News

Why I decided to buy a 2023 Seltos; Drive, mileage & ownership details

17th April 2024, 17:16 by Rahul Nagaraj

The fuel efficiency of 12-15 km/l isn't bad for a fully loaded SUV.

BHPian Nrulz recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Journey with Team-bhp:

About me I am passionate about technology; I take time to gather detailed inputs, analyse in-depth and make decisions.

It took almost a year to decide on my first bike which my dad bought for me during my college days (Yamaha Libero 2005); burdened by my analysis, my mates made good fun of me, that I am never going to buy one. Happily, Libero turned out to be my best bud ever; although meagre 107cc engine (decided purely for mileage, whooping 60km/litres), still i have had exciting fun moments with my bike. The Rush of wind as we accelerate and crisscross zooming into city traffic; I never thought I would ever enjoy a car as much.

My Dad’s Chevrolet Beat Diesel 2013 which I started driving in 2016 changed that opinion. Cars are certainly fun to drive in a totally different league. Great power comes with great responsibility: Only after several dents, several broken ORVMs, head-on collision & one major event. Best Moments: driven the car from 35k on ODO till 110k during 7 years; several meticulously planned multiple-day trips; improved know-how on the vehicle through several experiences. Although no gush wind fun; Never short of surprising manoeuvres & overtakes.

Chevy Beat did show its age, when the urge to find a new vehicle crept in. During 2020, came across team-bhp: started to read mainly for truly unbiased passionate vehicle reviews; eventually, I ended up reading the forum every day (page by page). Forum’s advice to retain the existing car is a godsend, I would say. GTO’s advice <How a more expensive car can work out cheaper (if you hold onto it for longer)> (How a more expensive car can work out cheaper (if you hold onto it for longer)) was spot on. I invested in suspension + tyre upgrade + a/c revamp worth 90k during 2021, which made Chevy almost like new; reaped the benefits for the next 2 years. Where can I ever get such timely advice than our beloved forum -> My Membership was approved in July 2021 (what an honour). I immediately bought the team-bhp t-shirt, keychains & stickers; and saved them for the new car.

Unplanned happens and for a Reason:

Coming to December 2023, Floods arrived with its own plans. The apartment basement got flooded and Chevy Beat along with Libero were submerged in water for 6 long days. Having explored several options to Retain (Repair as a secondary car; Repurpose - more of an autopsy & use as show piece; reinvent - covert to EV?): after several sleepless nights & analysis, eventually realised vehicles have to be declared a total loss (safer from ownership termination perspective). We started the hunt for a new car, with more clarity on our requirements than before (reading team-bhp did make one car-wise or to be precise generally-wise - we get more than just car advice here).

Requirements & Usage Pattern

Chevy Beat was used as a beater car (daily office run was around 100km mostly highway + weekend local trips); Thought of shifting our usage pattern for new car as below:

Daily office commute - Use public transport [car-less time post flooding made the trail runs in public transport practical - turned out better even health-wise] - Of course there will be fun exception drive days to office
Weekend - Plan Highway Trips

Due to the wise decision of delaying the purchase during the year 2021 (thanks to team-bhp), we have a little more savings now, to look for the segment above with the below requirements.

Reliable Brand & Service [Having lived post GM’s exit; we did learn our lesson; we can always build good rapport and improve relationships for better service - Never had problem in terms of Service or Spares availability]
Bigger than Chevrolet Beat [Higher stance + More Space]
Powerful Engine affordable in that Model/Segment [Sporty]
Latest Technology [willing to explore; including touch-controls & ADAS]
Safe car [for Long Trips] - my perspective on safe, improved several folds reading our forum; decided not to go only by star ratings
Environmentally better [than Diesel of BS4] - Not exactly an EV [Plan: Bicycle + Public Transport or Ola/Uber within city] - Mainly to offset the sins committed (personal opinion. no offence)
Automatic if possible due to the added comfort, improved fuel efficiency and still fun to drive

Cars considered & Shortlist:

We had shortlisted Ford Ecosport during year 2021 [ARTICLE: How to buy a *NEW* car in India - Manufacturer research - saved us or its a missed opportunity to experience Ford, i don’t know]. We did like S-Cross as second Best option. Brezza, Nexon, Venue were other options considered at that time. Coming to year 2024:

Disclaimer: Below are personal opinion only; No offence intended; all the vehicles had their positives [we had to shortlist only one due to budget constraints]

Volkswagen Taigun - Impressed the moment we entered the showroom. Kings red it was with red shade interior. Black/Lava Blue was second option. Wonderful package of engine + features combination although a little expensive. Shortlisted the GT 1.5 MT Variant. For 2023 model, sales person gave an amazing discount of 1.5 lakhs. We thought we will go home and just book as he gave time until 4th Jan for this offer. However, surprisingly the showroom personnel who spoke to us on new year eve with a lot of enthusiasm, never bothered to do a single follow-up. I did send him a Thank-You note for his detailed explanation the same night after reaching home. Maybe if he had responded, our decision might have changed, because we were so attracted to the vehicle or it happened for a reason. Price did increase as they suggested for 1.5L variants starting Jan, but we already made our other choice by then.
Skoda Kushaq - Monte-carlo MT was the choice; however, the colour options were limited. Red was too red (although i liked it; didn't get a necessary approvals). Matt Black was available but didn't consider for color shortlist. Crystal blue on Slavia looked awesome, but wasn't available on Kushaq
Tata Nexon - Facelift of Nexon did not impress us visually as did the pre-facelift model. We did not take a test-drive; DCA gearbox availability in facelift is a tempting option. Feature-wise Nexon is massively impressive for the price. I need to mention about the kind nature of the sales person and the even nice follow-up calls we got; we would definitely keep Tata as an option for future.
Maruti Grand Vitara - Probably Volkswagen effect, although warm greetings and busy-busy outlet, we felt unimpressed visually. S-Cross did win us over better. Availability of AWD version & Hybrid technology were the impressive bits, but given limited options & constraints (less powerful engine), not considered. Why even mention AWD - i was seriously interested in Hilux (i wish the perception about pick-up vehicles change in India, to own one the future)
Honda Elevate - What an impressive package: comfortable seats, ground clearance and what not. Rejected at look of front grills, we didn't even take a test drive of the car so cannot comment on the NA engine performance. Adding hybrid tech to the mix in near future will definitely make Elevate a compelling package for city use.
Hyundai Creta - As soon as the facelift was out, we took the test drive of both IVT and Diesel Manual (DCT test drive car was not available) and felt extremely comfortable. Light interiors is a concern and also the big boxy front grill was not approved. Emerald Pearl colour was impressive (the one we test drove). We thought of waiting till N-Line, but were sure that the interiors would be black. Wider network of Hyundai is biggest advantage but falling in love with the vehicle is worth sacrifices
Aspirational other segment cars: XUV700 AX7L, Harrier, Tucson; EV - My next purchase will certainly be an EV. For now, closely following team-bhp as the technology unfolds
Kia Seltos - We visited Kia showroom on January 13th and Seltos facelift (Peuter Olive) GTX+(S) quite impressed us as we entered the showroom; shifted our awe factor from Taigun. We happen to look at Sonet X-line at showroom (we thought this is going to be a pain to maintain). Took test drive of Diesel AT (Torque Converter) on same day: Diesel engine power felt adequate, however, math came into play [Chevy Beat weights around 900 Kg with 56 ps power; Seltos with twice the weight 1800 Kg with 115 ps i.e. almost twice power of Chevrolet Beat - felt not quite an upgrade]. I was already prepared for DPF/SCR handling/best practices after reading our forum and also BS6 diesel felt better for environment (relative). We requested for DCT test drive, but didn't get one to decide. After 2 weeks, Sales person brought home a DCT test drive car: upon driving understood the smoothness of the shifts (much better than AT) but couldn't really test the full power on offer but acceleration was impressive. Decided DCT: again team-bhp to rescue 2023 Kia Seltos Facelift: Which engine + gearbox option would you ... (Kia Seltos Facelift | Which engine + gearbox combination would you buy?). Knowing the uncertainly of DCT gearbox, decided to learn the DCT best practices and also took the extended warranty as recommended by team-bhp. Seltos ride quality was stiff compared to Creta test drive (from numerous threads on larger profile tyres, we knew this is due to R18 wheels); decided against tyre upgrade i.e. even same size due to warranty clause. I also read the entire user manual (this did give lot of insights about the vehicle and warranty clause).

Buying Experience:

Having experienced the floods, We were focussed on getting a year 2024 manufactured vehicle only and there were no offers on 2024 models
2023 model cars (few stocks left available) had some offers, so we requested to check availability of Peuter Olive GTX+ variant; to our dismay none available (only white and red available - we didn't quite like the red shade compared to the kings red of Taigun, so as we were wondering, sales person mentioned that an X-Line (S) DCT is available. We knew this is matt and definite No. After few discussions at home and sage green interiors impressing us, we thought of checking this out. Sales person was kind enough to arrange a visit to the stockyard (he was fine, even if we decide no). The ride we took to stockyard was a GTX S-trim model, so we happen to experience the normal kia speakers (not the bose one's) and felt it to be good. 360 degree camera was something which never impressed currently (this tech is handy & going to improve several folds in near future). The Day: Feb 14th , as we entered the stockyard love at first sight - X-Line(S) DCT model was stationed ready for our PDI. No water damage was noticed (did a video recording of car underbody to inspect). ODO had 20km on it. Person who accompanied us was very kind enough to give us more details without us requesting that they have another stockyard nearly which was getting flooded, when they moved all the vehicles to the new stockyard on-time. However, VIN indicated that this is October manufactured, against sales person mentioning it as December model. During test drive sales person mentioned a discount of 70k for 2023 model and before stockyard visit we negotiated to 90k. Since we found an October model we requested for a final discount of 1lakh. (Thanks to team-bhp again @Flasshhhh your posts on negotiation skills really helped us). I have several others to thank on the Seltos facelift thread, who answered every query; we did ready vehicle ownership threads of every other vehicle considered. so this Thank You list will be never ending
Next day, we got a call later in the day that they are fine with the discount requested, so we proceeded to pay the booking amount. From here, things moved so fast: there were several back & forth with the sales team (they followed a pre-defined process, where they assumed lot of things, but was not giving me confidence - for instance, they were asking me to pay full amount, without confirming that the vehicle that we did PDI, was the one getting allocated). A Senior sales person pitched in and gave necessary assurance i.e. sharing e-mail confirming the VIN allocated etc. after which we decided to proceed with the payment. [Note: remember to verify the contact details given during booking process - as dealership does this on their own for existing stock, they entered my e-mail wrongly, which caused most of the confusion). Again thanks to team-bhp for the PDI checklist and also the thread - taking Loan on FD, which helped us plan the finance. Several thread on Insurance helped us decide, insurance from the dealer itself, where discounted price was applied.
Last but not the least, we also decided to plunge the discount to get PPF done (saint-gobain - dealer had a tie-up) where we also got a discounted price [Lot of investment, but till date it's effortless to maintain the exteriors]

Accessories

From Kia:

Premium Dual Layer Mat - Excellent - Advantages - Easy to remove fine dust and Good coverage for the dead pedal & rear center passenger
3D boot mat - We went conservative here, as premium boot mat was expensive. Usage of boot space was always rough like dragging of luggage, so went simple
Side Step - Advantages outweigh the cons i.e. reduced ground clearance: Convenience of getting in/out without damaging the seat leather edges, Protection of side panels from nearby vehicles & mud splashes from wheels during rain
Car cover - Good; flimsy but being so has its advantages like easy to install + remove + store
Key cover - This is totally worth it. Gives premium look to the keys
Door Visor With Chrome Insert - only chrome accessory (with some hesitation); however, sales advisor suggested advantages - ability to keep windows open a bit during rains & hot days; look-wise chrome complementing the unavoidable bottom window chrome line

Accessories carried over from previous car:

Dashcam - Qubo 4k - Surprisingly survived 6 days of immersion in water. Recording quality is adequate so far. Have been using a power bank to run the dashcam. SD card did not survive the floods, so had to buy another.
Lumbar support & Neck support cushions - Anomeo - This brand from travel blue has been perfect companion [this is absolutely necessary - read further under seat/ride comfort]
Dusting & Cleaning products - From Shell outlet
Sun Windshield Protection Sheets - For open parking

Delivery Experience

Delivery date was finalised as 24th February. We were excited and thanks to PDI checklist, we bought some return gifts for the day. We had a look at the PPF work, which was impressive, as they explained the properties of the film and why it is the best decision. Saint-gobain team was very passionate and they were super careful detailing every bit (they used gloss films for the gloss parts and matt film for the matte parts). It was sad to look at parts being removed to apply PPF, but the expertise with which they handled, gave us lot of confidence. We couldn't do a complete PDI again but since we took photos of significant issues during first PDI (we verified those). ODO had come to 88km. Finally, as the car arrived at the designated delivery spot and covered in black cloth, we unveiled our car, getting the keys and sharing the return gift & sweets. First drive, was indeed nervous, but luckily previous test drive experiences helped a bit.

Seltos BAdaSS [Brave, Assertive, Speed & Sportive] - Seltos X-Line (S) DCT (Initial Observations during 2000 Km drive - 500Km of which is in the city):

Visual Appeal

Exterior is grabbing attention on city roads (bikers at least pillion turn to have a look). Good road presence (only relative to previous car). Respected on highways (dual tip exhausts play a stunning role). Sage green interiors are soothing and interior is well laid out

1.5 TGDi Engine/ DCT Gearbox

Best part of the Vehicle. Run-in period as suggested by user manual is to keep engine rpm between 2000-4000 rpm for first 1000 km. Planned a highway trip which helped. DCT shifts are super smooth. For City driving, release of brake is good enough for closing gaps in slow moving traffic. Practicing shift to neutral during stop at signal (ISG comes into play to save fuel). For Highways, keeping the acceleration as linear as possible. Auto Hold is clever touch, what a relief. For a sporty automatic, DCT is way to go. In city, patience.

Drive Modes

Eco - Sedated driving (lowest RPM) - Difference from Normal mode is observed during overtaking - Best for city as well as sedated driving on highways
Normal - Mostly this is all we need; maintains decent RPM and was able to take overtakes with little effort and fuel efficiency was not bad either
Sport - Super quick acceleration; 2000 rpm is reached at very low speeds; Good for highways when fuel efficiency is not priority

Observation: after every vehicle restart, by default normal mode is engaged, which also seems to be reasonable from above listed points

Drive Comfort

8 way power adjustable seats + Steering reach & tilt combination helped in getting into a comfortable driving position. Center armrest + Door armrest combination although cushioned were hard but still providing adequate support (Too soft would also make us uncomfortable during long drives; I figured having a turkey towel kind of cotton over them makes it wonderful to use during long highway drives); Road visibility is super good, ORVM's are adequate and blind spot indication is cool. IRVM is also excellent. HUD is a boon even during day time - Especially the feature where the highway symbols are automatically displayed on the HUD i.e. if speed limit is 80kmph, this is indicated on the HUD, along with current speed [even other road signs are displayed around 70% accurately]. Hardly it is required to look at the instrument cluster, which feels safe.

Brakes although crisp, once adopted are confident inspiring.

Ride quality & Passenger Comfort

For a Sporty car, R18 wheels are confident inspiring at high speeds. As many have already suggested, reducing tyre pressure does wonders to ride quality at some expense of handling. We decided to go with 35 psi for this trip and during run TPMS was indicating 39 psi for heated tyres. So as bhpian already indicated, need to try lower psi (especially for bad roads) to arrive at right balance. Seat cushions were indeed firm including the headrest. This can be good as well as bad. Observed that having additional cushion (beneath headrest) is mandatory. During long highway trip, head banging the hard headrest was causing pain. No lumbar support (seems Seltos in other countries get this feature). Ventilated seats for front passengers makes journey comfortable. For rear passengers, we need to add something like (wooden bead mat) in future.
Overall, on good roads, we hardly feel that car is moving at 120 km/h (literally no tiredness of travelling). On bad roads, keep her under 20 km/h or lower and manoeuvre carefully. If travelljng consistently on bad roads, adjust tyre pressure prior.
Having moved on from Diesel; Petrol NVH experience is totally silent. Stock JK Tyres haven't been noisy either. I have used UC6 on my Chevy Beat which was super comfortable and confident inspiring. JK UX Royale has been of similar experience so far (not driven too hard yet). I plan to keep the stock tyres as they seem good & for warranty reasons

ADAS

I requested sales representative to turn-off ADAS as we drove from showroom but he suggested that keep it on this will be helpful. Definitely True till date.
A - Advanced but eventually simple algorithms which we need to understand before getting confidence [I am still on the learning curve]
DAS - Driving Assistance System - Expectation is that it assists the driver and it does a commendable job [I remember one instance on highway when ADAS instructed to keep both hands on the steering; what more can we expect]
Smart cruise control is a boon for long drives. Paired with lane follow assist and lane keep assist; Thank You ADAS. Even the coffee break alerts are fine [after all it is trying to help]
Even in City - ADAS is awesome. I had once instance where a pedestrian suddenly ran across in front of the vehicle trying to cross the road [although i was alert and applied the brakes myself; ADAS kicked in and applied a sudden brake when the vehicle went close to the pedestrian - It was shocking, but to be honest, if i think now; it's better this way
I wish the user manual is able to list all the working parameters of ADAS precisely; Reality: we have to figure out many things by experience.
Overall this is the best safety feature of the car and having ADAS controls in the steering is clever touch. Even in our crowded city traffic, never had any issues with ADAS (after all it's active only above certain speed limits). Not planning to switch off anytime; will document the observations.

Other Features

Bottle holders, Center armrest storage, Center console storage - Well thought layout and excellently put together.
Kia's Music System is quite good. Did't regret missing Bose speakers.
Remote/Connected Tech - Yet to explore fully, but ability to start the vehicle/climate control ahead, is a boon.
Panaromic sunroof was hardly used during this trip due to sunny weather; we used voice commands to operate sunroof once during a lunch stop over on the highway; cabin feels airy and view is spectacular.
Auto up-down windows are very convenient; In built sun-blinds for passenger windows is welcome feature and UV glass help a lot during hot weather. All buttons are backlight, which is nice touch.
Air purifier is doing fair job [Yet to explore the car diffuser].
Boot space felt adequate: we took 2 medium & 1 small baggage trolley on the trip (which took up most of the space); realised that taking duffel bags instead, might have been a better decision; Removing the parcel tray might have made way to more space (need to explore more during next trip)
Map lights, Sunglass holder & other interior lights - Good placement. Buttons feel a little flimsy built though (to be handled with care)
Head Lights - Adequate [did not have trouble during the night rides]. Auto dimming IRVM is a real saviour - remember the multiple flips i used to perform on my chevy beat.
Apple CarPlay - Awesome. Being wired doesn't bother a bit. Phone get's hot when connected, so have been removing the case prior. Kia navigation has it's advantage of integrating nicely into the HUD; however, Apple CarPlay wins hands-down with it's simplicity.
Wireless charging with cooling function - Necessary feature; not utilised fully.
Ambient lighting - Wonderful during night drive & music integration is awesome.
Voice commands - works nicely on the sunroof; yet to explore all the commands (might come in handy during solo rides)

Mileage

Highway mileage consistently achieved was around 16 Km/L - Cost/Km- Rs. 6.54/Km [Decent compared to Rs. 4.83/Km achieved with our Chevrolet Beat Diesel].
[Total 1560 Kms / 97.77L. Fuel Efficiency: 15.95 Km/L. Good for a fully loaded vehicle with full Air-conditioning]
In the city mileage varies between 12-15 Km/L on a light foot.

PPF

We encountered one incident of stone chipping the windshield during the highway trip. Exploring ways to avoid windshield hits in the future. Luckily PPF is covering even the panaromic sunroof & paint panels [some relief].
PPF is worthy investment if we plan to retain the vehicle for long and can't invest lot of time in upkeep. I have seen several x-line vehicles on the road and the one's with PPF are certainly well kept [less maintenance]. Going for a reputed brand matters as the passion of professionals installing matters a lot (this is kind of art) and also to avoid paint damage. I had only one issue till date - Seltos logo at the back came off (it can be put back using 3M tape). Overall very happy to have made this decision to go with PPF

Service

First Service was completed 23rd March with 2198Kms on ODO and things went pretty smooth overall [although due to heavy inflow of vehicles, had to wait to take delivery]. Service personnel was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Took the Under Body Anti Rust Coating & Internal Panel Cavity Wax Protection, which i feel is required in our driving conditions. Only grump, during wash they tore the team-bhp sticker; benefit of doubt, it may not be intentional; replaced a new sticker from our pack.