Kia Seltos

The 2022 Kia Seltos looks like how a new-age SUV should look on the inside – premium and well-built with appreciable quality levels. The all-black cabin of the Kia Seltos gets a contrast silver finish for the centre console and a healthy dose of gloss black for the AC vent surrounds and lower centre console. All the variants of the Kia Seltos come standard with a 3.5-inch LCD for the MID in the instrument console, vanity mirror in the co-passenger sunshade, silver-coated inside door handles, and a three-spoke steering wheel, and remote keyless entry.

Seats and upholstery

While the seats of the base-spec LX variant have cloth upholstery, the seats of the other two variants get leatherette inserts which make them feel more premium. The base-spec LX variant also misses out on the back pocket behind the front passenger seat. However, all the variants of the Kia Seltos get a height adjustment lever for the driver’s seat, an armrest between the front seats, and a 60:40 split-folding facility for the rear seats. 

Comfort and convenience

Compared to the Stonic above which it is placed, the 2022 Kia Seltos comes with a few new-age features like a multi-functional steering wheel with audio and Bluetooth controls and tilt and telescopic adjustment for the steering wheel, which are offered as standard across the range. The EX and SX variants also come with added cruise control and illumination for the vanity mirror. The exclusive features available in the top-spec SX variant are a push start-stop button, automatic climate control, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear lever.

Entertainment, information, and communication

All the variants of the Kia Seltos come equipped with a floating 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, which is compatible with Android Auto, Apple Carplay, AM/FM radio, Bluetooth, USB, and four speakers and two tweeters. 

Storage

The Kia Seltos is equipped with a host of decent storage spaces like a storage compartment below the front armrest, a closed glovebox on the co-passenger side, two cup holders on the lower centre console, bottle holders, and map pockets in all four door panels. The boot space claimed by Kia Seltos is 433 litres.

When it comes to size and stance, the 2022 Kia Seltos is one massively impressive SUV. While it is not too big to make you feel cumbersome to drive it, it is not too small to lack the quintessential SUV flavour and road presence. The overall design looks modern with the help of new-age design cues, while it retains the true SUV aspects like an upright front bonnet, high waistline, and a high ground clearance of 170mm

At the front, the 2022 Seltos has got an aggressive-looking front fascia, in the middle of which is placed a wide horizontal grille in the trademark ‘Tiger Nose’ fashion. This grille gets a satin silver finish on its lower and upper edges, both of which are stretched towards the headlamps on the sides. The headlamps here look big and sleek at the same time, thanks to the arrangement of LEDs. The base-spec LX variant gets halogen projector headlamps with halogen daytime running lamps. The mid-spec EX variant gets LED daytime running LEDs and halogen fog lamps, while the top-spec SX variant gets full-LED headlamps with LED turn indicators. In all the variants of the Kia Seltos, the front bumper gets a silver skid plate.

Moving towards the side profile, the Kia Seltos impresses with its sense of length and height. The upright front bonnet makes it look big, while it gets body cladding over wheel arches and the bottom portion of the door panels. All the variants of the Kia Seltos come equipped with 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels and blacked-out A and B pillars, while the EX and SX variants also come with turn indicators on the outside rearview mirrors, satin finish for the window waistline and roof rails. 

At the back, the Kia Seltos gets a pair of wraparound tail lamps which come integrated with unique LED inserts. These tail lamps are adjoined with a thick slab of satin chrome, with its end corners entering into the tail lamps while its middle portion houses the Kia logo. The roof spoiler, shark fin antenna, and side wings of the rear windscreen give the rear profile an aerodynamic look, while the satin silver extension on the C-pillar gives the SUV a floating roof effect, especially in the dual-tone colour options. The rear bumper of the Seltos, with its thick body cladding and a satin chrome strip running across its width, add a rugged look to the SUV.

The Kia Seltos measures 4370mm long, 1800mm wide and 1615mm tall while having a wheelbase of 2630mm. The Seltos claims a ground clearance of 170mm, a turning radius of 5.3 metres and a fuel tank capacity of 50 litres while having a kerb weight of 1815 kg. 

Despite its size, the Kia Seltos is one easy-to-drive SUV, thanks to its light steering which gives it a low turning radius of just 5.3 metres. However, this light steering feels a bit lifeless as the speeds rise, which makes it a not-so-engaging driving experience at higher speeds. The ride quality, however, feels composed with a plus setup for the suspension combination comprising of McPherson struts with stabilizer at the front and coupled torsion beam axle at the rear. The Seltos also comes with drive mode select as a standard feature, which fine-tunes the driving experience on varying surfaces. The SUV also gets disc brakes on all four wheels, making it one of the most affordable SUVs to get this feature, giving it an amazing stopping power. 

While the 2022 Kia Seltos is available with a host of engine choices in overseas markets, the Philippines car market gets only one powertrain option for the time being. All the variants of the Kia Seltos come with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder Atkinson petrol engine under their hood, which is naturally aspirated and comes paired to a CVT gearbox as standard, which Kia likes to call Intelligent Variable Transmission. While the maximum power output of this engine is 149 PS, the peak torque output of this engine is 179 Nm. For a large 2.0-litre engine, these power and torque figures feel low, but out on the road, the power delivery feels adequate and good for an SUV of its size. 

Like the list of comfort and convenience features, the list of safety features of the Kia Seltos is also not as rich as one would have expected. Still, the SUV gets equipped with essentials like dual front airbags, ABD, ISOFIX mounts for child seats, and a reverse camera as standard. Pick the top-spec SX variant, and you will get a few more safety essentials like reverse parking sensors, side and curtain airbags, electronic stability control, downhill brake control, and hill start assist. 

Warranty

Like most of the vehicles available from Kia’s portfolio for the Philippines, the Seltos SUV is also offered with a best-in-class standard warranty package of 5 years or 160,000 km (whichever comes earlier).

Kia Seltos vs the competition

The 2022 Kia Seltos takes on the popular midsize SUV segment, which has the following three SUVs as the current hot favourites:

Ford Territory – With the discontinuation of the Ecosport, the Territory happens to be the most affordable SUV from Ford in the Philippines. This midsize SUV from Ford is one of the newest SUVs in the midsize category, and packs in a whole host of new-age features to attract the younger set of buyers. The Philippines car market gets the Ford Territory in two variants – Trend and Titanium Plus – both of which come with a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, which produces 142 PS of power and 225 Nm of torque and comes paired to a CVT gearbox as standard.

Hyundai Creta – Hyundai strengthened its presence in the Philippines car market with a whole new product portfolio for the country, which has the Creta midsize SUV as its most affordable product now. The Philippines car market gets the Hyundai Creta in its latest avatar with the parametric front fascia. It shares its platform with the Kia Seltos, but is powered by a smaller 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine, which produces 115 PS of power and 144 Nm of torque, and is available with two transmission choices of a 6-speed manual and CVT.

Honda HR-V – The Honda HR-V received a massive update inside-out last year, which gave the SUV an all-new identity. This time, the HR-V looks slightly more mature with cleaner lines for both exterior and interior. The new HR-V is now available with two engine options – a 1.5-litre naturally-aspirated 121 PS petrol engine in the S variant and a 1.5-litre turbocharged 177 PS petrol engine in the V variant. Both these variants of the Honda HR-V get a CVT gearbox as standard. 

Final words

With the Seltos, Kia has proven that it is serious with its SUV strategy for the Philippines car market. The modern exterior, the premium and spacious cabin, and a refined petrol powertrain make sure that the Kia Seltos appeals to the younger audience, who wanted something more modern and newer than the slightly smaller Kia Stonic. Compared to the competition, the Seltos falls a bit short on features, which is a shame because the SUV gets several tech-rich features in other global markets. However, for its price, the Seltos makes up for a great family car for five people, who want something rugged and urban at the same time.