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Kia Seltos GT Line DCT replaces my Ford Ecosport: Likes & Dislikes

13th January 2024, 16:00 by Brij Gawde

While neither my Ecosport or Sonet are any slouches, Seltos even in Eco mode would easily smoke both.

BHPian 07CR recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I bought the GT Line DCT Seltos on 20-12-2023. Seltos has replaced my Ecosport S TDCI. I also have a Sonet HTX iMT Turbo P. Would be comparing Seltos with these as well. I recently completed a 600~ KM trip and here are initial impressions-

The bad-

Headlights are average. With foglamps ON, it is above average, and on highways without the dividers, the oncoming traffic's high beams will blind you. Spread is good, intensity could have been better.
Mood lights could also have been linked to drive modes (Like the Carens), currently only the cluster is linked.
Front sunshades could have been longer/adjustable, as they leave out some space.
Instrument cluster shows navigation directions spectacularly with multiple views for onboard maps. Unfortunately Android Auto's google maps can't be shown here.
For a car that is this well loaded, it could have had a cooled glovebox or atleast an illuminated one. Also miss my Ecosport's puddle lamps.
Kia could have provided memory seat for driver and electric seat for passenger seat as well ( I know I am asking too much

The great-

The engine has some serious punch. While neither my Ecosport or Sonet are any slouches, Seltos even in Eco mode would easily smoke both.
DCT response times are satisfactory for me. I am not generally a pedal to the throttle guy, but won't count myself as an extremely sedate driver as well.
Coming from a 17 inch Ecosport, I found the ride quality to be extremely absorbent. My family hates extremely soft suspensions, so this felt extremely mature suspension setup to me(be it city or highway). There is also a markedly improvement compared to the 2019 Seltos I had driven. That said, I would say the Carens still has about 20% better ride quality (City) than the Seltos.
Wife liked the recline function of the rear seats. She was happy with the amount of bottles the door bottle holders could gobble up (6-8)!
Chiller of an AC. Rear sunblinds and dark sunshade cover of sunroof help even more.
Space inside is more than adequate for me. Be it shoulder room, or the legroom. Rear underthigh support could have been bit better for taller
(6 ft plus) occupants, but rear occupants in my family are 4'11 and 5'1, so its been great for them.
NVH is just spectacular. Start Stop system works seemlessly and the passengers rarely understand when the car switched OFF and turn ON again.
Coming to the features, the car is loaded and how! I found the blind spot monitor (instrument cluster display) and adaptive cruise control along with Lane follow assist the best features from ADAS.I have also tried adaptive cruise in city conditions and it works brilliantly. Ventilated seats work silently and the dual zone AC also works as intended. EPB with Auto Hold is another gem of a feature many manufacturers ignore. Few people might think that the car has just gimmicky features, but I beg to differ. There are a few gimmicky one's like the traction modes, sequential indicators, auto high beam assist etc. But the useful features list is just too long.
For the power available on tap, the efficiency is spectacular. Mind you the odometer stands at just 675 KMS. My 584 kms Pune-Solapur-Akkalkot-Pune trip yielded me a 14.7 KMPL on the MID. This includes drives through Pune city, highway with lot of slow moving traffic, a 45 min traffic jam (extended weekend and construction work) and what not! On the return stretch which has a slight incline (climbing from plains of Akkalkot to the plateau of Pune), it yielded an even better 15.0 KMPL. I had set the cruise to 89 KMPH (90 is the speed limit), and the car was driven in ECO and normal modes for 95% of the time. Sports was used rest of the time, but considering the extended weekend traffic I found this mode to be an overkill.

Time for some pics-

Gleaming on the delivery day!

Somewhere on the Pune-Solapur highway

Blindspot warning is very useful. This warning is available on mirror as well as instrument cluster in the ADAS view.

Lane follow assist works extremely accurately even on half marked roads. Relieves a lot of stress on long journeys as the car keeps in centre of the lanes and steers itself.