KIA SELTOS...Its a Family Thing?

It is hard to find that perfect car for your family, a car with space, comfort, features and the refinement it offers, should be pleasing everyone at a place called your home. A family car is also a symbol of your success and status, It shows a lot about you and your way of life, so there is no compromise on the respect it should give you as a owner. This gets even harder if you are a car guy, someone who enjoys driving cars and expects to own a fun to drive machine one day. Unless you are living a millionaire life or alone with no responsibilities or commitments, You have to meet this awkward situation of choosing a great luxury car to haul your family and be fun to drive at the same time.  One  such vehicle taking over the duty as family cars are mid sized pseudo SUVs.

I said it once and i am saying it again... I am not a fan of SUVs, but majority disagrees with me. Urban miD size SUVs sells like hot cakes and are now taking over the mindsets of major Indian car makers. Like the hatchback revolutions of 2010s now it's the pseudo SUV revolution.

One of the newest yet mightiest contender in that category is the KIA Seltos.

People praised the car so much and sales starts to rocket up pretty quickly. This made me curious to know about the Seltos.

Kia is one of my dad's favorite car manufacturers, Working as a NRI he is a practical guy with a good brain who thinks logically. he used to tell how Kia makes cars more luxurious and premium than its competitors and how friendly it is. This sets an expectation in me on how a Kia would be when it comes to Indian market.

KIA SELTOS

Kia Seltos is no different from the international offerings of KIA. The moment you step in to a KIA dealership with your family of 5, you get an intuition of the Seltos being your next car. The showrooms of KIA is not what other brands of the same segment looks like. The showrooms feels elegant and you are treated like a luxury car buyer. They treats you and your mother do feels like a queen. Instantly you get your mothers approval to buy a KIA with a joy in her eyes knowing how successful her son is now. Then you get to see the car and WOW, the car looks pretty in those bright white led illuminations of the showroom floor and shines like a diamond just like your wife.  It is really great looking cars with enormous stance, sharp lines, narrow panel gaps, led lighting, and attention to detail. It looks promising and well build. The car looks much better than Creta, its brother from another mother.

18 INCH DIAMOND CUT ALLOYS FOR GT LINE

LARGE BOOT FOR ALL YOUR WEEKEND DRIVE

The gt line car looks much more cooler than others with red colour painted disc brake callipers and 18inch diamond cut alloys. The beautiful exterior will get likes of your son instantly.

AUDIO SYSTEM FROM BOSE

You see a Seltos and would ask why is certain German cars too expensive? This question gets even more obvious as you step inside the car. Pull in the large heavy door and you can hear the extremely pleasing sound of those door levers operating. The door is properly heavy and gives you the feel of toughness and rigidity. 

The doors pulls to provide you a sight of the well stitched leathers on seats and beautiful cabin which undoubtedly feels rich and wealth. Let your family in and you will find the space of the cabin, Its not the best in class but does the job pretty neatly. Your parents will feel comfortable with their grandson in the back seat and so do your wife smiling in the seat beside you. Explore some technology offered in the Seltos like 360 view parking camera, electric power seats, build in navigation, audio system by Bose, the voice recognition systems and the built-in air purifier to see the amusement everyone have. This amusement will end with your wife holding your arm with a proud of her husband with a beautiful smile of approval to buy the Seltos.

SPACIOUS AND COMFORTABLE REAR SEATS

The center display is not big or doesn't feel cheap as the one in MG and harrier and the leather stitching and detailing do adds to its appeal. and every bits feel of good fit finish and quality. It does look from a segment above.

LEATHER WRAPPED STEERING WHEEL WITH ALL CONTROLS

VENTILATED SEATS WITH GOOD SUPPORT

INCREDIBLE FIT AND FINISH

Then you take it for a drive. But then the story unravels
The seltos comes with 3 egine option a 1.4l MPI petrol a 1.5l gdi petrol and a 1.5 TDI mated to 4 gearbox options(manual, cvt, torque converter unit and a DCT). the 1.5 petrol churning out 140hp mated to DCT is the most powerful and is only available with top of the line GT line.  Theother engines provide 114hp of power and  is punchy enough. Since we are looking at most sensible option lets only talk about the diesel auto with torque converter gearbox.

The engine and gearbox works  pretty good, The car moves with urgency and doesn't offers lag of any kind. The shifts are not fastest but gearbox is incredibly smooth.
push the throttle hard and you will feel happy with its performance, until you hit a corner.
The car lags at corners it offers an unexpected roll and huge amount of understeer which you don't expect from a car of this class and dimension. It is intimidating and you are forced to go slower than you used to go in your previous hatchback or sedan. The poor dynamics can be credited to the soft suspension settings. The ride quality is not as plush as expected from a car which offers so much luxury. Its just fine for most people but i felt like it could have been cushier. All this answered the question i had in the beginning "Why certain German cars are more expensive?"

Its not the best of drivers car and realizing that it is not the car you want you would come back facing that disappointment Seltos is in the area it mattered most for you. There with your dad stands with a huge grin on his face. Having discussed about the price and other options with the dealer he tell you "its pretty cheap car and you are investing sensibly, you go ahead and buy this beauty".

Yes Seltos is not what I want in my garage, Its not a dynamic car, doesn't offer fun to drive and has roll and under-steer, the steering doesn't communicate well and not the best handler. So buying this won't satisfy your thirst for a great drivers car. Don't get me wrong, it is never a bad car, It has everything you want design, quality, features, safety and the premium feel which makes you feel rich and will be symbol of your status. With approval of entire family and watching their excitement the car's dynamics is  a small sacrifice you wouldn't mind. Its going to be the perfect car and a part of your family for years to come. It is a small NO to your desires for happiness of everyone you love. 

Then comes the next question from your dad " are we exchanging the VW??" With a small glance at the POLO parked outside the showroom just say "NO, we keep the POLO as a daily..."

By Ambady Anil

Image Credits and Co writer:Aaron Joseph