Will Kia Seltos 2023 Facelift - Should You Buy? Ever Rule the World?

INTRO

The new Kia Seltos gets a panoramic sunroof, Level 2 ADAS,

Digital instrument cluster And it gets an electronic parking brake as well. So should you consider Kia Seltos? Let's find out!

PRICE

First things first, Price. The starting price of the old Kia Seltos was 12.67 Lakhs and 22.94 Lakhs on the road for the top-end model. Depends on which city you live in and maybe there can be a difference of 30,000-40,000 thousand rupees. Talking about the pricing of the car with all these new features added, The base model of the car still starts from 12 Lakhs, And the top model which is with us right now goes up to 24 Lakhs on-road. So, a difference of 50,000-70,000 thousand rupees can be seen in the on-road price.

Like I said it depends on which city you live in and accordingly your road tax is calculated. In terms of styling Seltos always had a very aggressive styling.

EXTERIOR

And it has continued here as well. In fact, it has been enhanced than before. I really like the colour pattern of the X line variant which we have now with us. Two things to notice are that one chrome is reduced and it is fully blacked out, And second, this matt grey colour really stands out.

The design of the grill is changed, And the headlamps are somewhat the same but there are minute changes which can be noticed. The fog lamps are the same, no changes there and the same ice cube design is continued.

And, guess what? For ADAS you need a radar so you get an on the bumper, And above on the windshield, there is a camera as well. There are not many changes from the side profile of the car, As at the end of the day this is a facelift.

Now, here you get two types of tyre profiles. One is 17 inches which you get on HTX and HTX+. And second is 18 inches which you get on GTX+ and X-Line.

APOLLO TYRES

Tyres are the most important element as the entire grip of the car is on the tyres. No grip means zero performance and leads to poor braking. And that means your safety is compromised. Every SUV owner will want a better driving experience. And the capability of every SUV depends on the tyres. So I will recommend you Apollo Apterra Tyres as they offer amazing performance, With best-in-class handling and braking, without any compromise on mileage and tyre life.

I also love its aggressive styling and I also like the fact that these tyres are specially tuned for, better compression during impact. I will not talk in more complicated terms and talking simply, It offers a comfortable ride quality. Seltos has a ground clearance of 190mm which is sufficient for daily use.

It also gets roof rails, And finally, you have a panoramic sunroof. You don’t get a request sensor on the left door, And you have it only on the right door. The front of the Seltos is changed but a major change is on the rear of the car. The new tail lamp pattern also feels connected.

And even the Kia logo is on the reflective part which looks good. If you look at the new design language of Kia, Which is the Ev6 and other new SUVs in the global market, The Seltos has been made with the same design language. More than the front I really like the rear of the car. If we look at the boot space of the car it is 423 Liters of space. Wherein a small, medium, and large size suitcase can easily fit.

We have already tested it before and because it is a facelift, There are no changes in dimensions. Talking about the wheels in X-Line you get 18-inch wheels. But, the spare wheel is 17 inches in size which is not an alloy.

INTERIOR

All the major upgrades are in the interior of the car and all the new features can be seen here. You now have Panoramic Sunroof, Electronic parking brake, Touch screen, and digital instrument cluster is now a single unit. These are the major changes that I have listed for you here. The fit and finish of the car is really nice,

The quality of the material is good, And you get to see a mix of hard and soft elements in the car. Also, a lot of safety features are also made available to you. But, build quality is one such area that no one talks about.

This was the area which I was concerned about but still, no changes have been done. So, the old Seltos got 3 out of 5 stars at the Global NCAP crash test, And still, there are no changes in the build quality of the car. Although safety features are increased in the car. You get 6 airbags from the base model, In the top model, you get ADAS, I will leave the full list of safety features for you on the screen.

Talking about other things we have in the car, You get a digital instrument cluster that is easy to understand, Also, here the touch screen is very responsive. Just look at the touch screen, the icons, and even the quality of the 360-degree camera is just fantastic.  You get Bose speakers in the car which gives you good audio quality. But, if you like to listen to loud music then these are not for you. But then if you like attention to detail speakers then the audio quality of Bose is just fantastic. Here, you get dual-zone climate control.

This means both passengers adjust their climate according to how they want. In the front, you have your wireless charging pad which also comes with a cooling feature. With this, you have a 12 V, regular USB, and Type-C port in the car. 

The front seats of the car are very wide, On a long journey you will be comfortable, despite you being thin or wide, And both the front seats are ventilated. But, only the driver’s seat is electrically adjusted, While the co-drivers seat gets a manual adjustment.

The panoramic sunroof is large enough so it doesn't feel claustrophobic. We get a grey interior in the X-Line variant, And different interior colours in the Tech line and GT line. Now, you get more customized options in the heads-up display, And some ADAS features are also added to the heads-up display. My height is around 6ft and I have adjusted the seat according to my driving position.

SECOND ROW

Let’s get to the back seat now. The door here opens wide enough, Wherein it is comfortable to get in and out of the car. You have good enough headroom at the back, The knee room is decent enough, And the thigh support is just ok but not the best. You also get three adjustable headrests at the back, And you have three-point seat belts for all three passengers. I am really happy to see such changes in the car, Where they have provided a 3 point seat belt for the centre passenger as usually they are neglected.

Because the panoramic sunroof is big enough you don't really feel claustrophobic at the back. For extra privacy, they have also provided sun blinds. You also get a centre armrest and it will be really comfortable for two passengers going on a trip. They won't feel any problem sitting behind. I feel the seat recline angle is also decent but not the best.

At the centre, you have an air purifier, rear AC vents, and two Type-C charging points. And there is space in the door pads for a 1-litre bottle or for other stuff. The centre floor is not completely flat over here, And that could have been improved in my opinion. The seats you get are 60-40 split, Due to this you get a lot of flexibility in terms of luggage capacity. The new Seltos gets a 1.5 turbo petrol engine, How does it feel to drive? Let's do that.

DRIVE

Time to drive the car, Turn on the engine, Shift to the drive mode, And here we go. In Seltos, you get three engine options and all three are 1.5 litres. Two are petrol and one is diesel. Let’s talk about the new 1.5 Litre turbo petrol. This engine replaces the old 1.4 Litre turbo petrol engine. Which used to produce 140 bhp and the new engine produces about 158 bhp. So in terms of power and acceleration, you will not be disappointed at all.

If you are an enthusiast then you will love the power which it produces. It does 0-100 in close to 9 seconds which is fast and quick. Overall when it comes to the power and pickup of the car, I really have no concerns about it. The lower-end power is also good. So as I press the accelerator, The gearbox takes a little time to shift gears and feels a bit reluctant, Despite the fact that I am driving a 7-speed DCT or dual-clutch technology which reacts really quickly.

For this, the only solution is that, Put the car in sports mode so that the reaction time is better. Driving is really smooth and relaxing in comfort mode. And in sports mode, the gear shifts are smooth and quick. There is not much difference in the acceleration in both of the modes.

 

But, as I said, the gear shifts are responsive in sports mode. Due to this, you get more power in the sports mode. I talk about the NVH levels which are Noise, Vibration and Harshness, Then they are very minimal. Even if you see a Diesel engine you will feel that it is a petrol. Because the insulation is so good, That you can't differentiate between petrol and diesel. So that is one area which is completely taken care of.

You also get paddle shifters in DCT and the response is pretty good. If you want a quick response then I would recommend you to use paddle shifters for smooth gear shifts. Then in that case I will recommend you to use paddle shifers for quick shifting of gears.

Also, the 1.5-litre turbo petrol is the only variant of the Seltos which gets dual exhausts. Due to this, you get to hear a bit of grunty noise and it is quite audible.

 

When you drive the turbo petrol and then the regular petrol or a diesel variant, You will feel the difference in the exhaust note. Here, I have listed the mileage of the three engines for the city as well as the highway. And I will be very clear that if your requirement is not power then go for the regular petrol engine. But, if you really want X-Line then you can go for 1.5-litre petrol or diesel.

If you are going for the lower variant then you should opt for a normal petrol engine. If your driving is not much. Now, if you want performance then you should go for the 1.5 turbo petrol engine. Talking about the ride quality, The suspension of the Seltos is a bit stiff when you go through bumps. And this is because it is tuned more towards performance. I feel the back seat should have been more on a softer side at least for the back seat passenger. With this 1.5 Litre petrol engine, it is very easy to overtake anyone in the city and on the highway.

From the very beginning the handling of the Seltos was always good due its stiff suspension. For someone who is a hardcore enthusiast simply this car is not for them. And, let me put it very straight, if you are a hardcore enthusiast then go and buy a sedan. Overall handling and the steering feedback is really good and no complaints about that. If you have been driving a small car then Seltos would not be a problem for you. It is very convenient and easy to get used to. Also If you want to drive at 100 km/h or 120 km/h or you just want to push the car then it will be very easy. Even the high speed stability is good.

Overall these are the points where the car is a clear winner. In Seltos you also get ADAS level 2 Here you get a front collision warning. We have also tried it with a dummy where we drove the car at 30-35 km/h and the car stopped on its own. We also tried lane keep assistance and we tried adaptive cruise control which is a kind of smart cruise control in the car. We get assistance in front and as well as on the side of the car. Because here we have a blind view monitoring system, Wherein whichever car passes from the left a warning shows up in the mirror. Also, at the time when we reverse the car and if a car passes from behind then it not only indicates but also stops all by itself. All these features are provided to you which will really help. Also, at present, only MG Astor and now Seltos have ADAS Level 2 in this entire category.

Now, on Seltos I have my three concerns. One is build quality on which I have already spoken, Second is the headlight throw. We did not get a chance to use it but there have been issues and complaints in the past, And many owners have complained about the same. Unfortunately, we cannot test it as we are driving it during the day. Third, you get speakers by Bose with which you get a massive touch screen. But Android Auto and Apple car play are wired into this car. I think this is something which should change by now. Now, you are watching this and thinking should you consider Seltos?

VERDICT

Before we move towards the end, I would highly recommend you check Apollo Apterra tyres because these tyres are specially dedicated to SUVs.And the link for it will be there in the description box below. Do not forget to check that. Now it's the verdict time

Should you consider Kia Seltos? 

I will repeat this point that Seltos has always been a value for money and it is today as well. You can go for any engine, any variant, or compare it with any other car, It is still a value-for-money car. Here, you have many options like petrol, diesel, automatic, manual, IMT, etc you have everything. And the features which were not there before like panoramic sunroof, ADAS, etc. all these have been included now. Due to which this is the most loaded car in the entire category.

But, again I am saying that safety features are added but still, there are no updates on the build quality and improving it. Which is very disappointing. So, this was my video on Kia Seltos Now, if you are confused about which car to buy either Seltos or Create as you have so many other options in the market. There is also Grand Vitara, Kushaq, etc So in that case we provide a service where you can call us and clarify all your doubts. This service we are running you and not really making any profits out of it. Even now if you feel there is confusion about which car should I buy. For that, you book a call with me or my team of experts wherein we will clear all your doubts. Car is an expensive product right to buy that you need to clarify all your doubts right. So, to clarify your doubts, you connect with us on a phone call and don't end up buying the wrong car.