LIKEABLE SUV WILL GIVE KIA SALES A GOOD KICK ALONG
Kia’s third SUV, the Seltos, is another reason for buyers to visit their showroom
The Korean importer is on a roll and this year should do even better. Last year Kia was one of the few to grow sales, up 4.6 per cent to 61,503 units. Even mighty Toyota suffered a fall by 5.2 per cent. Leading the charge has been the Cerato sedan and hatch with 21,756 sales, up 16.4 per cent.
But Seltos is already leaving its mark after a couple of months on sale. In December it was Kia’s second best seller with just under 1000 units behind Cerato (1487).
The entry-level 2.0-litre with CVT auto transmission starts at $25,990 on the road and rises to $41,990 for the GT-Line 1.6-litre petrol with the DCT dual clutch shifter as reviewed last weekend.
It’s a smart-looking car and the review vehicle was finished in a striking Neptune Blue, which costs $520 extra.
Specification includes standard AEB (car and pedestrian), an 8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, lane-keeping assist, cruise control, driver drowsiness alert, halogen daytime running lights, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, six airbags, six speakers and automatic headlights.
The top of the tree GT-Line comes with sunroof, 18in alloy wheels, interior sound mood lighting, eight-speaker BOSE premium sound system, fast wireless phone charger, 7in driver instrument cluster, head-up display, premium artificial leather seats, powered driver and front passenger seats, heated and ventilated front seats, LED headlights, daylight running lights and front fog lights and automatic wipers.
All grades get a five-star crash rating but the cheaper models get a basic version of the autonomous emergency braking. The GTLine’s smarter AEB operates at freeway speeds and detects cyclists and pedestrians, and the adaptive cruise control keeps a safe distance from the car in front. Other active safety items include blind-spot warning and lane-keep assistance that will steer you back into your lane if you wander. The car also checks for other vehicles when you’re reversing out of a car spot and hits the brakes if it senses a potential collision.
The GT-Line has heated and cooled partial leather seats in the front, while rear passengers are looked after with individual air vents and reclining seats.
Head, shoulder and legroom are good front and back, but the sunroof does take away some front headroom.
The load area will easily fit strollers, prams, suitcases and other family bits and pieces.
The head-up display makes it easy to stick to the speed limit and also shows navigation directions.
The Seltos feels a bit lacklustre at first, a combination of the dual clutch gearbox and turbo-lag taking their time.
But once underway, the Seltos is lively and zips along, and has good grunt for overtaking too – and range road work.
It feels balanced and secure at speed and doesn’t get easily ruffled by mid-corner corrugations or potholes.
The steering takes a bit of getting used to. Sometimes it feels too heavy.
A stint up the Rex Range between Mossman and Julatten revealed the Seltos can be a bit of fun, with the all-wheel-drive giving plenty of grip. The AWD also was of benefit coming down a wet and slippery Kuranda Range in heavy rain.
It is quiet on the open road with low levels of engine and wind feedback but it is raucous on coarse bitumen.
The Seltos cabin is mostly all black and is well put together but there were some cheaper plastics used in both trim and switchgear.
Fuel use was 7.8L/100km over 312km. Kia suggests 7.6L, so not bad at all.
The Seltos GT-Line seems expensive at first but for the money you get loads of tech, plenty of creature comforts, a lot of space and an entertaining drive. CHECK IT OUT AT TRINITY KIA, CAIRNS