The 2021 Kia Seltos is the brand's entry-level crossover and joins one of the most competitive parts of the car market. Kia The interior is where the Seltos really shines. Kia This is the bigger 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system. But even the 8-inch system gets Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Kia We tested the 1.6L turbo, but there's a less powerful naturally aspirated 2.0L engine as well. Kia If you need to carry stuff, the Seltos has your back. With the seats folded flat, there's 68.2 cubic feet (1,931L) of cargo volume here. Kia Back seat passengers are not hard done by, with 38 inches (965mm) of legroom. Kia Kia says the Seltos can handle a bit of rough, but let's be honest—these cars will never go off road outside of press shots. Kia Is the chrome spear across the rear getting a bit played out? Kia
By now, you'd think the last thing the automotive world needs more of is small crossover SUVs. In order to garner any kind of notice in this crowded field of vehicles that include the Ford EcoSport, Nissan Kicks, Honda's HR-V, Toyota's C-HR and a smorgasbord of others, the Seltos had better be compelling on some level.
It is.
First off, it looks higher-end, with plenty of chrome and complex headlights at the front end. The Seltos design borrows a now-common glass treatment with an upkick at the rear sides. Kia also employs the well-established—perhaps even clichéd—rear end jewelry of a chrome spear across the tail that protrudes into the tail light assemblies. Net-net: the Seltos front end is much more original-looking than the rear and sides.
The Seltos is based on a shared platform with the Hyundai Kona but perched atop a higher ride height, having more advanced technology and slightly more interior space. Kia ranks the Seltos as something of an off-roader, too. While it's no Land Rover, it does offer decent ground clearance of 7.3 inches (185mm) and good, if not exactly rock-crawling, approach and departure angles of 28 degrees. The all-wheel-drive system of the SX turbo version uses a locking center differential and torque vectoring, making the most of available traction that doesn't require massive Jeep abilities.
While the Seltos is a subcompact crossover SUV like its Hyundai Kona cousin and the Honda HR-V, going by the exterior dimensions, it's also larger, making it a segment splitter more akin to the Subaru Crosstrek, Nissan Rogue, and Honda's CR-V. Kia also needed to offer something entirely different from its boxy, quirky Soul. And the Seltos appears larger than its dimensions imply.
In S turbo ($25,490) and SX ($27,890) trim, the Seltos' 1.6L turbocharged engine is worth 175 horsepower (130 kW). It's paired to a dual-clutch 7-speed transmission and all-wheel-drive, but the Seltos sheds any hint of that off-roading scent for its true main purpose of suburban transport. Performance is very brisk when pressed, reaching 60mph in about 7 seconds, though when set in the laziest of its three drive modes, it feels sedate, bordering on lethargic. It alRead More – Source
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