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Old 15th December 2021, 15:42   #1
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ZESTY - Kia Seltos HTK Plus Petrol IMT - Initial ownership report

Hello guys ,
This is my first post and I would like to thank Team-Bhp moderators/admins for approving my membership. Just completed a month ownership of my new car Kia Seltos HTK plus IMT (Intense Red colour) and loving the drive. I couldn’t find any ownership review for IMT variant of Kia Seltos during my research period, so thought it would be apt to pen down one after owning. Currently the odometer reads 1280km.

Why Kia Seltos?



Our previous ride TATA Zest was more than 6 years old and started showing typical TATA ageing signs(rusting & rattles). So the need and itch to replace the car started from the beginning of this year. We wanted an upgrade from the compact sedan so the natural option was to look for crossovers and CSUVs. Since I was out of country, asked my wife to look around for CSUV in 10-15 lakhs budget. Within few hours my wife informed me about her interest in Kia Seltos. I knew this was coming as Seltos was one best looking car around in our budget. Told her to check out other cars as well but nothing could change her decision. I found HTK plus variant to be most VFM and our driving did not merit a diesel engine(Just 24k in 6.5 years in my previous car along with wife's permanent WFH setup). Also my wife wanted an automatic(hates to use clutch/do gear changes and if needed can drive the whole city in 2nd and 3rd gear) and I was against AMT and CVT. Wanted to get TC petrol(if automatic) or manual but the offerings were not pulling the strings of the heart. Asked the wife to take test drive of the IMT variant. She took 2 test drives from different dealers, loved the car and told me that she can manage with the IMT. So IMT ticked both our requirements. I just had apprehension regarding the safety/crash ratings but was convinced by my wife saying we hardly do 1-2 road trips in a year plus in city even reaching speed of 60km/hr is hardly possible. I knew I would not be able to change her decision since she was the one paying for it. So Kia Seltos HTK plus IMT was finalised.

Buying Experience :



The whole experience was just below average. My wife booked the car in July’21 in her name with SPL Kia, Kolkata as I was out of country and there was waiting period of 19-20 weeks as quoted by the dealer as well as mentioned in booking docket. Came back in August end, went to see the car in the showroom to get the feel and told the SA for test drive in coming weeks along with my other requirements. The showroom was bustling with customers taking delivery, checking out the cars and the experience was definitely a notch above from my previous experiences of TML. I called SA next week to arrange the test drive for the particular variant but couldn’t get one as the showroom was closed on the particular day owing to local elections. This happened again for 2 times and I was given some reason or the other with the last being that the test drive car has met with major accident and the repairs would take time. Called up other dealers in the city. Either they were reluctant to provide me a test drive (may be they knew we had already booked the car) or told me the same story of car meeting an accident. Frustrated asked my SA to give me a test drive of whichever variant is available and took the test drive of HTX diesel MT next day. Instantly felt comfortable in the car and liked the handling of the car. Around Oct end got a call from my loan bank( I had already done the loan papers) that the car has been allotted. Aghast, called up my SA to confirm the same and provide me with VIN & engine no. The SA confirmed that the car has been allotted to us and gave me lame excuse of he himself getting the news now but refused to provide me with the VIN before the PDI. Meanwhile got a email from the dealer on the same day to clear payment within 4 working days otherwise the car will be allotted to someone else. I had known about this email thing from the FB groups and replied back that the payment will only be done after PDI. Did the PDI using Team-Bhp checklist, found everything perfect and noted down the VIN and engine no. Next day made the full payment(including extended warranty) except the accessories and insurance amount as I had taken the insurance from outside. Also sent mail to dealer and Kia about payment done with respect to the car with VIN and engine no. that I had done PDI but received no reply. Called the SA for confirming the VIN and engine no. so that I can have it through the official channel and I needed it for my insurance work. The VIN and engine number were provided after 2 days and on the same day got an sms from RTO that the payment has been made for registration and reg. No. will be allotted in next day. Called the SA and lambasted him. Asked him how can the car be registered without insurance details. The next day got the SMS from RTO with reg. No. and I immediately checked the VAHAN site to find wrong insurance details and error in name in RC adding more woes to the misery . The SA apologised and told me that the error will be corrected once the number plate is installed. I did not want my new car to stay with them for a single day and took the delivery in the next available opportunity on 11 NOV(exactly 4 months from date of booking). The delivery was normal affair. Wife did the paperworks, checked the documents, clicked key-handing over pic and asked for warranty cards for tire and battery to which the SA replied that they do not come with separate warranty cards and have the same warranty as the car. I knew this was completely BS but did not want to create a scene over there as it was my wife 1st car in her name and she along with my in-laws were very excited. Took the delivery of the car without number plates( they say its common in Kolkata) but booked a date from the service centre for installation as I had planned a short road trip. The SA even told me that I can drive out of the city with the registration number written on paper affixed to windshield without number plates and temp. Reg No. I was taken aback with such statement but did not wanted to argue further. Took the car straight to temple and did the customary puja.

Total Amount = 12,29,000 (ex-showroom) +12,290 (TCS) + 69,635 (registration) + 19,102(extended warranty) + 9,965 (accessory) + 500 (fast tag) + 32,430 (Insurance - TATA AIG Saphire plus with RTI addon) = Rs 13,72,922

The current market is certainly a seller’s market and the car companies are making hay while the sun shines. There was no discount provided and no free accessories. I even had to be firm when I was told that I cannot take insurance from outside. Asked this thing in official writing and then the dealer obliged.

My wife named the car "ZESTY" in the loving memory of our previous car Tata Zest. It was our 1st car, gave fuss free 6.5 years of ownership and was sold on the same day of the purchase to CARS24.


Driving Experience :



A lot has already been shared in the Team-Bhp official review and other owners' excellent ownership reports, so I will just concentrate on the IMT driving experience part.

The additions in IMT variant from the regular HTK plus petrol variant are ACC, Electric Sunroof, Premium Beige Fabric Seats & LED cabin lamps. A 40k ex-showroom difference between the 2 variants is clearly justified. The Smartstream G1.5 L NA engine is purely meant for sedate driving. Period. Coming from turbo 1.2L Revotron engine of TATA Zest , the first few kms of driving was little underwhelming along with first time experience of using IMT (remember no test drive of IMT) was something new in my 10 years of driving experience. But soon after, got accustomed to the engine characteristics and the transmission. The power delivery is linear and the driving is pure bliss in city traffic. But gone are the days of sprinting from the traffic signals, looking back at the trailing traffic even though if these instances were few. You win some, You lose some. IMT is a boon in city and my left leg is thanking me mercilessly after the purchase. The engine will only start with gear in neutral and brake pressed. If not, one gets a warning in MID. Slot in the 1st gear and one can easily crawl at around 7-10 km/h. One can also start moving from 2nd gear itself in stop and go traffic. The IMT gives a low sound and notification alarm in MID to shift to lower gears if engine is not in the higher gear. I have usually experienced this when the car is in 3rd gear and I have to reduce my speed for taking turns or when the car is in higher gear and I stop at traffic signals. Apart from these two situations, never faced the alarm. During taking turns when the alarm comes, the engines doesn’t stall but there is no power delivered and I feel its better to shift down than to increase the rpm in the same gear which can also remove the alarm but cannot fully confirm(I tried it once but did not like engine sound during the procedure). The IMT is basically a manual without the clutch. Till now have I haven't experienced any problem with gear shifts and shifts are quite smooth compared to my previous ride. The manual says that there could be a sense of obstruction when accelerating and changing gear for the IMT variant but I haven't experienced any such condition. My only problem with IMT in this particular variant is that it doesn’t come with Hill Hold Assist. I believe the Sonet IMT comes with one( I may be wrong) and KIA should have provided it in the elder sibling as well. But for experienced drivers that's not much of a problem. One can use the handbrake technique and prevent the roll back on inclines. I have experienced that on relatively small inclines, a mere more pressing the accelerator after releasing brake does the job and the car doesn't roll back but the distance from the front car has to be kept in mind. On higher/steep inclines, the car does roll about half a meter back when not using the hand brake technique and relying on the acceleration method. The engine is refined and NVH levels are satisfying. My car was delivered with Goodyear tires with 43 psi but I purposely did not lower them as wanted to get a feel of the suspension at higher tire pressure. Changed it to recommended pressure during the first visit to filling station after a fortnight. The change in the driving experience can be felt. The suspension became softer and the potholes and undulation of the road are now less felt. It is still not perfect but certainly not bone charring and the car is comfortable to drive. I had planned for a road trip once i got the news of the car being allotted. Did a 3 day Shantiniketan/Bolpur 400km round trip to experience the car in highways and the car performed flawlessly. Highway manners were commendable and overtakes were easily carried out. The cruise control on the highway and IMT in the city areas really helped in the driving. The ACC chills the car pretty fast but during hot days one has to keep the temperature setting at 22 deg or below for rear vents to blow cool air. This causes problem to front car dwellers if they are little cold intolerant (like me). This is a commonly reported problem in Seltos. Rear comfort was good for the trip. The whole trip with 5 people on board and 3 day luggage returned a surprisingly good figure of 18km/l (shown in MID) including a Sunday of heavy traffic in Shantiniketan. I am getting around 13km/l (again MID figure) in the city(though not in B2B traffic) which I am ok with . I am yet to calculate the mileage using the full tank method.

Service Experience :



- I went to SPL Kia SC(https://g.page/spl-kia-service-center-kolkata?share) for getting the number plate installed on 19-Nov as booked. The approach road(if it may be called so) to this SC is horrible and potholes are comparable to the craters on the moon. I was attended to immediately and SA was allotted. Told him about the reason for the visit and enquired about underbody anti rust coating. Liked the option and price that was quoted and advised him to proceed with the job. The status of the job could be checked using the link provided through sms when job card is opened. It took around 3 hrs and car was decently cleaned inside out. The SA did try to upsell the body anti-rust coating but I politely refused.

- Got the first service done(1month/1000km) on 6th of this month from Celica Kia, Kolkata SC (https://g.page/kia-service?share)(near to where I reside) which was usual checking but was charged Rs. 615 for windshield washer fluid and some other stuff. I knew I was being taken for a ride but the service was prompt, so did not bother to enquire further. I was again promptly attended to and SA quickly assigned but this time no link through sms was provided for checking the status. No extra service/work was insisted by SA maybe because of the 1st service.

The SPL Kia SC is almost out of the city(Batanagar, Kolkata) but with a slightly larger setup area. Both the SC have proper lounges for owners along with coffee/tea refreshments. At SPL Kia SC, I was upgraded to wait in their large meeting room all to ourselves when I made an apprehension for lounges being a bit crowded and was even offered cake, sweets and patties during lunch hours(may be because my wife was accompanying me). This was clearly way better than service I had received at TMSCs for my previous car in the city.
Note : Both the SC has dedicated premium customer service section for Kia Carnival owners.

Dislikes/Problem faced :



- The barely 3 star rating received in GNCAP crash test. This doesn't install confidence in the owners and certainly makes me more conscious while driving.
- The headlight of the car is just not good enough for the highways. I did the night drive from Kolkata to Shantiniketan and had to be extra careful. This is the first modification I have in mind. Looking to upgrade to 35W 4300k HID setup but not able to find reputed resource for doing the same. The Team-Bhp directory for Kolkata is certainly not helpful in this regard as compared to other metropolitan cities. Hopefully will be able to connect fellow members from the city and get some clarity.
- The driver control switches on the door are not back-lit and it is very difficult to operate in night times. Even after a month of ownership, I am operating wrong windows and wrongly operating the car lock/unlock buttons which sometimes becomes embarrassing in front of relatives/parking attendants. One of the owner had got fluorescent stickers from Aliexpress but that avenue is closed now. So requesting other owners if they have any DIY/ solution for the same.
- Lack of auto IRVM. Though it is not much of a problem but would have been great if it was provided at this price point as the car comes with auto headlights and rain sensing wipers.


Modification/Accessories :



- Got anti-rust underbody coating as I live in Kolkata and my previous ride had started to develop rust in underbody and below the doors ( TML quality and my car cleaning guy may be the culprits) . Did Meguiars underbody and silencer anti rust coating during SPL Kia SC visit for installing number plates. Celica Kia offers 3M service for almost the same price.
- Accessories : Boot mat, Window chrome beading, Head light chrome, Door handle chrome, Fog light chrome(wife loves chrome ), mud flaps , 3d mats , Steering cover , Rear windshield cover(All from showroom).

Conclusion :


All in all, our one month ownership of "ZESTY" has been very satisfying. Hoping for same fuss-free ownership like my previous ride. I intend to keep it for as long as I can but know the 7 year itch may bite again. Ending the post with a pic of our ride taken by my better half just for posting here.

ZESTY - Kia Seltos HTK Plus Petrol IMT - Initial ownership report-img_2538.jpg

Apologies in advance for not posting more images as I hardly click pictures and am camera shy person myself. This is my first post and a small, humble attempt on writing an ownership review which I know is quite lacklustre in comparison to the excellent reports that I have been reading for the past 6 years. Kindly consider any errors in the post.

PS: Note to moderators : Kindly merge this thread with the official review one if you think this does not merit a separate thread of its own.
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Old 25th January 2022, 00:26   #2
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Re: ZESTY - Kia Seltos HTK Plus Petrol IMT - Initial ownership report

Whaaat ?!
Just one picture ?!

I am planning to buy HTK+ iMT version too - just going through various feedback/posts of users for this specific variant.

It would be a change for me though - moving from Ciaz Diesel to Petrol. ( https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...60-000-km.html (Maruti Ciaz ZDi+ SHVS - Ownership Review at 60,000 km!) )

Can you pls share some more details on tank to tank mileage and any more negatives which you can think of ?

PS - second choice if this is not finalised is Maruti XL6...good 2.25L cheaper approx.
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Old 25th January 2022, 14:11   #3
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Re: ZESTY - Kia Seltos HTK Plus Petrol IMT - Initial ownership report

Quote:
Originally Posted by ptaneja View Post
Whaaat ?!
Just one picture ?!

I am planning to buy HTK+ iMT version too - just going through various feedback/posts of users for this specific variant.

It would be a change for me though - moving from Ciaz Diesel to Petrol. ( https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...60-000-km.html (Maruti Ciaz ZDi+ SHVS - Ownership Review at 60,000 km!) )

Can you pls share some more details on tank to tank mileage and any more negatives which you can think of ?

PS - second choice if this is not finalised is Maruti XL6...good 2.25L cheaper approx.
For me, buying this variant has been one of the most sensible decision i have taken. Did a 800 km weekend round trip to small hilly area which comprised of 50% highway, 25% intercity and 25% hill roads with decent steep and numerous V bends. The car performed flawlessly during the whole trip. Not once did the car felt underpowered during climbing the hills and body roll was minimal.Got only 2 opportunities(thanks to OMICRON) to calculate tank to tank mileage out of which one was for the above trip and other for the city drive. The highway trip T2T mileage was 17.2 kmpl and the city drive gave me 12.8 kmpl. Both calculations were done using fuelio app.

Do take a longish TD of the variant before finalising as you are changing from diesel engine and will certainly feel the lack of torque in the NA petrol engine.

Apart from the cons i have mentioned in my ownership post, following negatives have been experienced in my 2 months ownership:
1. Good amount of tyre noise coming in the cabin when doing decent speed>100km/h. I believe this is due to low quality goodyear tyres which my car came with.
2. The gear lever becomes a little hard to slot when accelerating and changing gears, which otherwise is butter smooth. The same has been mentioned in the manual also and I confirmed it with SC guys.
3. Vibration in the brake when applying over loose gravels/broken roads/potholes. This is a common issue in all variants of Kia Seltos and reported by owners in FB groups. The SC guys attribute it to the ABS but I haven't experienced such behaviour due to ABS in my previous car. Also there is no indication in MID about the ABS during the whole process. However, the brakes perform as they are meant to do. No complains in that department.

Hoping I was of little help in finalising your next ride. Apologies again for only 1 pic. Compensating for the same with some pics clicks from the trip.

ZESTY - Kia Seltos HTK Plus Petrol IMT - Initial ownership report-img_2612.jpg
Yours Truly

ZESTY - Kia Seltos HTK Plus Petrol IMT - Initial ownership report-img_2657.jpg
Sunset at Upper Dam, Ayodhya Hills

ZESTY - Kia Seltos HTK Plus Petrol IMT - Initial ownership report-img_2671.jpg
Morning at Kushal Palli resort, Ayodhya Hills
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Old 28th January 2022, 21:35   #4
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Re: ZESTY - Kia Seltos HTK Plus Petrol IMT - Initial ownership report

I have also booked the 1.5 NA HTX IVT.
Was worried if the 1.5NA would be sufficient, but took two test drives and some feedback from fellow BHPins and I think this engine is enough for me.
Coming from a 1.2 NA Petrol Hyundai i20 which I used for 11 years, the 1.5 NA feels more than adequate for my driving style.

Booked it on 1st Dec, still no sign of the car. Dealer says Feb end
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Old 13th March 2022, 21:04   #5
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Re: ZESTY - Kia Seltos HTK Plus Petrol IMT - Initial ownership report

Quote:
Originally Posted by Abhishek_Nikam View Post
I have also booked the 1.5 NA HTX IVT.
Was worried if the 1.5NA would be sufficient, but took two test drives and some feedback from fellow BHPins and I think this engine is enough for me.
Coming from a 1.2 NA Petrol Hyundai i20 which I used for 11 years, the 1.5 NA feels more than adequate for my driving style.

Booked it on 1st Dec, still no sign of the car. Dealer says Feb end
Hi Abhishek - did you get the car? My brother had booked the Diesel automatic in November and the variant is now discontinued after all this wait. The dealer is asking him to look at the IMT but isn't committing on a delivery timeframe.

Would be good if you could let me know how long is it taking to get the IMT in Pune. Also, how is your experience with the car as we aren't fully convinced yet
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Old 20th March 2024, 19:05   #6
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Re: ZESTY - Kia Seltos HTK Plus Petrol IMT - Initial ownership report

Hey 👋🏻, how much did the Tata Zest sell for on CARS 24? Was the resale value provided for the car enough according to you?
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