Kia Seltos review, road test

Kia has done a great job when it comes to offering a high-quality, upmarket feel in the cabin. All the touchpoints have a soft, premium feel – be it the door pads, or the flat-bottom steering, the dashboard fascia or the gear lever, everything feels great to touch. The matte silver and piano black finishes, coupled with the two-tone dashboard colour, look upmarket, and the fit-finish of all the panels and switchgear is top-notch. While it is easy to get swayed by its overall quality, the dashboard design will polarise opinions, due to the large rectangular bezel that stretches from the instrument cluster dials and surrounds the touchscreen, mimicking modern Mercedes’ dashboard design.

The Seltos’ large door cavities, flat floor sill, and upright cabin make ingress and egress a breeze. The front seats are comfy, and supportive, and the cushioning too is well judged. Finding the right driving position is easy, thanks to the seat and steering adjustments on offer, and the well laid-out controls.

The driving position is nice and upright; so most owners will enjoy the fact that the bonnet lies in their field of vision. Visibility is good, and what helps further are the driver aids like front parking sensors, 360-degree camera, as well as the lane-changing camera that displays a live video feed on the MID each time the indicator is flicked, thus eliminating blind spots. Storage areas are cleverly designed too, with wide door bins, cupholders, and smaller spaces for knick-knacks.

But it isn’t all perfect. The wireless charging pad, though a big plus, is not the easiest to access and large phones have to be wiggled into place. Taller drivers would find thigh support to be a bit inadequate, the driver armrest isn’t adjustable, the volume controls will be a bit of a stretch for the front passenger, window controls aren’t backlit, and then the working of the head-up-display – although a novelty in this segment – isn’t very well executed, so most would prefer to keep it tucked out of sight. Also, the air-con doesn’t adjust airflow easily and even the positioning of the vents is not optimal for the driver.

Rear-seat occupants will find legroom to be decent, with the bench being quite comfy for a car this size. Of course, it doesn’t have the same amount of space as the Harrier or the Hector, and the seats could do with a bit more underthigh support. However, the almost flat floor, and a reasonably wide seat mean a third passenger won’t feel unwelcome here. What’s nice is that the backrest also reclines to a very comfy angle (up to six degrees), although the controls for it are inconveniently positioned on top of the backrest, rather than beside the seat. The large window area and the rear quarter gives the cabin an airy feel, and sliding back the sunroof (only available on the GTX+ and HTX+ trims) further brightens up the space. At 433 litres, the Seltos’ boot is very usable. It is wide and has a flat loading lip, making it easy to load heavier cargo.