- 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)
2022 Kia Seltos Sport+ review
This is a sporty-looking Kia Seltos with a humble 2.0-litre engine and CVT auto. Does that make it the pick of the bunch?
- Huge boot and second row
- Safe, fun and easy to drive
- Great pricing considering the on-board tech
- Noisy cabin
- No rear air vents or USB ports
- Not the most enthusiastic powertrain
Is the Kia Seltos a good car?
The Kia Seltos is one of those just right products.
It sits in the heartland of the small SUV segment because of its physical size, but the brand's packaging efforts see it feel anything but small on the inside. On top of a massive boot, there's a spacious second row that makes other, larger, medium SUVs feel pokey.
Pricing is fair across the range, too, with our particular 2022 Kia Seltos Sport+ CVT model coming in close as the value pick of the litter. Before we start, let's take a look at the whole range first.
The 2022 Kia Seltos S kicks things off at $29,290 drive-away, meaning there's a perfect sub-$30K option to become someone's first car.
Standard features on this model include automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and vehicle detection, and adaptive cruise control (on a base model!). Performance comes from a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder with 110kW/180Nm and is put through a CVT automatic.
Next up in the model range is the 2022 Kia Seltos Sport for $32,790 drive-away, and the safety pack version $33,790. Why anyone would skimp on $1000 for the added safety gear is beyond me, but both cars feature 17-inch alloy wheels, a large 10.25-inch infotainment system, and electronic climate controls for the cabin. Safety pack cars receive a better version of auto braking with cyclist detection alongside pedestrian and vehicular.
Next in the range is our test car, the penultimate 2022 Kia Seltos Sport+. Like the aforementioned and regular 'Sport' model, the Seltos Sport+ also comes in two variants.
This time the difference is powertrain-related, and not safety gear-related. The first in the range – and what we're reviewing today – is powered by the same 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with CVT and costs $36,290 drive-away.
It receives artificial leather and cloth trim, blind-spot warning with rear cross-traffic alert, and smart key with push-button start over the Seltos Sport model. Basically all the stuff you need in your family car.
The other 2022 Kia Seltos Sport+ DCT on offer is the turbocharged engine and dual-clutch auto-equipped version, and costs $3500 more, or $39,790 before on-roads. This version adds more performance with a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine with 130kW/265Nm and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.
Last, at the top of the tree, is the Kia Seltos GT-Line starting from $45,290 drive-away with the same turbocharged running gear.
See, our 2022 Kia Seltos Sport+ CVT test car really is the sweet spot. Configured with cost-extra Mars Orange paint, it wears a final drive-away price of $36,825.60 – nearly 10 grand less than the range topper.
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Let's see what it's like.
Key details | 2022 Kia Seltos Sport+ |
Price (drive-away) | $36,290 drive-away |
Colour of test car | Mars Orange |
Options | Metallic paint – $520 |
Price as tested | $36,826 (Offer pricing, not the total of base price plus options) |
Rivals | Mazda CX-30 | Skoda Kamiq | Mitsubishi ASX |
What is the Kia Seltos like inside?
Inside, the 2022 Kia Seltos Sport+ feels spacious and generous, especially given its title of small SUV.
The seats are great, too, with the backrest being deeply bolstered around your love handles, and the base supportive of fat bits on the outside of your thighs. The seats have great manual height adjustment, but do lack any form of lumbar support sadly.
Visibility from the driver's seat is excellent thanks to its tall, wagon-esque body type with large windows that carry right to the back. The cloth and faux-leather trim looks hearty and was easy to clean before handing the car back, so consider it fairly child-proof.
Things that stand out at the price point include the massive infotainment screen, electronic handbrake, digital climate-control system and funky faceted design to its speaker grilles. It presents like a high-spec car, even though it's well over 10-grand shy of the ultimate model in the range.
Storage in the first row of the cabin is fantastic, too, with a pair of large cupholders big enough for the largest Slurpee 7-Eleven has to offer, a small open-air storage tray perfect for your sunnies, and huge armrest big enough for a woman's clutch.
I keep coming back to space and storage because it's the cabin's best trick. Over in the second row, the sense of space continues. I'm 183cm tall and found there to be stacks of room in the back, with my knees totally clear of the seat backs and overall comfort levels high.
You can easily fit two adults, maybe three occasionally, meaning it truly punches above its weight in terms of space. I fitted a Britax Graphene convertible car seat and found loading a four-year-old really easy in a forward-facing position.
Unlike a 2022 Porsche Macan, the front passenger seat can remain kicked back and unaffected by the installation of a child seat behind, as there's enough space here in the Seltos. Top marks.
Other touchpoints in the back include bottle holders, as sadly there are no air vents or USB power ports back in the second row. Behind all the action lies a genuinely large boot.
Luggage space in our car measures up to 433L with a full-size spare wheel under the boot floor, which is fantastic. A compact pram would fit easily alongside a week's worth of luggage for a trip away, proving the Kia Seltos can handle the grocery run and school holiday season with ease.
I had the car loaded up similarly, but swap the pram for a scooter. I also filled the boot with a healthy fortnightly grocery shop with plenty of room to spare. With the second-row folded and two seats in play, the Seltos will fit 1393L in total.
If you like cycling, you'll get a standard-size bike in the back, no worries at all.
2022 Kia Seltos Sport+ | |
Seats | Five |
Boot volume | 433L seats up 1393L seats folded |
Length | 4370mm |
Width | 1800mm |
Height | 1620mm |
Wheelbase | 2630mm |
How big is the screen in the Kia Seltos?
The 2022 Kia Seltos Sport+ is well equipped in the infotainment stakes.
Taking front and centre in the dashboard is a widescreen 10.25-inch infotainment system with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. If you're wondering why the inferior and smaller touchscreen stereo found in the cheaper Kia Seltos models has both wireless and wired smartphone connectivity, it's because of a technical complication.
Kia is working hard to resolve the issue, but as of now, mid-trim and above Kia Seltos models with the larger infotainment screen and in-built navigation system – like our test car – do not receive wireless smartphone connectivity.
The software package is great, with an easy-to-use and logical menu that's styled to look fresh and contemporary. The standard-fit six-speaker stereo did a good job of reproducing Mac DeMarco's Chamber of Reflection, with those bright twinkly synthesiser licks cutting through just like they should.
Ocean Alley's Corduroy sounded equally as impressive, showing that the entry-level and unbranded audio system isn't too bad in this mid-tier Kia.
Is the Kia Seltos a safe car?
The 2022 Kia Seltos range is covered by a five-star ANCAP safety rating.
Having been tested under 2019's criteria, the Kia Seltos scored fairly with 85 per cent and 83 per cent for adult and child occupant safety respectively. It falls down with a poor vulnerable road user safety (occupants outside of the car) score of 61 per cent.
Standard-fit safety gear for the 2022 Kia Seltos Sport+ includes both high- and low-speed autonomous emergency braking with car, pedestrian and cyclist detection as well as junction assist, blind-spot monitoring with lane-change assist, rear cross-traffic alert with automatic braking, lane-keeping assist, and lastly parking sensors at both ends.
It's decently equipped for the money in terms of active safety systems.
2022 Kia Seltos Sport+ | |
ANCAP rating | Five stars (tested 2019) |
Safety report | Link to ANCAP report |
How much does the Kia Seltos cost to run?
Kia offers seven years of capped-price servicing to match the vehicle's seven-year warranty.
Maintaining a 2022 Kia Seltos Sport+ CVT costs $261, $452 and $324 each year, or $1037 for the first three years. Intervals are 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.
Years four and five cost $584 and $293, bringing the five-year ownership bill to $1914. If you go the whole seven years, the final two services cost $593 and $311, resulting in a seven-year maintenance cost of $2818 in total.
For comparison, the first three services for a 2.5-litre all-wheel-drive 2022 Mazda CX-30 cost $322, $438 and $409, or $1169 in total. Years four and five will run you $541 and $322, meaning five years, or 50,000km of travel, costs $2032.
At a glance | 2022 Kia Seltos Sport+ |
Warranty | Five years / unlimited km |
Service intervals | 12 months or 15,000km |
Servicing costs | $1037 (3 years), $1914 (5 years), $2818 (7 years) |
It shows the Kia's servicing prices are fair and in line with the segment's expectations. Fuel economy was a strong point, however, as after 782km of driving in our care, the trip computer displayed 6.7L/100km.
The official combined claim is 6.8L/100km, so for once a better result than the claim.
Fuel Consumption - brought to you by bp
Fuel Useage | Fuel Stats |
Fuel cons. (claimed) | 6.8L/100km |
Fuel cons. (on test) | 6.7L/100km |
Fuel type | 91-octane regular unleaded |
Fuel tank size | 50L |
What is the Kia Seltos like to drive?
The best thing about the Kia Seltos Sport+ is the way it feels on the road; something we owe to a bunch of hard-working Australians who give the Seltos a specific Australian suspension tune.
The local team behind Kia's mastery in this field tell me a highly composed and inherently safe suspension set-up is the mission objective for every car they tune for our country.
It's an interesting philosophy, as this notion does have the tendency to make cars feel stiff, tense, involving, and sometimes not what you want in a family SUV. Meaty steering and bumpy ride quality are two real-world examples of the potential bad sides coming from this school of thought.
However, Kia's Australian team got the 2022 Kia Seltos Sport+ just right by blessing it with fantastic ride quality, decent amounts of suppleness, and the usual hallmark of good dynamics on a fast country road – the latter stemming from their eternal quest for inherent safety.
It really does feel safe to drive, with the steering reacting quickly off centre and the brake pedal having some initial and firm bite. As a potential car for you or your partner to share with your up-and-coming family of drivers, it really hits the mark.
Sitting up high with great, large pieces of glass to peer through also aids bravery too. Around town it was comfortable enough, with the odd pothole crash coming from its stiffness honestly as bad as it gets.
My bigger gripe is tyre noise, however, and both Kia and Hyundai have work to do in this area. Up at higher speeds, on the worst sections of Sydney's metro motorways, there was enough unwanted noise coming into the cabin to result in the stereo being cranked to compensate.
The weedy 2.0-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder only makes 110kW/180Nm, but strangely gets it done better than theory or your mind would assume. The car uses a constantly variable transmission (CVT) too – a naturally lossy driveline, which adds more doubt to the assumption.
However, it's brisk enough to move about a family of three with a fully packed boot. The only time we lusted for more was during overtakes in 110km/h zones, which come few and far between for most.
Off-the-mark acceleration is good, and the CVT auto means you can pretty much stomp on the throttle and not get a harsh or abrupt reaction.
There's no denying that the transmission can feel doughy by holding a certain RPM as the car's speed flares, but the CVT will mimic downshifts and do good enough of a job to feel 'regular', or like a traditional torque-converter automatic.
It's polite, frugal, and a joy to use overall.
Key details | 2022 Kia Seltos Sport+ |
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 | 81kW/t |
Weight (tare) | 1355kg |
Tow rating | 1100kg braked, 600kg unbraked |
Turning circle | 10.6m |
Should I buy a Kia Seltos?
For mid-$30,000s on the road, the 2022 Kia Seltos Sport+ CVT is one of the best small SUVs in the class.
This particular trim level is a value gem for a family, as it offers the right balance of usable goodies – like keyless entry, automatic climate control and easy to clean half-leather seats – on top of excellent credentials.
Which in this case includes a massive second row for teenagers, and equally large boot for sports gear, bikes, scooters, or whatever else they're into.
Last but not least, the Kia Seltos Sport+ is easy and safe to drive thanks to its confidence-inspiring handling characteristics, is cheap to run, and protected by an industry-leading seven-year warranty.
If you're searching for a frugal dual-purpose family car for you, your kids, or even your parents to share, head to a Kia dealer and start there.