As cars continue to be wildly expensive, offerings under $30,000 are more important than ever. These are the cars lots of buyers can actually afford, transportation with a warranty for John Q. Public. Dominated largely by sedans and barely-bigger-than-a-hatchback crossovers, it’s relatively rare to find a genuinely spacious CUV in this price bracket, which makes the new Kia Seltos rather interesting.
The old Kia Seltos was a pure value play that generally made for a competent commuter. With space for adults in the rear seats, a reasonably sized cargo hold, loads of features, and a low starting price of $25,285, it was a lot of car for the money. Spend a little bit more for drive to all four wheels, and you’d get the second-cheapest AWD car in America.
So, when Kia announced that the second-generation Seltos was going to grow up in dimensions and feature count, I felt a bit of trepidation. Sure, an extra 1.2 cu.-ft. of cargo space behind the rear seats and nearly an extra inch of rear legroom sounds useful, but we’ve seen the story of bigger, more complex, and more expensive time and time again. It turns out, the new Seltos doesn’t start out much more expensive than the old one, and what you get for the money is impressive.
Let’s start right at the bottom of the range, the base front-wheel-drive LX trim. At $26,485 including freight, it’s $1,200 more than the old one, but you get extra stuff to go with the extra space. Right off the rip, you get a much more sophisticated infotainment system. Screen size grows from eight inches to 12.3 inches, and you still get a volume knob and a variety of shortcut keys. More importantly, it now adopts Kia’s latest user interface, which has bigger, easier-to-navigate tiles than the old setup. Speaking of connectivity, the old base Seltos came with three USB ports, but this new one features five USB-C ports. And you now get a steering wheel wrapped in synthetic leather, front and rear parking sensors, push-to-start, and—according to Kia’s spec sheet—an auto-dimming rearview mirror. That’s a lot of stuff.
So what are the compromises? Well, you lose a standard rear seat air vent, and the powertrain is essentially carried over from the old car. That means that on lower trims, you get a 147-horsepower two-liter inline-four hitched to a CVT. The big head-scratcher is the lack of steering-wheel-mounted audio and cruise controls despite the Seltos coming standard with radar cruise control. Still, for $26,485, this is looking like a lot of crossover. But what if you want all-wheel drive? Ah, that’s where things start to get a little pricier. The cheapest LX AWD model now costs $1,700 more than the old one, $28,185 including freight, to be precise. However, that still makes it $230 cheaper than the least expensive Subaru Crosstrek, with the Seltos trading horsepower for features and space.
Want a 12-way power driver’s seat, wireless smartphone charging, blind spot monitoring, 18-inch wheels, and a few black cosmetic bits? That means stepping up to the S trim, which retails for $27,885 in front-wheel-drive form and $29,585 in all-wheel-drive spec. That’s a noticeable jump in price for not a whole lot more features, and it makes the X-Line S seem like a better deal. Think of it as an AWD S with faux-leather upholstery, LED taillights, a rear center armrest, and heated front seats for $30,485 including freight.
What’s next on the trim walk? Well, it’s the EX, and this is where some of the real creature comforts start to come in. Things like dual-zone automatic climate control with a rear seat air vent, heated mirrors, automatic functionality on all four power windows, and a power liftgate. Pricing for this trim starts at $29,885 with front-wheel-drive and $31,585 with all-wheel-drive. Again, this still has the naturally aspirated engine and CVT, so if you’re looking for more oomph, you’ll need to go all the way up to the top X-Line SX trim.
At $34,585, this is the most expensive Seltos you can buy, but it comes with a 190-horsepower turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-four and a conventional eight-speed automatic. It also gets you 19-inch wheels, projector headlights, a standard panoramic moonroof, solar glass, and a heated steering wheel. Weirdly, there’s an option package available on top of that, which includes a Harman/Kardon sound system, ventilated front seats, GPS navigation, a big digital instrument cluster, a 360-degree camera system, and a few extra driver assistance systems.
Still, load up a Seltos, and you’re starting to encroach on the pricing of a Sportage, or a Hyundai Tucson, or a Honda CR-V. Keep it cheap and cheerful by going with the base trim, and it still seems like it could be solid value. Of course, not only are we waiting on pricing for the forthcoming Seltos Hybrid, there’s only one way to be sure about whether the new model’s good and that’s by putting tire to tarmac. David’s driving it next month, so we should have the full story on Kia’s smart-looking new entry-level crossover soon. If it drives nearly as mature as it looks, it should be a winner.
Top graphic image: Kia
Why, in this day and age, do they keep piling on all this CRAP, when what is NEEDED is a cheap basic car that people can afford. To me, $26K-28K isn’t affordable. They managed to do it back in the ’70s…well, Japan and Germany did, anyways. Don’t need 20-way heated seats, a 12″ TV right in the middle of the dash, stupid controls for everything, and certainly not a damned CVT.
A/C and a single-DIN slot in the dash are all the “luxuries” anyone really needs. A base model should be a BASE model. Imagine how much cheaper these vehicles could be without all the horseshit added on.
(/old man shouting at the clouds wrestled down and administered his meds)
That shouldn’t be allowed in any 4-door vehicle.
I know it’s an apples to oranges comparison, but I think for roughly the same money, I’d rather have the Kia K4 hatch in GT Line trim (about $28K with the regular engine and CVT). I say this even though I might actually make use of the extra space in the Seltos sometimes.
5 usb ports and only one of which connects to the infotainment system for either audio/data or android auto/apple car play the rest are only for charging. What’s the point of having even just the two on the dashboard/ console if only one is actually useful? Even with wireless apple car play and android auto like the newer models it’s still nice to have that option without losing the ability to use a usb drive for music and or podcasts etc
Agreed…the aftermarket stereo in my truck is capable of talking to my phone for music streaming, but I don’t always carry my phone with me, and I don’t want to have to mess with anything to play my music. I have a little 64GB USB drive plugged in with a godzillion hours of the music I actually want to listen to, cued-up and playing as soon as I start the truck.
Comparing it back to CRV/RAV4 should be made against a previous generation or two. As it’s grown to the size of them just a generation or two ago. So price overlap is logical – though not exactly appreciated by buyers.
Bring back the Soul in its original size (with Hamstars, too, please) so it slots in under this.
It looks good, really good actually but after working at a Hyundai/Kia dealership in the service department, I can’t get over how poorly they treat their customers. Obvious engine issues, spotty electronics and interior build issues that all should have been covered under warranty (these cars had less than 20k miles on them) and Hyundai would drag their feet in getting them approved or simply not have any replacement parts available.
I’d rather have a Nissan tbh, they have issues but Nissan at least tried their hardest to make it right.
It looks like they took lessons from how VW operates a service dept.
For roughly the same money Chevy Bolt is peppier and better looking.
And requires no dinosaur juice to run.
This so-called subcompact segment is getting large enough that I’d imagine there’s going to be a group of people exhausted with car pricing, willing to go down the ladder for a decently equipped Seltos over something like a Sportage. After all, this thing is closer in size to a 3rd gen Rav4 than a 2nd gen. 30k for a well equipped version (I live in the Northeast, there won’t be a single FWD model on a lot within 200 miles of here) is actually a decent deal; Kia is going to sell a metric fuck-ton of these provided they build enough.
That being said Kia still scares me based on the dealer experience. They are still on indefinite suspension among my family for how badly they screwed over my sister regarding her Soul (the vehicle made by Kia) being, for lack of a better term, an unrepentant globule of waste.
Kia changes sheet metal with ridiculous frequency and severity but puts the same damn dashboard in everything below the Telluride. And it’s a horribly bland one.
$26k for that thing is crazy. Sure, it has a long warranty. But for the same price, you can buy a 2000’s Bentley Flying Spur, which will probably still end up being more reliable.
I don’t see how this is worth $6K more than we paid for my mother’s Soul (base with Tech Pkg so it has all the beeps and boops). Base looks to be the very same FWD powertrain. It’s very meh, but it has served her well for very short money. Assuming she doesn’t total it, I expect it to be Grannie’s last ride given how relatively little she drives it.
Good job on buying back your mom’s soul.
ROFL!
She has more than enough soul for the both of us. The woman is 78 going on 17 most of the time. And more power to her. But dealing with her makes me sympathize with those raising teenage girls.
It looks pretty nice and we need more options in this price range, so right on!
Will it have amber or white DRLs? Pictures show both…
The Telluride did both depending on trim (IIRC) so I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case here too.
Interesting – was the higher trim white or amber?
a cursory glance online tells me that amber was SX trim only a few years ago, no idea about now
CX-50 Hybrid. With a bit of work, it’s easy for advanced beginners to knock ten percent off MSRP. That puts it at 33k plus ttl. It is really really hard to beat that proposition.
There’s always the Mazda3/Cx-30….
Not a fan of HK (quality, resale, driving dynamics), but their designs are very good.
This thing is ugly.
Agreed. They treat their customers like crap but I can’t deny their design department is great
The front face looks like something I would see watching my kid play Roblox.
I could see this being a true Crosstrek fighter, especially if they offered it in an off-road oriented trim (1.5″ more ground clearance, 17″ wheels, etc.) It already has a fully active AWD system sending power to all wheels all the time but the truly wild part is that it can be optioned with a center-locking diff. You can’t even get that on a WRX.
Subaru CVT’s are quite good but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that Kia 8 speed auto isn’t more appealing, at least on paper.
The “center locking differential” on Kia’s spec sheet is just a button plus a typical clutchpack bolted to the rear differential and not genuinely a locking center.
I had a Sorento with the Dynamax system that I am guessing is close to identical (hydraulically-operated clutch) to current systems and it was quite capable especially with a slight lift between that clutch and it’s brake-LSD behavior.
The AWD lock button was good enough at approximating 4Hi. The downside is that the unit was effectively sealed with no drain and destined to eventual failure, especially since it was used all the time. It was a $1.5k repair. (DIY is simple, but the unit at the time was directionally-sensitive and only units bought at the dealer have worked)
Shame about the engine and theft/vandalism risk though. If the 8-speed here is a torque converter and not a wet DCT I’d say it’s probably a solid Crosstrek competitor with a modest spacer lift tossed on. (Assuming diagonal and trail tests come out well)
My sense is that most people won’t rock crawl these things so a clutch pack is plenty strong to remain locked. It’s rated for 727 lb.ft which is 4x what the Seltos is putting out.
It appears that the unit does have a drain and fill plug. The owners manual provides rear axle and transfer case oil inspection intervals. Did you have any issues with it?
In any case, I have a Crosstrek which is fantastic in many ways and disappointing in others. I’d love some competition in the compact party animal segment.
note that torque is rated at the crank and it will be a different, larger number after the transmission, at the wheels, etc. Not that I would expect the unit to be underspecced in that way though, just a nitpick!
The AWD coupler is bolted onto to the rear differential but it’s a separate unit and oil fill than the axle/differential and transfer case. (fun fact, the Honda CR-V has the AWD bits and differential combined into one unit – it makes for a pricier oil change with a specific fluid/oil but it does take care of both at once)
I saw a forum post somewhere of a guy drilling a drain hole in his Kona’s coupler but no idea if that worked out.
The axle and transfer case likely use typical gear oil (75w-90 in my case) with nothing specced for the coupler and it’s considered a lifetime fill.
(I think I’ve seen something along the lines of “Shell TF0870” being specced for these written somewhere online but not sure if that’s true.)
Mine started acting up past 110k miles, we’ve seen some as low as 60k, sometimes they go longer but it really varies.
Maybe four-ish years back I went looking for reports of Highlander, RAV4, Crosstrek AWD coupler failures on forums and came up relatively dry with many more reports in H/K land despite the RAV4’s top sales. Not sure on the oil change situation for those though.
The flush door handles are infecting non-EV’s now?
Oh, god. I hadn’t looked that closely and now I can’t unsee it. That alone would cross it off my list, cheap or expensive.
Better just amputate the door handles entirely and get rid of that infection before it’s out of control like Ebola. Or use some sense and go back to the non-contagious regular handles.
I don’t mind flush door handles as long as they are not electric in any way. Some of the coolest cars of the past had flush handles – but they still worked when the battery was dead.
Agreed. Just shocked to see them at this price point. If there is an aero/NVH/MPG increase than I am doubly for it. I’m mostly concerned about looking like an idiot the first time I encounter them and fail to open the door in a timely manner.
Hopefully these are the type where you just push on one end and it pivots out so you can pull it and not some silly electric “presenter” arrangement like a Tesla S.
I like it. I know it’s not an enthusiast’s car, but I kind like the Kicks too, and Invista.
It can be optioned with a center locking diff! That certainly gives minor enthusiast tingles!
“…And you now get a steering wheel wrapped in synthetic leather, front and rear parking sensors, push-to-start, and—according to Kia’s spec sheet—an auto-dimming rearview mirror…”
Manual Transmission F*rds had that feature for over 80 years!
I push started a Nissan truck dozens of times, I think most manuals can be push started?
I understand. I was just picking on F*rds. 🙂
I had a Chevy Monza once that would fry the starter about every other month. I parked on hills every chance I could with that car.
Turns out the previous owner removed the factory heat-shield for the starter. Once the auto parts store that sold me a lifetime replacement starter got sick of me coming in for a new starter all the time, we figured out there was supposed to be a heat shield between the Y-pipe and the starter so the guy ordered one for me and gave it to me for free.
I never had to push-start it again after that.
Nope. Sorry but at this moment I don’t really trust the brand. And given the runaround they gave two people I know with Kias that are using quarts of oil between gas fill ups. The 4 cylinder engines they use are pretty atrocious.
Until I read overwhelming evidence that their garbage-tier dealership experience has changed, I have no interest in anything Kia makes.
I worked at a Kia store for 18 months and can absolutely attest to the garbage tier experience. It’s one of the biggest reasons why I left. No seemed to give a shit about anything.
Aw, c’mon!
They cared about moving the metal – and selling extended warranties!
That has been my hangup. I’d give them a chance with their warranty, but the warranty isn’t worth anything if it means dealing with a shady dealer who probably doesn’t want your warranty work clogging up their service bay.
It’s worse than that. When I worked at a H/K dealership, the service advisors would constantly argue with corporate about honoring warranties. Even the well-meaning dealerships get their hands tied by H/K corporate dragging their feet on warranty approvals and replacement parts availability
Yep, and undersized wiring resulting in fire risk in brake systems, trailer wiring, HVAC wiring (but only on fan speed 3), I don’t remember them all but there’s always something lurking… even in their EVs. (although so far I’m not aware of any fatal flaws yet in their current generation of 400V EV’s.)
ICCU failure rate somewhere between 2% and 8% says hello
We are getting the Seltos too (albeit in hybrid only I believe). Is it any good?
I mean this is what the Koreans do best and it remains their segment to lose. They’ve had the cheap, cheerful compact crossover market locked down for more than a decade at this point. It’s wild to think about now, but the first gen Kona kind of turned out to be a game changer when all was said and done, and I don’t just say that because I own one. The Soul was as well, although I know there’s a subset of people that vocally hate that car so we can move along.
Anyway if you can live with the inherent reliability and long term value compromises you’re making when you buy a new Kia then I’m sure this will be perfectly cromulent transportation with a little extra flair. You either love or hate Hyundai/Kia designs with little in between, but you certainly can’t call them boring, and I think that’s what’s made them such a force in this segment.
It may be a soulless appliance beneath the skin…but it sure as hell doesn’t look like one or feel like one, and for many people that’s more than enough. It won’t be as problem free as something Japanese and after 5 years it’ll be worth like $17, but for under $30,000 you could do a whole hell of a lot worse.
Will it really depreciate that much more? Just a single data point, but Edmunds says the 5-year cost to own is the 2nd lowest for a ’21 Seltos compared to a ’21 C-HR, ’21 Crosstrek and ’21 HR-V. And all the categories (depreciation, taxes & fees, financing, fuel, insurance, repairs, and maintenance) are all within spitting distance of each other. Heck, the total 5 year cost of rest are all within spitting distance of each other.
Spitting distance after 5 years matters little if you have to cough $5k more upfront (that you probably don’t have in the first place).
We got a fully loaded Sportage Prestige HEV for $40k to the cent out the door (taxes and everything), and all I can say is that the matching CRV was way up north deep into Pilot pricing territory.
I imagine there’s also the risk of whatever bomb the cost-cutting has planted may have gone off by then. Poor engines 2010ish-2020ish plus the lack of immobilizers around the same time definitely knocked down trade-in and spiked insurance on a wide range of models. (YMMV, but that’s what I saw in my Sorento, the lower upfront price was great used and I wasn’t bitten by the engine but I got fed up waiting for the engine to seize in the country or windows and steering column be wrecked in the city.)
New models are supposedly better, but there’s bound to be something stupid like the undersized wire in fan speed 3 recall.
Enquiring minds want to know if the new car smell is still as bad as it has been in years past.
I think it looks pretty good and I’m all for more options for people shopping new in this price range. It’s a good thing if you can buy a bottom of the market base model whatever and still feel some pride about it because it looks good and the interior feels pretty nice instead of feeling punished by your relative poverty in the car market.
They should have never killed the Soul. I bet that’s why the Seltos is bigger now as it was smaller than the Soul, but more expensive.
I agree that it looks a lot like a 125% scale Soul. If Kia still offered the Soul, it would probably start at around $24,500 anyhow. I can’t see paying $35k for a loaded up Seltos, but for under $30k OTD, I think they will sell zillions.