- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
2.0i, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
110kW, 180Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 6.8L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto (CVT)
- Warranty
7 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
5/5 star (2019)
2021 Kia Seltos S Safety Pack review
There’s an update due in 2022, but the Kia Seltos remains a popular choice in the small SUV segment – one that for many manufacturers is now the entry point to the range. Trent Nikolic gets behind the wheel of the Seltos S, the price-leader of the Seltos range.
- Engine is economical but capable
- Ride quality is excellent
- Warranty and servicing costs are a bonus
- Not a fan of the rubber steering wheel
- No rear air vents or USB sockets
- Some hard cabin plastics
Introduction
Small SUV options have exploded in recent years, and that’s never more evident than in the vehicles you can list as competitors to the Kia Seltos. They include, but aren’t limited to, the Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona, Jeep Compass, Mazda CX-30, MG ZS and ZST, Mitsubishi ASX and Eclipse Cross, Nissan Qashqai, Skoda Kamiq, Subaru XV, Suzuki Vitara, Toyota C-HR and Volkswagen T-Roc.
Crowded isn’t it? And that's not even everything currently available.
The Kia Seltos does quite well too. At the time of testing, it sits sixth in the segment for the year, slugging it out with the MG ZS, Mitsubishi ASX, Mazda CX-30, Hyundai Kona and Subaru XV (in that order) for a coveted place in the top five. The narrative in this segment is as much about value as it is badge credibility, making the entry point to the respective ranges extremely important.
That’s where the 2021 Kia Seltos S with Safety Pack, as tested here, comes in. Pricing for our tester starts from $28,290 drive-away. There are two front-wheel-drive petrol variants above the Seltos S (Sport and Sport +) and then two all-wheel-drive turbo petrol variants (Sport + and GT-Line) to choose from. Pricing and standard equipment are spread nicely through the range, and headlined by Kia’s industry-leading seven-year warranty.
The Seltos is classy without being too edgy. The styling probably errs more on the conservative side, but the positive there is that it won't offend anyone with off-the-wall styling cues.
It does, however, look right at home against the most modern entrants in the segment, with a neat front end, dual-level headlights, and Kia's signature grille design. From the rear, it's just as compact and classy, unmistakably part of the Kia family, but also fresh and modern. Keep in mind, too, that Kia was late to the small-SUV party, so the Seltos had some ground to make up.
Key details | 2021 Kia Seltos S (with Safety Pack) |
Price (MSRP) | $28,290 drive-away |
Colour of test car | Starbright Yellow |
Options | Safety pack - $1000 |
Price as tested | $29,290 drive-away |
Rivals | MG ZS | Mitsubishi ASX | Mazda CX-30 |
Inside
Inside the cabin, it's typical 2021 Kia fare – that is a well put together, minimalist design layout for the major controls and switches. It's a layout that makes sense, though, and is immediately ergonomic.
The rubber steering wheel – which is completely acceptable – is a negative for me. As are some of the hard cabin plastics. However, a couple of the Drive test team had no issue with the rubber wheel, so consider that a personal preference.
The Seltos's cabin is spacious. Quality and comfortable material seats have plenty of adjustment, and the amount of room inside the cabin is unexpected for the segment.
There's a real sense of copious head room, which has to do with the spacious glasshouse, but also related to the way the seats sit down into the cabin. There's a bright and airy feel about the cabin, no matter whether you're in the front row or second row.
We thought the Seltos had better seats than the Mazda CX-30 in a recent comparison, and visibility is excellent from the driver's seat. Rear three-quarter visibility especially, which makes manoeuvering around town safe and easy.
There's also plenty of clever storage provided. You get useful cupholders, bottle holders in the door pockets, smartphone storage ahead of the shifter, and nooks for things like keys and wallets.
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On the subject of comfort, the Seltos has a near-perfect hip point, which makes getting into and out of the cabin a cinch, even for those of you with bad backs, hip or knee issues. We get asked often about access and seat height, and the Seltos is one of the better options.
Into the second row and the Seltos once again excels in the segment. There's way more room than you'd expect from outside, but that positive is offset a little by the lack of rear air vents for passengers. A compact cabin doesn't necessarily suffer from a lack of vents, but it would be even better with them.
The S rear seats aren't as sculpted as those higher up the Seltos range, but they are still comfortable and make for easy family cruising. The boot offers a competitive 468L with the second row in use and 1428L with those seats folded down.
The boot is one of the biggest in the class, outsizing the CX-30, ASX and C-HR. Higher-grade models are slightly smaller, owing to a space-saver spare tyre on the Seltos S versus a full-size spare on other variants.
2021 Kia Seltos S (with Safety Pack) | |
Seats | Five |
Boot volume | 468L seats up / 1428L seats folded |
Length | 4370mm |
Width | 1800mm |
Height | 1615mm |
Wheelbase | 2630mm |
Infotainment and Connectivity
The Kia's infotainment system is a good one that worked well for us on test. The screen is mounted high, right in your field of view, and is responsive and clear.
The controls and commands are easy to work out, and there's a premium feel to the system and its controls, despite the price point. The aforementioned hard plastics aside, the infotainment system feels like it could be out of a more expensive model grade.
Entry-grade it might be, but the Seltos S gets an 8.0-inch touchscreen, with wireless smartphone connectivity for both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. As we've seen with other Kia models, as you climb up the ladder, you get a larger 10.25-inch screen but wired smartphone connectivity instead of wireless. There's no proprietary navigation for the Seltos S, so you'll need your smartphone for that.
The audio system itself is solid for the money as well. The sound is decent enough from the six speakers, but you don't get digital radio as you will further up the model range. Steering-wheel-mounted controls make working with the system easy too. In fact, Kia's steering wheel controls are some of the best and most well organised in the business.
Safety and Technology
The Seltos gets a full five-star ANCAP rating from its test in 2019, and there's a quality list of standard inclusions on the base S, even though it's the sharpest-priced model in the range.
Standard equipment for the Seltos S includes anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution and brake assist, electronic stability and traction control, downhill brake control, hill-start assist, rear parking sensors, a rear-view camera with dynamic guidelines, lane-keep assist, driver-attention alert, and autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with car and pedestrian detection.
Opting for the S with Safety Pack adds more advanced driver-attention monitoring, more advanced AEB plus cyclist detection and junction assists, plus adaptive cruise control. There are also three top-tether points and two ISOFIX points at the outer seat positions in the second row on all Seltos variants.
2021 Kia Seltos S (with Safety Pack) | |
ANCAP rating | Five stars (tested 2019) |
Safety report | Link to ANCAP |
Value for Money
Kia's value equation is, and has been for some time, strong. That starts with the brand's seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, which remains the best in the business, without the conditional requirements of some longer warranties from other brands.
Buying a new vehicle like the Seltos, knowing you're covered for seven years of ownership, makes for a pretty safe bet. Service intervals are 12 months or 15,000km, which means you won't be visiting your local Kia dealer too often.
Over the first three years, Kia's capped-price servicing costs $1037, working out to $1914 over the first five years. Kia actually runs its service plan for the Seltos out to seven years, but costs begin to climb, adding up to $2818 for that period.
The ADR fuel claim on the combined cycle is 6.8L/100km, spot-on for a non-hybrid petrol engine. On test, with a weighting toward around-town running, we used an indicated 8.1L/100km. On the highway, we saw the live figure dip into the mid fives.
At a glance | 2021 Kia Seltos S (with Safety Pack) |
Warranty | Seven years / unlimited km |
Service intervals | 12 months / 15,000km |
Servicing costs | $1037 (3 years) | $1914 (5 years) | $2818 (7 years) |
Fuel cons. (claimed) | 6.8L/100km |
Fuel cons. (on test) | 8.1L/100km |
Fuel type | 91-octane petrol |
Fuel tank size | 50L |
Driving
You might think the 2.0-litre, naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine would be found wanting in this segment, even against its own sibling running the 1.6-litre turbo. However, while it lacks the effortless punch that a turbo brings, the 2.0-litre is easily capable of day-to-day running. It's probably not quite as refined as the turbo either, but we didn't find it intrusive.
Its 110kW and 180Nm are more than enough to get around town with ease, and our fuel return on test indicated that the engine isn't working too hard either. The engine certainly doesn't feel sluggish or like you need to thrash it to get up to speed. It's mated to one of the better CVTs we've tested from any brand, which doesn't do any of the slurring or whining we associate with the first generation of CVTs.
The steering is a highlight around town, especially at low speed, where manoeuvering the Seltos is a cinch no matter how tight the street or parking spot. Small SUVs come into their own around town, but the Seltos is also capable of a prolonged highway run without feeling like it's getting battered by the wind. If you head off on country drives semi-regularly, don't be put off by a small SUV. The Seltos will serve buyers well in this regard.
As we've noted time and again, Kia's local suspension tune has taken a competent chassis and made it even better. Our Seltos S rides on chubby 205/60R16 tyres fitted to steel wheels with hubcaps. The latter might be a bit 'early '90s', but that aside, the smaller rims and taller tyres afford a comfortable ride on any surface.
Kia manages to nail the balance between ride quality and handling balance, and the Seltos S has once again benefited from that. If you were measuring the ride against other segments, it probably errs (just) on the firm side, but we never found it to crash or become uncomfortable. Models with lower-profile tyres and larger rims will be sportier and grippier, of course, but a twisty road won't upset the Seltos S to the point of discomfort.
Key details | 2021 Kia Seltos S (with Safety Pack) |
Engine | 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol |
Power | 110kW @ 6200rpm |
Torque | 180Nm @ 4500rpm |
Drive type | Front-wheel drive |
Transmission | Continuously variable automatic (CVT) |
Power to weight ratio | 81.2kW/t |
Weight (tare) | 1355kg |
Tow rating | 1100kg braked, 600kg unbraked |
Turning circle | 10.6m |
Conclusion
As we mentioned earlier, the Seltos currently sits sixth in the segment in terms of sales. It probably deserves to sell even better, given its value for money, standard inclusions and overall quality. It's a very competitive offering in what is an incredibly tough segment.
While there's a lot to like about the Seltos grades higher up the model tree, the S – with the Safety Pack as tested here – is a compelling proposition for those on a tighter budget. You're getting a lot of SUV for a starting price under 30 grand. Pound for pound, the Seltos S goes into battle competitively with the best in the segment.