Kia Seltos (2024) First Drive Review
Kia South Africa has unveiled an all-new reformed version of its compact crossover the Seltos. Featuring a new grade walk, new engines and sticking with diesel, the new Seltos elevates the segment offering. We were on hand at the official launch in Cape Town to put it to the test.
Coastal Celtos to mountainous Seltos
The Seltos first touched down in SA in 2019, being the first product to roll out of the newly established factory in India. The name Seltos is drawn from Greek mythology, based on the spirit Celtos, the son of Hercules. The Seltos instantly became a best seller for Kia locally, offering high levels of comfort, performance and urban style.
Related: Kia Seltos EX+ (2020) review - Big Car Feel, Small Car Money
The new Seltos is completely revised for the 2024 year, receiving its first major update in almost five years. The Seltos gets a new exterior, new interior, new engine and drivetrain options and a new suite of electronics. Kia launched the new Seltos at a rather intimate event in the Cape mountains, where we were to sample the EX and GT-line derivatives of the new family crossover.
New outside
Starting on the exterior, the revised Seltos gets the requisite front and rear bumper treatment, new grille and lighting elements and new colour options. The front grille and lighting changes upfront give the tiger-nosed grille design new life as the DRL elements split the grille neatly, carrying the lines from the headlights into large honeycomb grille. The foglights have been moved to create a series of vertical lines in the design. The rear has also been completely redesigned and is in our opinion one of the better redesign features. The rear taillights get Kia's new Star Map treatment with a linking taillight bar featuring LED lights and the Kia nameplate.
The lower aspects of the bumpers feature coloured inserts that give the whole package a sporty presence. Down the side, not much has changed, there is the addition of side skirts and some colour coding as well as the option of 16" or 18" wheels with the 17" wheels being replaced on the GT Line models going forward. A highlight, though, sees the Seltos getting a brand new colour option - Pewter Olive - which is a light iridescent metallic green, and two new bi-colour options, Glacier White or Intenz Red, with a black roof.
New inside
The entire model range has been shaken up in terms of what the new models will be fitted with as standard. Beginning with the base LX model, it receives a veritable shopping list of new equipment as standard from the previous EX model, while the new EX plus model gets trickle-down tech and features from the old GT Line model while the new GT Line model gets the top of the line treatment with many features that can often be found in higher spec models like Sportrage.
The dashboard has been redesigned to accommodate the new screen layout that features a small 4.2 TFT screen for the driver and an 8" touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto, this setup expands to a 10.25" supervision cluster in the EXplus and GT Line models. The GT Line models feature all of the amazing tech from the EX but will have an entire driver assistance package and extra features. The seating is spacious and comfortable in a supple two-tone leather with plenty of legroom for rear passengers. The boot is also spacious, easily swallowing luggage for three.
New drive
The 2024 Seltos is now available with two new petrol engines in the form of a 1.5 MPI and a 1.5 GDI doing duty with the T-GDi model mated to a 7-speed DCT in the GT Line and consumers having the option of a manual or CVT transmission on the LX and EX derivatives.
The familiar 1.5 diesel engine remains the engine to have for open road cruising and is only available with the auto transmission and is in all honesty, the pick of the litter if you are after economy and comfort.
Cruising in the mountains
Our launch route took us from the relatively flat roads of the cape flats, over the mountains, via the freeway to the deep valleys pockmarked with quaint little towns. The route showcased the Selto's array of features but also its capabilities to deal with just about every road surface, from tar to gravel and even farm roads. We had the EX and GT Line models to test and both models impressed on the winding by roads between farm villages.
Although the GT Line is incredibly equipped, the EX model with the diesel and auto transmission is the model to have if you are city-bound but enjoy weekend excursions. There is nothing wrong with the GT Line derivative; you can just get the entire experience from the mid-spec model. If you can live without driver assistance systems, a DCT gearbox and a sporty drive, the EX is for you.
Model line up and pricing
| 1.5 LX Manual | R 467 995 |
| 1.5 LX CVT | R 492 995 |
| 1.5 LX CRDi Auto | R 521 995 |
| 1.5 EX CVT | R 532 995 |
| 1.5 EX CRDi Auto | R 561 995 |
| 1.5 EX Plus CVT | R 570 995 |
| 1.5 EX Plus CRDi Auto | R 599 995 |
| 1.5 TGDi GT Line DCT | R 626 995 |
* All models are sold with 5 year / Unlimited km warranty, 5 year / Unlimited km roadside assistance and a 5 year / 90 000km pre-paid service plan
Verdict
The Kia Seltos is quite a looker and is now an even better value proposition than before. It has style, features and now even better drive. Kia may be under pressure from Chinese rivals on a price point but their cars are incredibly well-built and refined and that keeps them well ahead of their longer-established rivals in the compact crossover segment. Kia offers much more at an equal price and is overall a more desirable product. There are other updated models on teh horizon and if they are anywhere near as good as the revised Seltos then things are going to get interesting! We are looking forward to an extended test in the coming weeks so stay tuned for the full review and road test coming soon!
