Kia Seltos X-Line SX AWD: SOUL TRAIN

Kia Seltos X-Line SX AWD

SOUL TRAIN

Back in the day, when Korea’s Kia was just beginning to work its way into America’s consciousness, that beginning was less than auspicious. You couldn’t help but like the footprint and simplicity of that mid-‘90s Sportage, but then, neither could you overlook its entry-level spec and overall lack of refinement. But it was a start, and unlike its corporate sibling – Hyundai’s first Excel – no Sportage ever blew up in the driveway. 

Today the Sportage is but one step on Kia’s lineup ladder. Above it are the Sorento and Telluride, while immediately below it is the redesigned Seltos. The Seltos tag is taken from Greek mythology: Celtos, I’m told, was the Son of Hercules, while the redesigned Seltos could be seen as the Son of Telluride. And given the success of Kia’s biggest crossover, it’s a damn good gene pool. 

If thinking Son of Telluride is apt, in the walkup you may be seeing the new Seltos as a close cousin of Volvo’s XC40. While the Volvo has more visual bulk, the profiles are almost identical, and share the same upswept C-Pillar toward the rear. The Seltos also enjoys more avert angularity (‘tis the ‘thing’), but the Kia would look completely comfortable on a Volvo showroom. (Of course, if that were the case you’d see a deep downturn in its sales.) But there’s a lot to like on the outside, especially when its exterior is ‘clothed’ in Kia’s Terrain Brown. 

If there’s one exception to the ‘a lot to like’ descriptive, it’s the Kia’s front grille. I’m not sure why so many carmakers today insist on a stylistic mashup of the front fascia, but Kia has mashups across several of its models, and the new Seltos wasn’t spared. I’m not sure what happened to the last century’s design ethos, but I’ll guess it’s simply regarded as so last century…I’ll miss it.

Inside, the detailing is almost upscale. The perforated SynTex seating is called Smoky Black, and is both generous in its room and supportive in its construction. A friend of mine and I shared that space for roughly four hours (each way) between Northern Virginia (just west of DC) and Pennsylvania’s Poconos, and still liked each other at the end of both the going and the coming. The cabin isolates you from comfort, but doesn’t isolate you from the road. And while I wish the infotainment portion of its expansive screen – some 24 inches total! – was more intuitive, the target audience will get it. The seating position is that perfect compromise between easy to access and easy to see out of, and that visibility is almost unhindered; this would be a great carriage for an Uber driver.

Room for front seat passengers is generous, and the room in back will certainly work for two adults, but won’t (let’s be frank) for three. Flip the rear seat down and you’ll enjoy 64 cubic feet for your cargo, while with it up there is still 28 cubic feet. If you do take off for a week you may not need the top-mounted box!

And with the standard drivetrain in the X-Line SX AWD Seltos, I believe you’ll want to go somewhere. The 1.6 liter turbo delivers 190 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque, and puts that power to the ground via an 8-speed automatic. While Car and Driver arrived at 60 in just over 8 seconds – which is middlin’ in the performance curve – the Seltos feels faster, and never lacked for urge when passing or merging. That same magazine bemoaned the 300+ pounds of additional weight the engine is carrying for ’27, and that gain is regrettable. The average motorist, however, won’t notice. And if that 300 pounds does bother you, leave the husband and kids at home!

Without benefit of a hybrid powertrain, those paying at the pump – which is all of us – might be apprehensive regarding economy. The EPA gives the Seltos with its 1.6 liter turbo 24 City/30 Highway and 26 Combined. And to be sure, you won’t confuse those numbers with a Prius. But they are acceptable, and on the trip home from PA the dashboard was telling me 30, and that was at speeds between 70 and 80 miles per hour. 

My only confusion regarding the redesign Seltos is at the point of purchase. Its as-equipped window sticker of $37,205 ($1500 of that is destination) will also easily put you in the larger and more comfortable Sportage, along with any number of midlevel CR-Vs or RAV4s. If opting for a Sportage Hybrid, you’ll enjoy the same 1.6 liter turbo, and with battery assist have an EPA estimate of 40 City/42 Hwy/41 Combined. Obviously, that’s a substantive improvement, and worth both the second look and second demo drive.

If they let me into Kia’s product planning room, I’d come up with a Seltos trim that gave you the good 1.6 liter turbo powerplant – the standard 2.0 liter delivers just 147 horsepower, which is no fun at all! – and a reasonable spec for under $30K. At one time the Koreans provided a competitive edge on price, and in a $37K – as tested – Seltos, the pencil could (and should) be sharpened.