The 2024 Kia Seltos delivers what I’ve started to call the Kia Experience. It does everything well, but nothing is excessive.
Kia’s product evolution continues with the new Seltos, which is a small SUV.
Most of the times I climb into the driver’s seat of a new SUV, I’m impressed by how large it is. For one thing, I’m six feet tall and I’m usually actually climbing up into it. Next, even the midsize SUVs seem to get bigger and more ponderous every year.
That’s what makes a week in the Kia Seltos a welcome break. The Seltos is larger than Kia’s smallest SUVs like the Soul and Niro, but still smaller than the current Sportage and the rest of Kia’s ever-growing list of SUV models.
Overview
The Seltos is considered a “Small SUV” by the EPA for fuel economy purposes. It’s a compact SUV, though it’s smaller than most “compact” models on the market today. The Seltos provides seating for five in two rows, AWD on most trims, and good utility.
Buyers can choose between a base 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine with continuously variable transmission or a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine with an 8-speed automatic. Certain trims are available with FWD, but AWD is the default.
Buyers can choose between a base 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine with continuously variable transmission or a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine with an 8-speed automatic.
Exterior
The Seltos is unremarkable from the outside. It’s a nice-looking SUV, but it looks like every other crossover on the market. If I covered the badge, you would believe me if I said it was a new Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Ford or Chevy.
That’s in no way a criticism – it’s just a fact of life in the SUV market. Here’s the important thing: there’s nothing wrong with the exterior design of the Kia Seltos. You won’t be embarrassed by it, and you’ll probably like it.
Interior
The interior of the Seltos is typical Kia, meaning it’s very well-designed and easy to live with. Slide into the seats and you’ll find they’re heated, with ventilation as an optional extra. Most of the year in North America you’ll be grateful for the heat, but ventilation is nice in the summer, too.
The back seats offer plenty of leg room for adults, and the cargo area is reasonably capacious for the general size of the vehicle. Again, there’s nothing wrong here, but nothing really stands out either. Compact SUVs are a critical market segment, and every automaker does them right.
The interior of the Seltos is typical Kia, meaning it’s very well-designed and easy to live with.
Powertrain
As mentioned, the base trim LX and the S and EX trim Seltos all come with a 2.0-liter engine rated at 146 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque. That’s paired with a continuously variable transmission and all-wheel drive. You can purchase a front-drive Seltos in the S or EX trims and get about 34 mpg fuel economy on the highway, but the AWD LX base version is still good at 27 city mpg and 31 mpg on the highway.
The version we tested is the top SX trim, which along with the next-best X-Line trim uses a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine rated at 195 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque. These models also come with an 8-speed automatic as opposed to the continuously variable transmission on lower trims.
All-wheel drive is also standard on the SX and X-Line trims. Fuel economy suffers a bit, down to 25 mpg city and 27 mpg highway. Towing capacity is low, at 1,323 or 2,425 pounds, depending on the driveline.
Safety and Technology
Kia calls their advanced safety and driver assistance package “Kia Drive Wise” and it’s got everything that far more expensive SUVs have.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rates the Seltos at four stars in its five-star crash test rating. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gives the Seltos generally good ratings as well.
However, the Seltos comes with the usual array of new car safety tech. Kia calls their advanced safety and driver assistance package “Kia Drive Wise” and it’s got everything that far more expensive SUVs have. Blind spot monitoring, forward collision avoidance, lane keeping, and adaptive cruise control made smart by integrating the cruise control with the navigation system. There’s even a speed assist that keeps the Seltos at the posted speed limit.
On the dash, you’ll find a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, mated with the 10.25-inch driver information display in a single panoramic pane of glass. There’s a Bose premium audio system with eight speakers. Android, Apple, and SiriusXM are all supported, and there’s a wireless device charger on the console.
Driving Impressions
On the dash, you’ll find a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, mated with the 10.25-inch driver information display in a single panoramic pane of glass.
On the road, the Seltos delivers what I’ve started to call the Kia Experience. It does everything well, but nothing is excessive. It’s fast enough, but not a hot rod by any means. It’s quiet inside, but not obsessively silent. The Seltos handles very well, but it’s not a sports car ride. Overall, it’s just good throughout, without being a real standout in any area.
Wrap Up
Put everything about the Kia Seltos together and what you get is a small SUV that you will enjoy every day of the year. And you will also enjoy it for many years, because Kia delivers the Seltos with a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty. My wife drives a 10-year-old Kia and I can testify that apart from regular maintenance, her Kia just goes and goes without drama, until well past that 100,000 mile mark.
The bottom line on the Kia Seltos is that it’s a great value on a truly enjoyable small SUV that delivers the features and technology of a much more expensive SUV. Quality and comfort are there, which makes the Seltos a great buy whether you’re looking to spend as little as possible, or whether you want to finally plus up your ride with the top trim levels. If I was buying, I’d go for the SX or X-Line trim, because at that price, why not?
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