Story of a new Kia Seltos Diesel AT GTX Plus coming home

Bought home a new Kia Seltos Diesel AT GTX Plus on the auspicious occasion of Mahashivratri (8th March 2024).

BHPians, pleased to share that I bought home my new KIA Seltos diesel AT GTX plus on the auspicious occasion of Mahashivratri (8th March 2024). A big thanks to teambhp forum & the posts of many experts here, as it made my decision-making process that much easier.

Sharing my buying experience & review of this car which should hopefully help more folks like me to take an informed decision on whether to buy this car or not & various other aspects about it - I am writing about my car buying experience & its review after >7 years so there is some obvious excitement but I will try to state my comments & observations as objectively as possible (although some aspects would be subjective).

Background - I have been using a Creta Diesel MT anniversary edition (SX plus) for the past ~7 years so it will be the reference for justifying a change & reason for buying a new car.

I live & work in Mumbai & all my travel is by road. Due to the ever-increasing traffic in the city, I’d been contemplating for the past few years to switch to an AT (for the first time after driving various manual cars for almost 30 years - As you grow older you tend to give more importance to convenience & practicality vs excitement & control).

Top priorities / my expectations / must haves in the new car – AT due to reasons mentioned above, efficiency on daily running costs (~60 kms daily), feature loaded (including level 2 ADAS), quality of product (fitment, etc), ageless design, service reliability, fun to drive & panoramic sunroof.

Cars considered 

Scorpio, XUV 700

Body roll, too big / butch for my taste, reported reliability issues

MG Astor / Taigun / Kushaq

Lack of diesel option meant that these options had to be dropped at the initial stage due to efficiency reasons.

Honda Elevate

Positives – Good space management, VFM, comfortable ride, extremely practical, efficient petrol engine.

Negatives – No diesel, Lack of panoramic sunroof, level 2 ADAS unavailable, front grill looks overdone – too large looking as if the mouth is split wide open. Cabin is nice but did not feel luxurious.

MG Hector

Positives – Loads of space

Negatives – No AT in diesel, low efficiency, maneuverability was average with some evident body roll & few parts in the cabin were not of top-notch quality.

Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder / Maruti Grand Vitara

Positives – Good efficiency in petrol & excellent in hybrid, reliability & service of both Toyota & Maruti, Good features

Negatives – Petrol seems underpowered & hybrid leads to loss of boot space. Internal & external design is above average (doesn’t invoke a wow expression on any front)

Tata Harrier 

Positives – Space, safety, awesome looks, chassis from the house of Land Rover, good implementation of ambient light, comfortable ride.

Negatives - Low efficiency, fit and finish not upto the mark, QC seems to be an issue at few places (experienced during visit to showroom & also various users have raised concerns), feedback on servicing not upto the mark, price of top model was ~30 lacs on road (company registration), lack of physical buttons for basic operations (eg HVAC), too many glossy places – a fingerprint magnet (which reminds of the logo display in place of the horn button – god knows what the designers were smoking)

Creta FL (2024)

Being a creta user & the way my existing one served me, new creta 2024 was the first choice. Infact, I had also booked it (before seltos) on the day of it’s launch (2nd Jan 2024) which I eventually cancelled.

Positives – Ride comfort & service standards, other positives are similar to new seltos (as there is a fair amount of common bin features that both these sister concerns use).

Negatives – The product strategy of Hyundai on design & features (which at one point of time used to be their strong hold) has been going downhill for the past few years. Skimming on features like rain sensing wipers (was available in my i20 – a ~13 year old buy), lack of dynamic display, lack of customization on ambient lighting, above average interiors even on top of the line variant (eg. HVAC looks like it’s from a 10 years old car / sub 10 lacs car), too much gap in front grill (safety concern), uninspiring facelift design (eg. Black treatment given to side silver band only on N-line - Just because HMIL wants the higher variant to look comparatively better, they are literally making the “top of the line” variants look less desirable - not a good strategy). Rear LED straight-line strip looks like it’s designed by an amateur / novice. These led to deciding against the creta - I have moved away from Hyundai after 13 years (i20 + Creta).

So finally, it was Seltos due to reasons mentioned in the latter half of my review.

Buying experience - Once I zeroed in on the Seltos, I went hunting at various dealerships for attractive deals. I booked the car in Feb as I got a good deal (decent discount & some free accessories - total benefit of ~1 lac, as it was a Dec 2023 model). The sales manager at Shaw Kia BKC Mumbai seemed to be very eager & professional (a good combo in such situations).

Colour chosen was glacier white pearl (My son loved the pearl glitter in this colour) & variant - GTX plus as it has all the bells & whistles. I plan to call the White Tiger – A reference to the grill design & black accents (stripes) on white colour. Opted for “my convenience luxury package” as it included 5 years warranty & pre-paid periodic maintenance. Since it was a Dec 2023 manufacturing, I visited the stockyard twice just to be doubly sure that the car was not used for display or any other purpose (showed only 11 kms on the ODO with all protective plastic covers / stickers intact). Since the vin number of this car was blocked for me, I tried to register on KIA Connect (KC) during my 2nd visit to the stockyard as I’d heard horror stories of the way drivers drive the car from stockyard to workshop & also use it for other purposes. Had more reason to worry, as the distance from stockyard to workshop was ~ 52 kms. Alas I couldn’t activate KC at stockyard as it seems KC registration has to be done by the dealer only post which activation is possible (ODO showed 11 kms @ stockyard, 71 kms @ workshop & 76 kms at showroom).

Two checklists helped me ensure all was in order as per my expectations (TeamBHP checklist & a BHPian user made custom list for seltos – forgot his name) 

Delivery experience at the showroom was good overall except for some misses by the workshop on getting the car thoroughly cleaned in a timely manner.

Tyre air pressure was 45 PSI at the time of delivery – What’s with service centres & over inflating tyres… This is an issue observed across various service centres. Got it corrected post-delivery during a fuel tank up.

Quantity of pre filled fuel was less. I was told it’s 5 litres but DTE showed 8kms by the time I reached the usual preferred fuel station which was only 20 kms away from the showroom.

Accessories - I opted only for the essentials - 3D floor mat, Mud flap, Door edge guard, trunk sill guard, screen protector & cup holder coaster (pics attached). Avoided too much of chrome as it’s not to my taste. 

Initial impressions (Driven only ~400 kms)

Uff the convenience of an automatic. I had an ear-to-ear grin during the first few kms. On a lighter note, they should ban manual transmissions.

Not just the transmission but almost everything is auto in this car which I’ll cover shortly.

The car is loaded with features & the following points being incremental over my 1st gen creta (Diesel MT anniversary edition SX plus)

Positives

1. All windows auto up & down (anti-pinch) – Starting with the most controversial of all, which was silently removed by Kia in their 2024 line up (except for X-line). This feature has a strong use case (especially anti-pinch) as highlighted by some users. Family was super happy that they too get an auto button & not just the driver. As a bonus, all of them are backlit. Happy that I got the 2023 model.

2. Rear window sun shades – This is a delight for all family members who occupy the rear bench during summers (wife & mother were happy to have this in built)

3. Rear seat recline – Adds to the comfort of the rear bench travelers. Again an added comfort for family members.

4. UV glass – Solar glass on the front windshield and all door windows prevent harmful UV rays from entering the cabin. It does make a practical difference during summer / daytime.

5. Ventilated seats – This is such a boon in Mumbai summer that the rear benchers are now jealous of the front benchers

6. Dual zone climate – Although I am indifferent to this feature, my son was excited, as he prefers cooler temperature vs what the other occupants want in the car. 

7. Cabin lights (Reading & ambient) – Four led reading / task lights which cater to most traveler needs with individual buttons & dimming function on engine start & off. There’s also an override automatic switch off of cabin lights incase you forget to switch off one of the button while leaving the car. Customized ambient lights are fancy & add to the fun factor.

8. Auto headlights – It’s good that the lights come on automatically in the evening or in any other dark scenarios (especially when you enter a tunnel / parking lot). Adds on to the experience of convenience.

9. Auto wipers – It’s a must have in a city like Mumbai where it rains for 3-4 months in a year. My 13-year-old i20 had it & now after years of missing it in the creta, I am getting to enjoy the same feature again.

10. Auto chromatic IRVM – This is very helpful during night driving as it prevents the rear traffic headlight glare from disturbing you while driving. As a bonus it also has SOS & Kia connect buttons.

11. USB slots & charging points – 2 in front (A + C-type) & 2 for rear (C-type) passengers are helpful in need of emergency charging 

12. Air purifier – Not sure if this is gimmicky or of real use but initial impressions suggest that it does make the cabin air seem cleaner.

13. Panoramic display (MID & AVN) - both displays are of top notch quality and they are key in making the cabin feel more upmarket - Dynamic & ABC themes are damn good on the MID, it also auto dims when lights are turned on (tunnel / night / etc). The amount on information that both displays provide is quite overwhelming. I still have been spending time getting used to all the menus after 7 days of fiddling with the settings.

14. TPMS – Such an underestimated small bit of info this is … It’ll save me from two scenarios. (A) In case of puncture, it’ll serve a timely reminder possibly saving tire damage by ensuring timely action & also avoiding a possible accident due to a flat tire. (B) No one will be able to fleece me on highways saying that tire pressure is low & you seem to have a puncture (have experienced this once).

15. Fuel consumption info – The MID provides information that can help understand & make me conscious about which style of driving is more efficient for fuel consumption. Current observation - Highway: highest – 23 kmpl, average 17. City: highest – 16, average 14. Still early to comment but seems to be better than my MT especially on highways (refer to pic). Will have to wait for the 1st servicing post which efficiency would be clearer.

16. D cut leather steering – While some users have opined that this type of steering is more suited to F1 cars, I feel it does help ingress & egress for the driver & looks sporty / upmarket.

17. Electronic driver seat – Both buttons (bottom & recline) provide enough & precise custom seat adjustments to suit anybody’s requirement

18. Voice commands – Multiple commands adding to overall convenience eg. Open sunroof, open / close all windows, make calls, etc – A handsfree control for most features.

19. Remote key fob quality & functions – Amazing design, looks like a key of a high-end car (buttons on the edge avoid accidental presses). Remote engine start is a good to have feature especially during summer days when the car gets piping hot (due to the all black interiors)

20. Electronic parking brake – A good-to-have option but I have not used it much.

21. 360 degree camera & parking sensors – Helpful in tight situations. Camera automatically switches on in certain situations (However, the 360 degree image stitching could have been better)

22. Drive modes – My observations are not based on data but more on feel basis experience; Eco (less fuel injected, upshift at lower RPM vs other modes), Normal (regular fuel injected while upshift at a bit higher RPM vs ECO mode), Sport (regular fuel injected while upshift at an evident higher RPM vs normal mode). Overall quite nice to have the user control the driving experience of the car.

23. Traction control – More on this feature in a later review when I get the opportunity to try this feature.

24. ISG & Auto hold (AH) – Both these functions are good individually & they work even better when both are activated simultaneously - At traffic signals, AH ensures convenience (by not having to press brakes or change the gear to parking / neutral) & ISG ensures efficiency (by switching off the engine – although it does start automatically after sometime without any inputs from me)

25. Paddle shifters – Flawless shifting with just a tad bit of delay (command vs action). Adds fun to the driving experience & ensures that I don’t miss the MT.

26. All disc brakes - Inspire confidence while braking without making too much sound as heard in some of the other AT models (eg some German cars)

27. Panoramic sunroof – Three broad positions viz. open sunshade curtain, open sunroof & tilt open sunroof. Amazing fun feature for the whole family. Son & wife love it. My evening drives from office are now more fun with the sunroof curtain in open position (waiting for the rains now).

28. ADAS level 2 – This feature has the potential of a detailed article but I’ll try to summarize the key features. Lane keep assist (LKA) – Autonomous steering is amazingly accurate if the roads are properly marked with lane borders (Car steers itself effortlessly on Mumbai Pune expressway or Mumbai Freeway). Smart cruise control (SCC) – You set the speed & rest is taken care off by the car even in slow-down, stop, restart scenarios (add to this that small button of pause & restart on the steering makes SCC just too good). Rear traffic collision avoidance – Already a couple of saves while reversing (This was due to the system being over cautious but it’s always better to have such a cautious / preventive approach rather than emergency braking or possible dings / dents on the rear)

29. Kia connect – Plethora of functions… some useful while the rest are either gimmicky or a show off. In any case they are all good to have (Ones that I liked the most – Start / stop engine, lock / unlock door, vehicle status, valet mode, climate settings, car location & send next destination to car before start of travel – All in my mobile).

30. OTA software update – On the first day itself I got a notification that there’s a software update available. The best part was that it asked to switch off the vehicle & the update took care of itself (generally, we have seen that devices ask us to keep it on so this was quite a delight). One change I noticed after the update was that the volume scale decreased from 70 to 45 (Although same output at max volume but higher volume is now released at a lower scale).

Miscellaneous observations

1. Enhanced safety body structure – Although Hyundai seems to have gone overboard on advertising this change in their facelift, for some reason KIA did not emphasize on it in as much (pics attached FL Creta vs FL Seltos)

2. NVH – Top notch as it has negligible in-cabin noise / vibration despite being a diesel. IMO it’s the best in comparison to all the other diesel options available right or experienced earlier.

3. AVN finger rest platform – Awesome touch feel (quality) & strategically placed to ensure that it’s convenient for the user to operate the touch screen while driving.

Good but not great

1. Ride comfort – Ah the elephant in the room… Overall balanced (after ensuring the right amount of tire air pressure – cold 33 PSI, hot 35-36) but has a bit of skew on the stiffer side. Confidence inspiring experience on speed bumps & at high speed with the steering weighing up appropriately. Family opinion was that our old creta ride was more plush & add to that the soft seat cushioning made the ride feel better in Creta (including under thigh support on rear seat). KIA can take some bit of this best practice from it’s sister concern. Smaller RIM & higher profile tires could have also made a positive difference here.

2. Tyres – OEM JK tires are decent but have an odd size 215 / 55 / R18 (Currently not too many alternate options available in this size for a switch – Hopefully there will be more by the time I get to a change requirement). Apollo Aptera could have been a better choice for all GTX & above variants, which I saw as OEM on one of the dual tone GTX plus variant.

3. Headlights – Although good if you compare it with the old creta but could have been better in comparison to what some other cars provide in the same segment.

4. Black interiors & upholstery – Looks sporty but is a dust & heat magnet. Also makes the cabin seem to be smaller. KIA should have given an option to customers for choosing the colour scheme of upholstery / interiors; especially in the higher variants (the brown & beige options look good in the lower variants).

5. Audio quality – Music sounds nice but I expected much more considering it’s a BOSE. I will wait for the speakers / amp to break-in but as of now, it seems more brand hype & comparatively lesser real life quality.

6. Fog lights – Good but the LED intensity / power could have been better.

7. Horn – Has a nice sound containing a deliberate wave & not just the regular flat kinds. The issue is with the horn pad as each time I press it there’s a “khat” sound when the horn pad rebounds

8. Door – Although the closing sound is good it isn’t as reassuring as the new creta.

No car is perfect & so does the Seltos fall short in some areas

Negatives

1. Absence of wireless android auto – What’s wrong with the Korean twins they have this feature in the lower variants but its absent in the higher variants. Quite disappointing. (Anyways I have already ordered for CarLinkIt wireless CP / AA – will post a review later on this)

2. Absence of electronic driver seat memory – Sad that KIA skipped this one as it gets very inconvenient if you have another member in the family who shares the car (drives) with you. Every time there’s a different driver, he / she has to struggle with seat adjustments.

3. Drive mode memory - Normal drive mode is selected by default at every engine start & not the last one I selected. The driver should have had the choice here.

4. Limited control of ORVM – They don’t fold under certain conditions (eg. above 10 kms / hr). I tried to do this as there was a speeding car from the opposite direction which was way too close to the ORVM while I was in motion (~30-40 kms/hr). In such scenarios the driver should have the option of retracting ORVMs as a preventive measure (considering the cost of changing the mirror which has a camera & ADAS warning light inbuilt).

5. Rust on silencer – Poor quality metal used or is it absence of rust preventive coating (refer to pic). Either ways this was quote disappointing to see. 

6. Bottle holder – Poor implementation as all bottles lie in diagonal sleeping position with the common ones having play while stored. It makes them susceptible to movements while driving & also during high music volumes leading to unnecessary vibration / noise.

7. Absence of boot net – It’s a protective boot net which keeps small stuff in the boot secure in one place. It was available in my 7 year old creta. Although they do have hooks in the boot for the net, KIA decided to give this a miss.

Overall, the car seems to tick almost all the boxes I expected.

Hope that I have provided useful bits of information for fellow BHPians. Request the mods to PM / guide in case there is any point that is not as per defined process. 

Sharing some pics of my “White Tiger”