[yedukrishnan199]

Kia Seltos Faclift GTX+ Diesel AT Review

Introduction

The Kia Seltos had been on my shortlist ever since its launch but with the launch of the facelift it's intrigue grew even more. I had been in search of a compact SUV since 2022 but one or more reasons prevented me from taking the plunge. I had test driven every car in the compact SUV space with each one being rejected for one or the other reasons.

Pros of the Kia Seltos GTX+ Diesel AT

1. Loaded to the Brim with Features.
2. Refined and Frugal Diesel motor mated to a smooth 6-speed Torque Converter AT.
3. Planted ride with body roll well under control.
4. Excellent fit and finish and interior quality.
5. Level 2 ADAS helps a lot, especially on the highway and marked roads.

Cons of the Kia Seltos GTX+ Diesel AT

1. The Diesel isn't the most powerful at only 116 hp.
2. GTX+ variant is quite pricey at Rs. 19,79,900/- ex-showroom.
3. No wireless Android Auto or Apple CarPlay in an otherwise connected car
4. Firm suspension isn't the best on bad roads.
5. All Black cabin feels claustrophobic.

Options Considered

The cars I had considered and the reasons for each getting rejected are as follows:
1. Jeep Compass
Jeep's future in India didn't seem too promising and with the constant price hikes over the years the car didn't seem to be value for money, moreover, the Diesel AT was only available in the 4x4 guise which wasn't a necessity for me. All factors considered I decided to strike it out from the list, even though I was impressed with the car after the test drive.

2. Tata Harrier
It seemed a promising car but constant issues of niggles were reported in my friends' circle and Tata after-sales didn't have a great reputation in my city either, and dropped from the list.

3. Mahindra XUV700
My cousin has the same car and he is happy with it, so decided not to go with it, moreover, we didn't need the 7 seats nor were happy with the AX 5 Vaiant which came with 5 seats. Dropped from the list.

4. MG Hector
My Family's aversion towards Chinese cars made me drop the MGHector from the list even though it was a good car.

5. Hyundai Creta
Not a fan of the looks of the current-gen Creta, and moreover the Seltos looked better in my eyes, an impending facelift launch and not being happy with owning a car that is due for a facelift in hardly 6 months all contributed to leaving the Creta off my list.

6. Skoda Kushaq/ VW Taigun
Both came with great offers for the 1.5 DSG but were eliminated after the family felt they appeared smaller than their size, The general decline in quality over the previous generation Skoda/VW's was also evident.

7. Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara/ Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder
Only the Hybrids were considered but were dropped after the family didn't approve of the quality of the materials in the cabin and the abundance of part sharing with cheaper Maruti models.

8. Honda Elevate
It felt like a compromise and overall seemed to be an inferior car to the Honda City we already own.

Finalizing Variant and Trim

So finally, all that was left was the Kia Seltos facelift, and by god's grace everyone in the family absolutely loved it, so when the news of the facelift started making the rounds, I immediately made a booking with the Incheon Kia dealership in Thrissur, with the token amount of Rs.25,000 and the waiting began. I finally went for the GTX+ Diesel AT variant in Gravity Grey and the car definitely looks great in this shade. However, finalizing the Diesel AT was a tough task as there were different opinions all around regarding the Diesel ban, low power of diesel, and what not, moreover, the Diesel AT and Turbo Petrol DCT were priced exactly the same, so it further resulted in discussions among the family on which fuel to go for, initially we had booked the Turbo Petrol DCT but after having a test drive, I felt the Turbo Petrol DCT was a bit of an overkill for my use case, moreover mileage wasn't great as a reported by the sales personnel, moreover, a few friends who owned the Verna and Alcazar in the same engine-gearbox combo also confirmed the same and encouraged me to go for the diesel and the family agreed on it too, so immediately called up the dealership to proceed with the change.

Booking, Price and Accessories

The experience from the dealership from booking to delivery was absolutely seamless and the sales executives regularly updated me with the details of the car, expected delivery timelines, and features of the car. I got a test drive immediately within the week of the official launch and I was immediately sold on the car. The price of the car ex-showroom was Rs. 19,79,900 and it came to Rs. 24,16,852 on-road in Kerala. we, however, opted for Kia's My Convenience Plus Luxury Package as well which provided us with the triple benefits of a 5-year maintenance package, an Extended warranty with 5 years' coverage, and 5-year Roadside assistance as well. Along with this a few accessories like a side step, premium dual layer mats, boot mats, body side molding, side fenders, and an underbody coating jacked the price up to over twenty-five lakh rupees, however, for what it offers, I definitely feel it is worth the price paid. The car was delivered on time as expected and we were treated to an extensive delivery ceremony by the dealership. I literally got goosebumps and was absolutely overjoyed to get my hands on my brand-new car.

Initial Impressions

The initial impressions are great. The car is definitely a looker with a bold stance, tall 18-inch tyres, and excellent styling all around. The elegantly designed cuts and lines, the connected tail lights sequential turn signals, a big and bold front grill, DRLs, and fog lights all add to the imposing nature of the car.

Space, Features and Praciticality

The car is practical with lots of spaces to store your stuff including cup holders, bottle holders in the doors, phone charging spaces, and so on. The boot is large at 433 litres and can hold more than enough luggage for a weekend trip or for ferrying luggage to the airport. The features in the car are definitely the talk of the town with almost everything you could ask for in this budget. The wireless charging pad with cooling function, drive, and traction control modes, electronic parking brake with auto hold, 360-degree camera, dual 10.25-inch screens, ventilated front seats, dual-zone climate control, voice commands, panoramic sunroof, Kia Connect, Air purifier and Bose sound system provide you with a wholesome experience and make you feel like you are in a car from a class above. The safety features in the car are also top-notch with 6 airbags standard, ABS, EBD, VSM, TPMS, TCS, ESP, Hill Hold Control, Hill Descent Control, ADAS, and a lot more as a part of the package.

The fit, finish, and quality levels in the car are also up to segment standards and you won't feel anything cheap in the car. The space at the back is adequate for three average-sized adults with everyone getting their own headrests as well. The rear occupants also get a charging port with USB-C, sunshades, rear AC vents, and an armrest with cupholders as well. so the comfort levels are definitely top-notch.

Ride, Handling, and Mileage

The ride is a bit on the firmer side but it adds to the sporty nature of the car, however, I feel it is definitely much better than the pre-facelift version with the facelift offering a more mature suspension setup. The steering is light at slower speeds but builds up weight as you pick up the pace which definitely is confidence-inspiring, the car keeps its composure even on twisted roads and feels planted with body roll well contained.

The mileage has been great so far with it hovering around the 19 to 20 kmpl mark while on the highways and around the 14 to 15 kmpl range in the city. The performance is adequate with the car able to build up power and pick up the pace smoothly with seamless shifts from the torque converter gearbox, The engine noise, road noise, and wind noise are well contained with the engine getting audible once you floor the throttle. it's a calm and composed mile muncher that will happily serve you well be it on the highway or in the city. I have completed around 1000 km in the car and it has been on a mix of highways, heavy traffic, pothole-filled roads, and the like, still, mileage has been more or so consistent, and within the figures mentioned above, the performance is more than adequate for our highways and roads, unless you want to go pedal to the medal or want the maximum performance out of your machine or if you live in NCR, I don't think you will be left wanting the turbo petrol DCT. The Diesel will happily serve you well with good mileage, performance, and cheaper fuel costs as well, along with a reliable, trouble-free Torque Converter AT. however, if your driving is on the lower side, Diesel isn't an option for you, and you crave performance, the Turbo Petrol DCT is the way to go.

ADAS

The most intriguing feature while driving is the Level 2 ADAS which definitely helps with all the 17 or so ADAS functions. they assist the driver while on the road with timely interventions when required. Be it Adaptive cruise control which is a boon on the highways as it steers the car ahead at an appropriate distance from the car in front, braking and accelerating in tow to maintain a fixed distance, forward collision warning which warns the driver of cars coming right at you, auto emergency braking which applies the brakes when the car senses obstacles very close by, blind-spot warning which alerts the driver of vehicles coming in from his blind spot, lane-keep assist which helps you drive perfectly within the lanes on marked roads and a host of others as well. The ADAS functions can be turned off or on at your convenience using the touchscreen infotainment system, along with customizing the level of assistance, warning sound levels, etc.

Service and Maintenance

Now, moving on to service and maintenance, with Kia introducing the My Convenience Plus package in the facelift Seltos and me opting for the same, in the Luxury package, service has been taken care of for 5 years with almost everything covered, the first service comes in 1 month or within 1000 km, the next at the 1 year mark or 10,000 km and thereafter at the second year or 20,000 km and so on till five years or 50,000 km. So far I have completed the first service within the 1 month of my ownership and it was absolutely hassle-free, with the dealership providing free pick up and drop, moreover during service, the service personnel regularly sends pictures of the car undergoing service, and you feel assured that your car is in good hands. Service costs even without the maintenance package are on the lower side and definitely won't burn a hole in your pocket.

Conclusion

Overall, the Kia Seltos facelift provides you with everything you need in a compact SUV and then some, it's loaded to the brim with features without compromising on anything noticeable as such. The drive is great, mileage is excellent, fit and finish and quality levels are top notch and it has a good amount of interior space on offer too. However, the ride is a bit firm, so it doesn't sail over bumpy roads like a softer suspension would have, there are a few omissions that Kia could have taken care of like the fixed armrest and lack of wireless Android Auto and Apple car play in the 10.25-inch infotainment system, however, despite the minor shortcomings, if you are looking for a well-rounded compact SUV in this segment, The Kia Seltos facelift should definitely be on your shortlist

A few pictures of the car during PDI, Delivery, and after:

During PDI:

Left-side Profile of the car


Right-side Profile of the car


A Closer look at the front headlights


Overall Look of the car from the left side


JK UX Royale 215/55 R18 Tyres


A Look at the Rear Profile


During Delivery:

A memento received from KEC during delivery


Finally taking the delivery of the car!


After a few hundred kilometres:

Front Profile


Rear Profile


Right Front Three-Quarter


Left Side Profile


Left Front Three-Quarter


Right Side Profile


Driver side view


Passenger Side view


A View of the Rear Bench

[bijims]

Wow, Quite a nice ride you got there, and I can see you have a Sonet too! Nice, I hope you have many great miles and memories in your new Badass! It's definitely a great car.

[Raghav07]

Congratulations on your new Seltos!

Looks great in Gravity Grey! If I were to start driving, I would definitely buy a Seltos or Carens in Gravity Grey, its such a stunning color! But I think I would go for the Turbo-DCT model instead as I prefer the midrange of the turbo engine, but Diesel AT would be really good for the city and highway.

Hope you continue to post more on this thread, it would be nice if you could do a detailed interior walkaround as it would help future buyers(hopefully me) if you have the time to do so.

I wish Kia had a bit more powerful diesel engine. 115 PS is good but I think 130-140 range would suit this car better.

Once again, Congrats on your new car and wishing you many happy journeys and trips with it!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage this week

[07CR]

Great car there!

Can you share the picture of the car's interior at night. Just wanted to see how good is the ambience at night.

Even I have a Sonet, and might add a seltos in a year (or two) time.

[true_sedan]

Originally Posted by yedukrishnan199

3. Mahindra XUV700
My cousin has the same car and he is happy with it, so decided not to go with it, moreover, we didn't need the 7 seats nor were happy with the AX 5 Vaiant which came with 5 seats. Dropped from the list.

Many congratulations on your new ride! Even I’m considering the facelift Kia Seltos GTX+ diesel AT. It is loaded will enough gizmos one could ask for in a car and looks great too. But I cannot simply digest the power figures of the Seltos diesel engine. I took a test drive of the vehicle and found it to be struggling past 80kmph. The XUV700 for a similar price offered a powerful engine and a better suspension setup albeit with less features. Your decision to skip the XUV sounds intriguing because the suspension setup which happens to be on one of your cons in Kia seltos is much better sorted in the XUV. Was AX5 5 seater not having enough features the only reason not to go for the XUV700?

PS: Your reply might help put things in a perspective as I have a booking for both Seltos diesel and XUV700 with delivery expected next month. I going to cancel one and take the other. And I’m unwilling to go for the new Kia Seltos turbo petrol DCT as I already have a 1.5 turbo petrol DSG in the garage.

Cheers!

[sanjeevs]

Congrats Yedukishnan. I am looking to buy a Kia with the GDI engine, and I was just curious to know if you had test-driven the car and if the sales representative gave any real-world mileage figures.
I would prefer to get a smoother/ silent engine given that we already have a Diesel car in the house, and my running per year will be around 10K.

[yedukrishnan199]

Originally Posted by true_sedan

Many congratulations on your new ride! Even I’m considering the facelift Kia Seltos GTX+ diesel AT. It is loaded will enough gizmos one could ask for in a car and looks great too. But I cannot simply digest the power figures of the Seltos diesel engine. I took a test drive of the vehicle and found it to be struggling past 80kmph. The XUV700 for a similar price offered a powerful engine and a better suspension setup albeit with less features. Your decision to skip the XUV sounds intriguing because the suspension setup which happens to be on one of your cons in Kia seltos is much better sorted in the XUV. Was AX5 5 seater not having enough features the only reason not to go for the XUV700?

PS: Your reply might help put things in a perspective as I have a booking for both Seltos diesel and XUV700 with delivery expected next month. I going to cancel one and take the other. And I’m unwilling to go for the new Kia Seltos turbo petrol DCT as I already have a 1.5 turbo petrol DSG in the garage.

Cheers!

First of all, almost everyone who is going to drive this car in my family are quite a sedate drivers, no one has the thirst for performance, and most of them consider frugality to be a must, except me of course, who doesn't mind a bit of fun with the car.

To add to that, my family members aren't the best fans of Mahindra and Tata and feel they still don't have the best fit, finish, and quality levels to match the price they are selling at. Moreover, they felt the Diesel XUV700 isn't the quietest around either. After-sales of Mahindra in our area, as reported by my cousin who bought one is quite poor. auto-dimming IRVM, ventilated seats, paddle shifters, ambient lighting, and rear sunblinds are all missing in the XUV700, even in the fully loaded trims. To add to that, the sheer size of the vehicle and a few niggles reported by other friends and relatives, made us shy away from the car.

Yes, although the suspension is on the firmer side in the Seltos, it has its benefits too, it is great on the highway, moreover, it has improved much over the pre-facelift and it is evident in the way it rides even with the larger wheels.

All things considered, the few missing features, not feeling the necessity for a more powerful diesel, the size of the car, niggles reported, and poor after-sales, together contributed to the decision not to go for the XUV700.

My cousin's XUV700 AX7L Diesel AT

Originally Posted by sanjeevs

Congrats Yedukishnan. I am was looking to buy Kia with the GDI engine and I was just curious to know if you had test driven the car and did the sales representative give any real time mileage figures ?
My requirement will be to go smoother engine given that I have 1 Diesel in the house and my running per year will be around 10K.

Yes, I had test-driven both the Diesel AT and the Turbo-Petrol DCT, The Turbo DCT is a fine performer, but in stop-and-go traffic, and at slower speeds it does get a bit jerky. Moreover, I felt that the refinement of the diesel was top-notch and the diesel powertrain with the TC Automatic gearbox felt smoother than the DCT in some instances.

Now as regards mileage, the mileage figures reported by both the KEC and a friend of mine who bought his Kia Seltos X-Line DCT in July end itself turned about to be in the 9 to 10 kmpl range in the city and maximum 14 to 15 kmpl, range on the highway, so far. I myself have never seen single-digit mileage in my Seltos so far and I feel for the highway cruisers who need refinement and mileage ad don't need outright performance, the diesel will do just fine. But for those who crave performance over everything else, the Turbo Petrol DCT is the way to go.

[bijims]

Originally Posted by yedukrishnan199

[h3][b]
The price of the car ex-showroom was Rs. 19,79,900 and it came to Rs. 24,16,852 on-road in Kerala. we, however, opted for Kia's My Convenience Plus Luxury Package as well which provided us with the triple benefits of a 5-year maintenance package, an Extended warranty with 5 years' coverage, and 5-year Roadside assistance as well. Along with this a few accessories like a side step, premium dual layer mats, boot mats, body side molding, side fenders, and an underbody coating jacked the price up to over twenty-five lakh rupees, however, for what it offers, I definitely feel it is worth the price paid.

I see that you have mentioned an on-road price of Rs.24,16,852 and the price with My Convenience Plus and Accessories came to well over Rs.25,00,000. Do you have a breakup of the costs and the prices of the accessories, it could be of much help to others as well. Thanks!

[yedukrishnan199]

Originally Posted by bijims

I see that you have mentioned an on-road price of Rs.24,16,852 and the price with My Convenience Plus and Accessories came to well over Rs.25,00,000. Do you have a breakup of the costs and the prices of the accessories, it could be of much help to others as well. Thanks!

I have attached the detailed breakup of the final price of the car, along with the list of accessories I have gotten as well, I wanted a few more accessories but they were not in stock at the time of delivery, the dealership had assured me that they would make them available soon and that I could get them fitted during my first service, but then I felt I will have a look at these later and if they are necessary, request them then.

Here is the Final Price


This is the list of accessories available




Hope it Helps!

[bhavesh995]

Congratulations, Looks amazing in this color. How is the suspension and ride quality compared to your Sonet ? Since I can get Seltos mid variant in the price of a Sonet Top Model if the ride is better.

[yedukrishnan199]

The Suspension in the New Seltos is definitely much better, and it handles bad roads much better than the Sonet too, The ride quality even with these 18-inch wheels is good, so in the mid variants, with 17-inch wheels, it definitely won't be an issue.

However, Kia has made some adjustments to the 2023 Sonet as compared to the Sonet at the time of launch and therefore, If you are indeed considering both, do a test drive of both back to back. However, with the Sonet due for a facelift in the coming months, Kia would more likely than not improve on many of its shortcomings.

[Krishnan83]

Hi Yedu -- am from Palakkad and seriously considering the newly launched GTX Diesel AT (few features missing but one lakh less than GTX+) - how's your ownership now after almost an year? Hows IncheonKia Service overall? Is there anything I should keep in mind before finalising the deal?