been in good demand. The 1.6D was well beyond my budget. Took the brochure and price list and drove away.
A week later the Hyundai SA followed up saying that the Creta TD vehicle was back and if I was interested for a TD. I told him about my interest in the Seltos and the lack of discount in 1.4D model was disappointing for me. He acknowledged there were no new discounts on the 1.4D and made no efforts in selling further.

Harrier and Nexon
Me and my friend have been Tata fan boys since childhood. So he insisted that we check out the Nexon for sure. And while at it, we take a close look at the Harrier as well.

Trivia: Long ago, we decided to check out the Tata Safari. Back then we were studying in Class 7 but that didn’t deter us from going to the Tata dealer in town, on our BICYCLES. Parked our cycles, went and checked out the display Safari. We were on cloud nine that day.
Earlier this year, when my friend decided to get his first car, he looked for all the used Safaris available in his budget. We checked out a 10 year old Dicor model, did a short TD and decided not to go near a Safari again! He bought a 13 year old Octavia 1.9 TDi L&K but that’s a story for another day)

We walked into the nearest Tata showroom. As luck would have it, there was no Nexon manual for TD as their Manager had taken it home for the weekend!:Frustrati They had the petrol AMT TD but I am not an AT person at all. I let it pass. We checked out the display Nexon and had the following observations:

• Lots of cabin space, much better than an Ecosport. I could sit in the rear seat comfortably behind me. The boot space is impressive too. But it is a whole size smaller than the Creta/Seltos.

• The interior quality feels inferior to say an Ecosport/Creta/Seltos. Just my opinion.

• Up close, the front lacks the SUVish look but distinctly reminds me of the Bolt. And I am not going to talk about the rear. This was the first time I was looking at the Nexon from close quarters here.

• A high floorboard and a relatively low roofline means I had to bend (form a C shape) every time I got into the car, front or rear. I was not at all comfortable doing it.

The SA mentioned Nexon had a measly 25k discount. Take it or leave it.

Next we got near the Harrier. It is HUGE all around. It is just too big for me. I knew I couldn’t afford it but still asked for the price. Starts from 15.5L (which is slightly more than what I finally paid for my Seltos!). Thought for a while and then asked for a TD before I take a call. Here comes the BEST sales pitch:
“We don’t offer the TD of Harrier to those who are interested in the Nexon. You can’t afford it. If you want the TD of the Nexon, I will get it to your office on Monday.”
That moment I felt I was privileged enough to be allowed to stand near the Harrier!

Harrier had left an impression and we both were also keen to check out the Nexon diesel engine. We went out of the way to another Tata dealer – Concorde Motors (talk about back luck!). No one was available to attend to us as they were busy chit chatting among themselves. When we walked up to them, the SAs mentioned Sunday is a holiday, there are no TD cars available (both cars were parked right in front of the dealership) and if I am interested then I give them my number to request TD on another day.

All through this, we had checked out five Harriers across two dealerships. My friend was noting carefully and mentioned that each car had a different defect/panel inconsistency/fallen part and so on.


Kia Seltos
A week later I was in Bangalore. I thought of trying for Seltos TD there and booked one for Sunday morning. On Saturday, me and my wife had gone out on some work but reached early. The KIA showroom was nearby and I suggested we check out the car to kill some time before we do the TD next day.

The showroom had pretty less crowd and we were able to check out the display car peacefully. My wife was impressed with the design, features and the comfort. The SA was courteous and was explaining the feature. Then I asked if we could TD the diesel MT variant fully expecting to be turned down.
The SA was happy to offer the TD on a HTX D MT in Gravity Grey. The initial driving impressions are below:

• Very low engine noise. With the windows up, I could hear the engine running only when the RPM was beyond 2k RPM and a little louder beyond 3k RPM.

• Coming from small engine petrol car, the torque was addictive.

• There was barely any lag and throttle response was very good. Be in any gear and tap the accelerator and the car was happy to respond.

• The torque at idle was enough to move the car even if it was at an incline. I experienced it while driving out of the dealership which was slightly below the road level.

• I drove over a flyover and the expansion joints and other bumps were hardly felt.

• After a u-turn taken in 2nd gear, I floored the throttle and my wife was sold. She put her phone away and started taking note of the drive, the turbo kick was so strong!

• Clutch was relatively light and so was the steering. And this comes from me who drives a WagonR, though an old one.

• Brakes were super responsive.

Once we returned, the SA asked if I would be interested to the TD the 1.4 TGDi even though he knew I wanted the CRDi only. I jumped at it. Next we hopped on an Intense Red GTX 1.4 MT. The driving impressions (vs. the 1.5 CRDi) are below:

• The torque at idle was lesser. Just like the diesel, I released the clutch slowly to reverse out of the parking without any acc. Input but the TGDi struggled here until I gave some gas.

• The clutch felt snappy and my shoes (size 10) were getting stuck on the clutch pedal and the floor. I never faced this on the CRDi one.

• The turbo lag felt slightly higher here. When in low revs, there was a second before the car responded to throttle inputs. But once it responded, it put the diesel to shame!

• It was getting dark and I switched on the LEDs. They looked fantastic but I felt they are not very effective in case of oncoming traffic.

I was offered TD for the 1.5P IVT and the 1.4 GDi DCT models as well but I declined.

Colors and Variants

The base HTE variant comes with all the necessary features - ABS, dual airbags, all four power windows, projector headlamps, keyless entry and even a music system with steering mounted controls. I chose the next variant, HTK because of the additional features - a better music system with Android auto and Carplay, reverse camera, fog lamps and power mirrors. I didn't want to add any aftermarket accessories in the car in the near future.

Now comes the most important part of this buying decision. We went back home, discussed the colors. My dad wanted silver or white, mom and me were slightly inclined towards blue, sister and wife wanted Red. Even my in-laws were not in favour of Red. After some deliberation, we decided to get a HTK D MT in Intense Red from Bhubaneswar, all thanks to Home Minister.

Trivia: The colours offered by KIA vary a lot in different lighting conditions which confused us to no end (I had posted it on the Seltos thread as well). I finally got the Steel Silver. 20 days since taking the delivery and this is still an open discussion item!

As the dealer was known, we decided to get it from Bhubaneswar. On Oct 11, dad booked the car with a promised delivery by last week of October. The dealer, Central Kia, was expecting a red HTK D in the third week of October which they were ready to pass to us. We were going home for Diwali and the plan was to cancel our return tickets and drive back in the new car.


Meanwhile I deliberated if it was worth upgrading to the HTK+ variant. The additional features in this variant were:

1. Cruise control (I had no experience with CC and felt it was unnecessary)
2. Rear wash wipe (I am used to this feature on my RoadRunner)
3. Alloy wheels (I wanted my next car to have alloys. If I had got the HTK then I would have bought the OE 16” alloys)
4. Rear parcel tray (good to have)
5. One touch up-down driver power window (good to have)
6. Auto folding mirrors (didn’t matter)
7. DRLs (cool to have them!)
8. Rear sunshades (didn’t matter)
9. Mood lights (didn’t matter)
10. Auto lights (didn’t matter)
11. Smart key with Push button start (I wanted to AVOID this)

Spoke to BHPian KALINGA who recommended upgrading for the CC and rear wash wipe. He has a Crysta GX 2.8 and finds the CC very useful on long drives. But it isn’t as you think, he uses the CC every few hours to give some rest to his right foot. Now that I have used the feature, I agree with his thoughts!

My budget was 12L with a maximum stretch to 13L. The HTK+ D MT would cost 14L at least. Briefly I thought of switching to a petrol to get all the above features and yet stick to my budget.

Now TD cars for the 1.5P MT were unavailable but initial owner reviews were available – refined engine, good FE and decent performance. I was never after decent guys especially when I am spending so much and looking for long term companionship!:D With these thoughts, the next day I upgraded our booking to HTK+ D MT and our wait started. However the dealer was transparent that they might not be able to get a HTK+ D in red color within October. We still chose to wait it out.

On Oct 24th, I got a call from the dealer that a Steel Silver HTK+ D has left the factory and will reach the dealership on 28th. If we change the color then we get the car within our desired time, or we can wait for the Red. There were no other colors available and ETA for red was unknown. I was ready to wait even for another month but my wife had made up her mind for a new car and drive back during Diwali. She agreed we change the color to Steel Silver.

Due to sheer bad luck, my flight on Oct 28th got cancelled. Due to work commitments, I decided to go home on Friday, Nov 1. Again due to work constraints, I had to be back in Hyderabad by Nov 4 or 5. Everyone, including the dealer, suggested not to take delivery on a Saturday (Nov 2) and I wanted start for Hyderabad on Sunday. That left Friday only. On Nov 1, I landed in Bhubaneswar at 8:20PM, went straight to the dealership who were waiting for me. At 8:45PM, signed the papers, handed over the check for remaining amount, did a small pooja and drove the new car home. All this in a matter of less than an hour.

Presenting Coyote! My previous avatar had a similar pic of the RoadRunner:)


Poor light and a new phone meant I did a poor job of capturing the first look of the car at the dealership


Heartbeat DRLs


Tail lamps at night. Somehow they remind me of the Tiguan


I took few pictures next morning


Looks pretty big when seen from the side and close quarters


Rear


Apart from the car papers (Invoice, gate pass, Insurance, Road tax receipt and extended warranty receipt), they gave a gift box which had a pen, an anti-slip mat and a KIA key ring. They also gave me a coupon for 10L of diesel from a bunk which was 200 mts. away. They asked me to come next day to get the HSRP fitted and any accessories that I want.

Next morning, I checked the car inside out and realized that the interiors were not very clean. Went to the dealer and got the HSRP plates installed. Also bought a set of mats (jute type) for Rs. 1708 and got the interiors vacuumed before putting in the mats. While at it, I got the ribbon and the balloons removed from the bonnet.

Tax Invoice

Price of 1 Seltos HTK+ D MT: Rs. 840690 (A)

CGST (@14%): Rs. 117697 (B)

SGST (@14%): Rs. 117697 (C)

Compensation Cess (@17%):Rs. 142917 (D)

Total Ex.showroom price: Rs.1219000 (E = A+B+C+D)

TCS (@1%): Rs.12190 (F)

Total Invoice price: Rs.1231190 (E+F)

Insurance: Rs.47213 (G)

Road Tax (@10%): Rs.121900 (H)

Registration, Smart Card: Rs.648 (I)

Extended Warranty and tax :Rs.26532.3 (22485+4047.3) (J)

Final price paid: Rs.1427483/-


Insurance
I consulted few folks and they suggested the insurance offered by the dealer was good. For a hassle free delivery, I opted for it.

I have a 50% NCB on my RoadRunner. Now I wanted to transfer this to Coyote. But I am not selling the RoadRunner any time soon. So the other way out was to transfer it to my dad, who's going to be the eventual user of the RoadRunner. Due to paucity of time and me not being available in Bhubaneswar, transfer was not possible. Then I started exploring the NCB clause in detail.

As per rules, an owner can demand for a NCB certificate from the Insurer without selling/transferring the existing car. The insurance companies are greedy and don't want to lose a customer. Hence they insist on such formalities. My dad got contacts in the regional head office of the Insurer and they agreed to give us the NCB certificate but requested us for the following:

1. Scrap the existing insurance of the old car and buy a new 3rd party one (more business for them).
or
2. Cancel the third party component of the existing insurance (3rd party is mandatory and we will be forced to buy a new insurance from them)

Since the new car's insurance is already bought, we are not in a hurry to get the NCB certificate now. I need to negotiate further with the Insurance provider and figure out the least expensive way to get the NCB certificate.

Extended Warranty
My usage is going to be 15-20k kms p.a. In the five year period, I see myself doing less than a lakh kms. So, the best warranty package for me was the 5yr/120k kms, which costs around Rs. 21k.
Due to my own carelessness of not exploring the KIA website, I opted for the 5yr/unlimited kms warranty and ended up paying 5.5k extra for the extended warranty.

Quoting myself from the Seltos thread
The terms and conditions for extended warranty are mentioned on their website: https://www.kia.com/in/service/kia-o...-warranty.html.

Engine Refinement
The first thing I noted is the engine refinement. During the first start, the car shakes a bit and you hear the diesel clatter to life. Once the engine has warmed up, you can hear the noise post 2.2k RPMs (and 3k RPMs if you are listening to some music in the car)! During the drive back, I was so accustomed to the silence at low revs that I didn’t like to go beyond 3k due to the increase in noise. A lot of credit goes to the cabin insulation here.

Trivia 1: My dad’s office driver drives a Bolero DI Turbo. I called him for a short drive to experience the new car. He gets into the driver seat and asks how to start the engine. He refused to believe when I told him this was a diesel car and the engine was already running. After a short 3-4 km drive, he exclaimed this car was like “flower which just flies silently with the wind”.

Trivia 2: After this car, my WagonR sounds loud (quite natural). But even my friend’s Baleno P also sounds very loud!

PS: There could be lot powerful and better cars out there in the market but my observations are based on the cars I have driven so far. You can see the list here!

Driveability and Engine Response
If you are not careful while releasing the clutch, the car lurches alarmingly. Slot into 2nd, release the clutch slowly without any acc. input and the car gets going without a struggle. Due to the long clutch travel and springy clutch, clutch modulation is tricky and I have managed to stall it quite a few times especially when trying to launch it from an incline (if not then I get wheelspins). I haven’t mastered the bite point before I can move my right foot from brake to accelerator!

KIA claims that 250 Nm torque is available between 1500-2750 RPM band. However the cars pulls well from 1200 RPM. I never felt any lag in the power delivery. Depending on the time window I had for overtaking, I could downshift and shoot ahead or be lazy to stay in same gear and still run ahead. Out on the highway, irrespective of the gear I was in, I could slow down and then accelerate without any downshift. So much so that, while I was in the 6th gear, I could drop speeds till 35 kmph and then accelerate back to triple digit speeds. There was no hint of hesitation from the engine. The 3rd and 4th gears can be used as automatics in the city and no you don’t need to slip the clutch at all.

The turbo kick is addictive. Floor the accelerator in any gear (especially the 3rd and 4th) and once you hit the turbo zone, you get a shove.
The 6th gear is a boon on the highway. The car can do 100 kmph@ 2050 rpm and 140 kmph@3000 rpm. I was testing the Cruise Control and had set it at 97 kmph. I slowed down to 50 kmph while staying the 6th gear and then hit the Resume button. It was relatively slow to accelerate till ~65kmph and then briskly moved from there on till 97 kmph.

Trivia 1: While returning to Hyderabad, I was addicted to the turbo kick and was enjoying it during overtakes. After about 300 kms, me and wife started having backaches. I thought this car doesn’t have the upright seating posture of my WagonR and probably the lower back support was less. I started questioning my decision to purchase this car and prayed that our body gets accustomed to this seating posture. And then it was time to overtake a slow moving truck. I was in 3rd and 30 kmph, pointed the car and stomped the accelerator. I felt the shove at same lower back level along with some pain! It then dawned on me and I took it easy there on. Since then our backs haven’t complained so far!

Trivia 2: In all the earlier cars I have driven in the city, I used to downshift to get the car back in the powerband after slowing down. In case of the Seltos, things are little different for me. I downshift to control/slowdown the car. Due to negligible lag and antistall feature, the car is eager to run at any RPM and higher the gear higher the speed it does at any RPM:D.

My office has a winding basement parking. In both my cars, I shift to 1st, leave the A pedal and use the engine braking to slowly crawl down. I observed that the Seltos is slower and more controlled in the same situation than the WagonR. I need to tap the brake once or twice in the WagonR but don’t need it in the Seltos. While climbing up in the Seltos, I can take the ramp in the 2nd gear even with 4 people on board and AC running.

Gearbox and Clutch
The gearshift throws are not very long and are sure shifting. However, when the engine is cold, the reverse gear is hard to engage. Things improve distinctly once the engine warms up.

Trivia: Anyone who has driven my car till now, has confidently engaged the 6th gear thinking it to be the reverse. One has to pull up the lever below the gear knob and move the shifter to top left to engage R.


I haven't removed the plastic over the gear knob. The stock gear knob is nothing to show off (nothing to see yourself). I am waiting for the knobs from HTX+ to be available as a spare so that I can swap them. The floor mats which I bought from the dealer, can be seen in the background


Clutch travel is very long and springy. However it is not very heavy and no complaints from my city use so far. RaodRunner didn't have a deadpedal and hence I was not used to it. On the Coyote, I have started using it and my size 10 shoe fits in there.

Steering
The steering is light in the city but weighs up well at highway speeds. I felt it to be a bit dead around the center. The steering is sculpted around the 10:10 AM mark and is good to hold. I might go for a leather wrap sometime in future (it was a very good upgrade on the RoadRunner).

The steering mounted controls for HU and CC seem to be of good quality and provide tactile feedback while using it. However I am skeptical about the color of the buttons fading with use. The stock dual tone horn is very loud (a tad lower than the Bosch Symphony unit on the RoadRunner).



Trivia: The day I reached Hyderabad, I had to move my RoadRunner to make space for the Seltos. While at it, I felt something was really wrong with my RoadRunner. The steering felt jammed and the clutch was hard without any feedback. The car was barely moving with Acc. pedal input. Since it was late evening already, I made a note of all the points. All night, I thought probably the clutch is shot, maybe the rear brakes are jammed as well and the lower arms are shot as well. Next day, first thing, I took my RoadRunner to my FNG which is ~6 kms from my house. After covering 5.5 kms I realized the RoadRunner drove the same way that it used to do earlier and it was my experience with Coyote which made me feel a difference. Came back home without any further delay!lol:


Handling and Suspension
We encountered a lot of bad patches while returning to Hyderabad. The suspension is stiff and eats up bad patches at speed but the low speed ride can be better. That said, sharp potholes/obstacles tend to filter into the cabin. You can’t speed over speedbreakers or uneven flyover expansion joints without feeling them in the cabin. The bounce back/reaction from the front suspension is also high which can unsettle the car at speeds. I am yet to figure out the best air pressure (currently have the recommended 35 Psi).

The front suspension is not silent and one gets to hear thuds in the bigger potholes.

Having driven a tall boy for a long time now, Seltos feels like a super civilized man. There is a hint of body roll which is not discomforting. Sudden maneuvers can be done without a second thought. The stock Kumho tyres have done a good job so far out on the highway.

Coming from a WagonR, the Seltos masks speeds extremely well. The beeps remind me of the speeds I am doing since the car itself itself is refined and silent. However itcan't be replacement for a good sedan!


Trivia: The suspension have a orange piece which somehow, remind me of the bump stop issue on the Skoda Octavia every time I look at it!


Braking
My benchmark is my old WagonR which has pretty good brakes. The diesel Seltos has all round discs which have excellent bite. The brakes can still improve by being more progressive. They are a bit too aggressive for city use.

Note the negligible clearance between the caliper and alloy wheel


Rear discs are smaller




Headlights and Foglights
I have 100/90 Phillips Rally bulbs on my WagonR. Compared to them, the halogen projector lights are sufficient for city use but inadequate for the highways. I have no plans of upgrading immediately but I will keep an eye out in the forum for options.

Front Projectors are blackened and add to the appeal! Indicators are halogen bulbs. You can see the DRLs in this pic too




DRLs in action. The brightness reduces when you switch on the headlamps.
The DRLs are switched off during the day if you turn on the indicator (but stay on at night)



They are quite bright and visible from a distance but they are not enough for people to use it as a replacement for the actual headlights:D(Refer this thread)

Projector fog lamps


Lights in Action

Only fogs


Fogs + low beam


Low beam has good spread and very effective. It needs some better bulbs.

Fogs + high beam



High beam in action

The high beam has good throw but the light intensity seems insufficient to me.


Fuel Efficiency
The engine loves to stay between 1500-2000 RPM. While driving, I observed that keeping within this range increases the FE number on the MID. And while it doesn't protest(vocally) lugging or revving, the FE numbers are hit (this is common knowledge but I validated it again by burning some diesel <facepalm>.

I did a rough calculation based on T2T and measured over 1200 kms. The FE was 15+ kmpl – 80% highway, 100% AC and a lot of idling. I say rough calculation because I filled in the tank way beyond the auto cut mark and was able to fill way beyond the manufacturer claimed capacity.

Right after delivery, I got 10 litres of diesel and had run about 50 kms post delivery. While starting from Bhubaneswar, I tanked up the Seltos. It gulped 47 litres of diesel (beyond auto-cut) and the DTE was showing 863 kms. 470 kms later, the fuel gauge showed there was more than half a tank of diesel left. I tanked up at an Essar bunk after crossing Vizag. The attendant there much have taken a cool 10 mins to fill in fuel well beyond the auto-cut mark. The tank took in 37 litres and I could see the diesel filled to the brim.
KIA claims Seltos has a 50L tank. On the first occasion, I could fill in ~ 53L (47+6) and on the second occasion it was 74L (37*2). For the third tankful, I could fill 43L at auto-cut when the gauge was showing 25% full (122 kms on DTE). I still doubt the fuel bunks. I will share the numbers after few more refills.

It took me 7.5 hrs to reach Vizag, where we found a lot of traffic. FE on the MID is 15.2 kmpl


After another 25 mins and 9 kms, the FE had reduced to 15.0 kmpl. Yes, I enjoyed some pedal to metal driving during this time!


Accumulated info shows 38 hrs to cover 1500 kms. The FE is 14.0 kmpl.
The fuel gauge is showing almost full even after covering 150 kms (in the city) since refill (T2T, auto cutoff)


On my daily office drive (I alternate between the Coyote and the RoadRunner), I see 11.5-14 kmpl for my 21 km round trip covered in 70-80 mins (RoadRunner gives me 13-14 kmpl in these conditions).

After covering 400 kms, I did a fourth tankful (auto-cut) and got 15.3 kmpl. This is 50% city, 50% highway(ORR) with 100% AC and quite some idling.

During my ORR runs, I used the Cruise Control extensively and loved it. With the CC on, I could get the following figures






The car has done about 1750 kms till now. Next weekend, I should be driving to Bangalore.

Seating comfort
Front seats are very good for our use case. Right after delivery, me and my wife covered 1170 kms over 2 days (630 kms/11 hrs. and 540 kms/9 hrs) with me being the sole driver. We were very comfortable covering 200-300 kms non-stop.

Some BHPians have remarked that the front seats are a size small. I agree partially – I am 6ft, 85 kg, medium built guy and I am snug fit in the front seat. Someone bigger than me could feel the seat back is not wide enough.

I have kept the seat at the highest setting and pushed back the seat half way. With this, I am at ease, have very good visibility, have enough head headroom and also leave very good leg room for the rear passengers.
The seat heights are almost perfect. It is easy to get in and out of the doors at both ends.


Visibility from the driver seat


I can see the bonnet edges and make an estimate of the space ahead


Rear leg space after adjusting the front seats as per my comfort


In my compact RoadRunner, I kept my arms at 4-6 or 5-7 position and rested my elbows comfortably on the central hand rest and door arm rest! In the Coyote, I can use the front hand rest and even the door arm rest but using both at the same time is a bit of a stretch. My favored AC setting can be seen here


I got the neck rests from the dealer



Air-Conditioner
The AC is a chiller and throw from the front vents are very good. I haven’t gone beyond speed 2 but I keep it at speed 1 at most times. The HTK+ doesn’t come with automatic climate control which is a shame. Given the AC effectiveness, I keep the temp. controller knob around 30%-40% hot setting which is enough for me (note the controller position in the picture above). If the car is very hot after being parked in the sun, change the knob to 100% cold, keep the blower speed to 2 and keep for 5 mins. Revert back to previous setting and things are good.

I mentioned about the front vents. Coming to the rear, the throw from the vents are extremely low unless I increase the blower speed at the front to 3. Another observation, there's a difference in temperature of air coming out of the front and rear vents. If I keep the temp. controller knob at 30-40% hot setting, I get cool air from the front vents but warm air from the rear ones. I sat in the rear seat only once and observed this. I will digger deeper before raising a complaint with KIA.

Another issue that has been faced by a lot of Seltos owners – front windshield fogging up. I read few posts that this is common occurrence in cars with ACC. However mine has a manual AC and I did face this issue once.

Bhubaneswar has a humid climate. On the day of delivery, while going home, I kept the AC at 100% cold setting and vents directed at passengers only. After some time, I could see fogging near the front windscreen vents even though the airflow was directed through the passenger vents. As the AC was a chiller, I increased the temp setting to ~70% cold and the fogging was slowly gone. I haven't observed it again so far but then I haven't driven in rains.


Boot Space:
Boot space seems sufficient for my use. Due to the angle of recline of the rear seat, some space could be lost at the farthest corner of the boot. There are small pocket type space at either end and also a hook on the right side. If you remove the tray on the boot floor, you can find a lot of space around the spare wheel. Like other BHPians, I plan to store cleaning stuff, umbrella, etc, in this space.

We carried a lot of luggage while returning and everything fit into the boot space. Removing the parcel tray will give it a lot more space for luggage.
The red bag you see is ~25"x15"x15". It could fit in straight in the boot


I got a boot mat as well. You can see the mat, boot lamp and empty boot



ICE
The HTK and HTK+ variants come with a 8” touchscreen HU with physical buttons. The buttons and steering mounted controls made me super happy. This is why I say thishttps://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ml#post4087866.

The clarity and punch from the stock speakers are very good for me. Compared to the Sony WX920-BT unit on my RoadRunner, the stock HU in the Seltos connects to the BT of my phone (Pixel 3a) in a matter of seconds. The call clarity is excellent.

Seltos has a shark fin antenna for the HU. The FM reception is way better than the traditional pull-type antenna in the RoadRunner.

I bought an Amazon Basics type C USB cable for connecting my Pixel 3a. Using this cable, I am able to use Android Auto and the experience has been flawless so far. To connect to Android Auto, the car has to be parked. Some BHPians reported that their phones were discharged while connected to the Android Auto. I have used it twice and my was charged while AA was running. The fast charging port on the right side was able to charge my wife iPhone 7 plus from 20% to full charge, in about 2 hrs.

This car has a reverse camera with steering guidelines. The image quality is average and deteriorates in low light conditions.

KIA has added sound mood lights. It's a gimicky feature where a multi-color LED light glows in either of the front speaker mesh (rear speakers don't get it). There are color themes which could change automatically or match the beat of music (they also match the frequency while taking a call). I found it distracting and have set it to fixed whitish color, which acts as interior lights at night. They turn off when you open the door.

Congratulations on bringing home the Wiley Coyote Ashis! Wish you unlimited safe & happy miles with it. My favourite Seltos colour! A car in an Armani suit!

For 14.x L INR - the diesel HTK+ really is awesome VFM I have to say. Considering the top trims of sub4m crossovers are easily touching 12L (and almost same as your car in XUV300's case) - the bang for the buck with the Seltos is blindingly bright!

The car has absolutely everything one can ask for from style, utility, comfort & safety point of view. Even projector fog lamps in HTK+. One cant ask for more.

The camera can always be deceptive but I must say the lighting with headlamps & fog lamps working together is remarkably GOOD for stock setup. Its putting cars with much higher costs to shame IMO. You can upgrade to HIDs in future. Since you also have projectors in place already for fog lamps - simple HID conversion kits would do the job in 1 hour as a DIY. Osram makes good kits at quite economical pricing.

Lot effort put in your review. Its going to be a superb reference for interested BHPians and visiting readers of the forum. Rated it 5 stars!

Congratulations again. Enjoy the journey.

Congrats ashis89 on your latest acquisition clap:

I have never really liked the Cross-overs/SUVs, but Jeep Compass was one exception which sort of kept me quite interested. But the OTR price of the Compass was a bit too steep and kept me well away from this SUV.
However, when KIA Seltos was showcased and the prices announced, this was not only a VFM pick, but also looked much more proportional and pleasing in comparison to Creta.

Wish you a very happy and fun-filled motoring, and many more mile munchings :)

Congratulations on the purchase, the Seltos in this shade of silver looks cool yet a bit understated, and will age well. Thank you for taking time to pen down the exhaustive review. Wish Coyote serves you tirelessly for years and years to come.

Whoever told this has no business being in the Sales Department.:Frustrati It really irks me as to how any salesman can make such a statement to a prospective buyer, that too for a big-ticket item.

Congrats on your new purchase. Wish you many happy miles ahead. Seltos sure is a great product for the money.

Your review in quite in depth, really shows how happy you have been with the purchase.
If I did not buy Nexon I would have been tempted for Seltos for sure.

The taxes have water in my eyes, nearly 5L on a 14L car is robbery. I so feel the taxes reduce a bit or atleast we get tax break on income side.

One thing caught my eye, the boot seems near similar to Nexon give and take a few Ltrs, the bags shown are exactly what fit in my Nexon. One large bag, 2 mid size and one duffle bag.

Congratulations bro. Beautiful car and after seeing your WagonR, I am sure you will take the utmost care and use it accordingly as well. clap:

After hearing all the stories from you and now reading it here all over again has made this nostalgic. Especially the TATA experience. You should post about the flexible door handle as well!!! That was some customization by TATA.

Is that your car parked in Tower 2 basement? stupid:

Congrats on getting the Seltos home. Its raining Seltos on the roads. I am seeing loads of white and grey ones.

Happy motoring.

Congratulations on bringing home the new kid on the block.

Thank you very much for the detailed review as well, which will build confidence of prospective buyers. Please keep sharing your experience with regard to long term experience as well as After sales of Kia.

Wish you lots of joyful miles in the new car!! :)

Rahulb22