2024 Kia Seltos
About four years ago, Kia made it clear that they were serious about their entry into the compact SUV segment. While the Soul is a cute and affordable vehicle that attracted its share of fans worldwide, it wasn’t enough consumers looking for a more practical, year-round vehicle.
The Seltos was the answer. It perfectly slots between the Soul, the Niro, and the Sportage. Yet, it is in a very competitive segment where having an advantage helps attracts potential customers.
For 2024, the Kia Seltos underwent a mid-cycle refresh that should help its cause as a major player in this segment. Exterior-wise, the updates include a new grille pattern and headlamp units, along with a new taillight arrangement and wheels.
What has not changed is a very distinctive Kia for its class. The Seltos is upright with a longer roof profile and typical side glass with a triangular c-pillar pane. The roof shows off a “floating” profile based on a chrome piece splitting the top and side parts of the structure. The overall result is a clean sheet look that we are seeing now across the Kia lineup.
Our SX tester received a set of 18-inch alloy wheels, along with trim-specific satin chrome trim.
The biggest update for 2024 is found inside the interior. A new flat panel stretches two-third down the dashboard. While integrated into the dashboard itself, the panel offers two 10.25-inch screens – one for a fully digital instrument cluster, the other for the infotainment touchscreen. Controls are good to the touch and logical, and there is an actual shifter for the transmission on the center console.
Our SX tester came with a two-tone SynTex upholstery. The front seats were pretty supportive and quite comfortable. Rear seat room is very good with plenty of leg and head room for six-footers. Cargo space starts with 26.8 cubic feet before folding down the second row. Once folded down, the Seltos offers 62.8 cubic feet of cargo room.
Our SX tester has a 195-horsepower 1.6-liter turbocharged engine with 195 pound-feet of torque. This engine is connected to an eight-speed automatic transmission and Kia’s Dynamax all-wheel-drive system. This driveline offered great low-end pickup with solid performance all around. For fuel economy, we observed an average of 25.2 MPG in our care.
The ride quality is pretty good for this vehicle. We felt minimal feedback from rougher road surfaces. It felt very light on its feet when cornering, with plenty of control to keep it from getting loose.
Braking was superb for this type of vehicle. Pedal feel was solid with good stopping power in normal and panic situations. The steering system was a good enough weight on-center and is quite responsive in the turns. We like the size and thickness of the steering wheel giving us an overall sporty feel with the Seltos.
Pricing for the 2024 Kia Seltos lineup starts at $24,390 with a choice of five trim levels. Our SX tester with all-wheel-drive came with a sticker price of $33,085.
The Kia Seltos plays in an emerging segment among SUVs – not too small and not too compact. Consumers have compared the Seltos to the Jeep Compass, Dodge Hornet, Hyundai Kona, Mitsubishi Outlander Sport and Eclipse Cross, Subaru Crosstrek, Chevrolet Trax and Trailblazer, Buick Encore GX, Ford Bronco Sport, and Mazda CX-30.
In a segment full of choice, the Kia Seltos is a sound one to make. It offers the spaced you need, the performance you deserve, and a stand-out design that engages everyone. This is a smaller SUV worth discovering.
Credits: CarSoup Editors
