[noopster]

Thank you each and every one who read, liked and posted on this thread. My activity on the forum has been restricted of late and this feels like a successful comeback

Let me try and answer some of the questions raised. Am currently in the middle of shifting homes and still settling down. Just got the wi-fi installed and this was the first thing I thought I would do!

Originally Posted by ajaiD

I have a small question, I don't mean to be disrespectful about your choice but you being you how did the 3 star crash score affect your purchase.

Won't lie, it did take me aback. Not expected from the likes of Kia who seem to have got the package spot on otherwise. Worst thing is that the body shell and footwell were rated unstable. Makes all the extra bells and whistles like the 6 airbags, ABS/EBD, TCS etc. feel like a wasted investment. The results came out a few days before I got delivery if memory serves right so I didn't change my mind but it does leave a sour taste in the mouth.

Originally Posted by Axe77

Which part of Pune do you stay at please? I guess not far from Chandni Chowk since you did your car wash there on your return?

Wish you many happy miles with the Seltos and hope to see you sometime in Pune with your new ride.

Do call when you are here next- I am pretty much across the road from the Kia showroom now. And all the best shopping for a new car though, honestly, you need to upgrade from the GT to something much nicer!

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Congrats Noops on the Kia Seltos. It is a nice upgrade from the old Swift. Now you need another car to upgrade from Vento soon.

Sure, sure. More spending on depreciating assets!

Thankfully he paid heed to my advice. He was going to go for the 1.4L 7DCT. Better sense prevailed and he was convinced to change to diesel AT. I told him Bs6 diesel complications is a lower risk than the 7DCT.

Only thing is that black is a pain to maintain and the Ceramic coating is a waste of money vs a decent PPF.

I ask few for advice but when I do, I take it! Should have listened to you on the PPF too, but the expense was bordering on the insane.

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

Your parking spot gave me a mini heart attack. If you cannot change the parking location, I would suggest getting some foam padding on those pillars.

Thanks! I usually don't park in the front spot between the pillars, which is reserved for my Vento (it's a back-to-back twin parking slot). Anyway these days I have "pillarless" parking!

Originally Posted by Hayek

What’s your driving cycle going to be like - does the 40 km (to / to and fro) office include highway stretches or is it largely crawl mode traffic.

Both- split about equally. DPF shouldn't be a problem as I live off the highway and have been advised to rev to beyond 3000 rpm on occasion to keep it clear. All the best with your Vento replacement!

Originally Posted by Sreesh1009

Congratulations Noopster!
Car looks elegant in the Black Shade. Have you planned on getting PPF done on it to retain the paint quality?

Funny story...and Viddy can probably tell it better...but my accessories guy was confident he could get PPF applied on top of the ceramic coating but turns out it won't stick. The ceramic coat doesn't really help protect from scratches and dings, that much I can testify.

Also, do you have plans on getting the speed chimes removed?

I have no idea if that's even possible but I find the 80 and 120 reminders quite useful anyway.

Off topic : I see a lot of people commenting about the safety, crash results, Kia's quality issues etc. Can we please leave these things out while congratulating Noopster. I'm pretty sure he knows about all of this. Let's not ruin his experience. Thank you

Thank you! That's really sweet but we are all adults here, no worries

Originally Posted by tp_dominator

I saw your car in flesh when I last visited the sales office of your society! We are going to be neighbours soon I believe. From where did you get the ceramic coating done, would love to read those details too. Cheers!

From Car Cupid on Sus Road. We can discuss more in person, neighbour, will PM you!

Originally Posted by 4WheelPilot

Congrats Noopster, really a great car. We have the 1.4 Turbo manual and I must say it is exhilarating to drive, esp the acceleration in 3rd, 4th and 5th gears!

I can imagine that must be quite a combo! My knees complain every time I use a manual in even moderately heavy traffic, so no regrets on choosing what I did though.

[the_skyliner]

Congratulations noop on getting, the most sought after Kia, home!

The car is a looker in black. IMO, it has more road presence in this color than any other.

I am also glad that you didn't buy Creta. I agree with you that the earlier gen Creta was a looker but Hyundai messed it up with the current gen. It really looks weird, especially from behind with those split tail lamps.

Also, the panoramic sunroof isn't really a big deal. In fact, I believe a smaller moon roof is more practical in our conditions and we actually end up using it compared to a bigger panoramic sun/moon roof.

Wish you many happy miles on your new possession!!

[Jaggu]

Congratulations Noop. It is indeed a nice car and should serve you well and a great report capturing it all. Wishing you many many more happy kilometers to you and the stilettos.

[car_guy1998]

Bit late to the party!

But, anyways, congrats on getting the Seltos and man, the Seltos looks hot in black!

The Seltos might score 3 stars in GNCAP but, still, this is the car that impresses the youth more due to its looks as well as features, even after the launch of new Creta.

Recently, one of my close friends had bought the same version as yours in white colour, replacing their 2014 Honda City Diesel, despite having a 2017 Creta Diesel AT at home.

And, one question, Kitna Deti Hai? As we are also considering the Seltos by replacing our Innova, the FE factor is the most important one for us while purchasing a car.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by car_guy1998

And, one question, Kitna Deti Hai? As we are also considering the Seltos by replacing our Innova, the FE factor is the most important one for us while purchasing a car.

Sorry for the delay in responding, things were a bit crazy at home...

The range on a fully topped off tank shows around 460 km with city driving but it goes up to 640 or so on the highway. I guess that's between 10-15 km/litre. It's decent, especially since I doubt the turbo petrol would deliver anything remotely close- probably single digit FE. With fuel prices touching the stratosphere, every little bit helps.

Incidentally I just finished my 6 month/5000 km free service. The nice thing about the Kia services so far is that they have actually been free. Nothing substantial except the TPMS indicator acting up again. Their "solution" was to inflate the pressure to 35 psi across all tyres, that too with air instead of N2

I need to take a drive to a picturesque spot and take some nice pics of the Seltos some time. Other than that, not much to report: the experience has been largely positive. There was some rattling in the back seat but turned out that it was a loose parcel tray once and the seat itself had not slotted neatly in place another time. We did a couple of long drives, once with a driver, and the backseat experience was extremely pleasant. Car has completed around 6700 km now without incident (touch wood!)

[car_guy1998]

Good to know that the rear-seat experience was extremely pleasant. I guess the rear suspension is not an issue in the Seltos as its suspension is harder than the Creta, which is tuned for comfort. Since we are replacing our 10-year-old Innova soon, we are planning to get a new 5 seater crossover (we don't need a 7 seater anymore) and we are considering the Seltos along with the Harrier and the Creta as well.

And, our main requirements are, the car should have decent if not a good amount of space in the rear seat as the car is driven by chauffeur most of the time, as well as practicality along with decent engine performance with good FE and mainly, we need an AT car as I'm moving out of India in another few months for my higher studies so that my dad can drive easily within the city limits if we get an AT car. And, I feel that the Seltos would meet our requirements easily and the icing on the cake is the Kia service center is closer to our house.

Though I like the new Creta, still, I feel the Seltos is much better in terms of looks.

[JoshMachine]

I may be one of the last on this forum to say this, many congrats to you

Kudos on owning one of the most desirable cars in the segment!
Went through your entire ownership thread in one go. Came out very crisp, loved it. Will keep watching this space.

Glad to know that you stay close to the KIA showroom off the Pune-B'lore highway. I am also not far off, stay in Warje. Let's catch up sometime.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by noopster

I need to take a drive to a picturesque spot and take some nice pics of the Seltos some time.

Finally managed to do a longish drive to the hills with the family last weekend.






A little iPhone filtering for an old-world feel:



And finally, something the teenager cooked up on her Snapchat filter :


The car has run over 7000 km now and the 1-year/10K service is coming up in a couple of months time. No issues as such, touch wood!

[noopster]

First anniversary came and went in the end of November. However the service reminder for the 1 year/10,000 km service didn't get triggered, probably because it was reset at the 6 month servicing (check-up really). The car completed 10,000 km somewhere at the start of the new year, and the reminder promptly appeared. I called them for an appointment on the 6th but the earliest they could give me was 2 weeks later (claiming some manpower shortage). I chose a Saturday (the 21st of January) and got a confirmed appointment. The day before, during the final confirmation call, the lady offered me a free pickup and drop from home which I eagerly accepted.

They asked me to list any issues and apart from the disc brakes locking onto the wheel when the car is started first thing in the morning and a slight rattling of the parcel tray, I couldn't think of anything. The SA who picked the car up assured me that the former was normal and promised to fix the latter. Asked if anything else was the matter and I said the engine had been sounding a bit gruff of late but nothing that a proper service wouldn't fix.

They dropped it back the same evening and the final amount was actually less than the service estimate amount provided by the SA earlier, which is always a pleasant feeling. I was happy to know that Kia did not charge for any labour at all, just parts and like-to-like, the cost of spares seemed at least half of what VW charges (my other car is a Vento). The total bill, after they waived the pickup/drop charges as promised, came to just under 3K, which is great! My Vento always comes back with an annual bill for 7-10K, though that is for a 15,000 km service interval.

Attaching the bill here: it's a straight oil filter, air filter and engine oil swap plus they took care of the rattly parcel tray too. Overall a pain-free experience and the car is running fine now.

[Bluey]

Hi Noop

I am looking to replace my Vento Highline Diesel with another.
The only reason to do so is the Vento diesel's proverbial heavy clutch. So looking to buy an Automatic.
I am dilly dallying between the Taigun 1.0 TSI Highline Auto and the Seltos HTK+ Diesel Auto.
My average yearly usage is well within 7000 -8000 KM.
What would be your suggestion?

Thanks
Bluey

[noopster]

Originally Posted by Bluey

I am dilly dallying between the Taigun 1.0 TSI Highline Auto and the Seltos HTK+ Diesel Auto.
My average yearly usage is well within 7000 -8000 KM.
What would be your suggestion?

With these modern diesel engines I don't think "daily running" and "high maintenance" are relevant anymore. I would say go for the Seltos because it's an overall much better put-together car than the Taigun. I feel VW has cut corners to land the Taigun in the price bracket they have, which is something you will probably experience yourself. One thing about Kia's products so far is that none of them feel built-to-a-price.

Taigun (or its Skoda cousin the Kushaq) wasn't out when I bought my car so it was not a consideration but the T-ROC/Karoq do match up (and even exceed in some departments) the Seltos. If you can stretch the extra 8-10L then that would be a plan! Another one I'd suggest you at least TD is the MG Astor. If you can get over the Chinese connection, I believe it does offer better value, including more safety, than the Seltos.

Good luck with your new purchase!

[noopster]

Two years of ownership up and time for the 2 year/20,000 km service. Called up Crystal Kia and set up an appointment for the first Saturday of February. Coincidentally the car was in a fender bender the day before the scheduled service so it had to go for a body shop visit first. My zero-dep policy took care of the damages, then they sent it to the Kia service centre across the road for the routine paid service.

It was more expensive than I expected. The initial quote was around 11,500/- but I probed and discovered that they'd included a deep clean and wheel alignment/balancing in that so dropped those out. Later they found out that the wipers weren't cleaning properly, something I'd noticed but had forgotten about. So the final bill came to around 8800/-

Car felt good after delivery- they had shrink-wrapped everything and for some reason it still retains its new-car smell. I took it for wheel alignment & balancing at a place called Sadguru Wheels near my place and they did a competent job at 950/- They offered to wash and vaccuum my car for 350/- so I took them up on that.

Some pics of the car, now at around 21,250 km:

[noopster]

Haven't updated in a while- car is now 4 years old and about 45,000 km done. Got the 4 year service done in November and Kia also offered a complimentary "general checkup" in February which I took up.

Everything seems fine except for an annoying rattle from the passenger side vanity mirror housing. My stock tyres need to be replaced before the monsoons start. Goodyear Assurance has been good but will shop around for some other brands as well.

4 years in, overall experience with this car has been very positive. It's a comfortable cruiser with the right amount of bells and whistles. Engine is reliable and frugal, not exactly a stonker but keeps up well on the open road. Good for family road trips and office commutes alike.