its6,800-rpmred-line.themeatytorquehelpsdisguisetheturbospike
whilethedCtselectstherightgearfortheoccasion.Kiaengineersclaim
thatthe1.4-litreGdicansprintfrom0 to 100 km/hinjust9.7secondsand
it surelyfeelsquick.interestingly,theseven-speeddCt is said to be
slightly more efficient than the manual version as it returns 16.5 km/l while
thelattermanages16.1km/l(claimedfigures).Weareextremelykeentotest
theperformanceandefficiencywhenwegetthecarfora roadtest.
Ontothedieselvariantnow.the1.5-litrevGtmakes 115 hpat4,000
rpmand,inmyopinion,it isoneofthebestoil-burnersinthesegment
currently.it’sextremelyrefinedandresponsiveevenatlowrevs.in fact,it
feelsalmostpetrol-like.beinga diesel,thevGtisalsofrugalandits
biggestvirtueisthatit’ssoeffortlesstodrive.the 250 nmoftorqueflows
inearly,beingavailablefrom1,500rpm,andremainsflatsoyoucanrideon
thatwavetilltherevscomeclosetothered-line.then there’s the option of
buying either a six-speed manual or opting for the six-speed torque
converter,bothofwhichdishoutlinearpowerdeliveryandbrisk
performance.Kiaclaim0-100km/hina respectful11.5seconds.Likethe
otherautomaticvariantsoftheseltos,thedieselatalsogetsthreedriving
modesalongwithtractioncontrolsettings.
in themanual‘boxversion,theclutchfeltlightandconvenient,butthe
gear-shiftscouldhavebeenslicker.thegearingitself,however,istalland
youcanstayinsecondgearandmanagecityspeedswithouttheneedof
shiftingtothird.andthat’soneofthereasonswhythisisthemostfrugal
variantoftheseltos,witha claimedefficiencyof 21 km/l,whichisthree
km/lmorethanthedieselatversion.this1.5vGt is a complete all-
rounderwhichwillliveuptoyourdemands,beit cityorhighway,efficiency
orperformance.
thethreeengineoptionshavesimilarsuspensionsystems,buttheset-ups
area taddifferent.thepetrolversionsfelta bitsoftersprungcomparedto
thediesel;thelatterfelttauterandmorecomposed.thisisanotherreason
whyienjoyeddrivingtheseltosdieselevenmore.all thethreeversions
offer fairly decent ride quality and passengercomfort,buttherear
suspension set-up is on the firmer sideforourroadconditions.the steering
is light and effortless to use and,
though it’s not too communicative,
it doesn’t feel dull. While carrying
a decent speed through corners, it
showed little traces of understeer,
butthesteeringfeltpreciseand
quicktomyinputs.
anothermassiveimprovementis
inthebrakesascomparedtothe
hyundaiCreta.theseltos has
discbrakesonallfourwheels(16-
inchfront,14-inchrear)which
giveit a confidentbite.the
engineershavealsoworkedonthe
mechanismtoreducejuddering
duringhardbraking.the
crossoverremainsprettycomposedathigherspeedsduetothelow0.35
dragcoefficientachievedthrougha moreaerodynamicunderbodydesign.
thesenumerousimprovementsandsegment-firstfeaturesmakethe
seltosa verypromisingcar.nowthesegmentwillhavetoplaycatch-upas
Kiawon’tgiveothersaneasyfightandwillpriceit ona parwiththe
competitors.if you’veputonholdyournewcarpurchase waiting for the Kia
seltos, we think you made a smart decision.The1.5-litrenaturallyaspiratedpetrolmakes 115 PS
and 144 nmoftorqueandisofferedwiththeoptionofa
six-speedmanualoracVT.Theentry-levelofferingis
prettysmoothandlikeableimmediatelyforits
refinementandlow-endperformance.Thegear-shifts in
themanualversionareslickandtheclutchislightto
operate,makingit a goodeverydaycitycar.Witha
claimedtimefor0-100km/hof11.8seconds,it delivers
respectableperformanceforthebuck,asamexpecting
thebasevarianttobepricedaggressively.
Formoreconvenience,youcanoptforthecVT
versionwhichdeliverspowerina relaxedand
predictablefashion.as longasyou’reeasyonthegas,it
offersefficientdriving,whichisidealforyourusualcity
runabouts.driveit witha heavyfoot,though,andthe
enginesoundsstrainedandtheelastictraitofthecVT
becomesmoreevident.Kiaclaimthepetrolmanual
returns16.5km/lwhilethecVT version has a fuel
efficiency of 16.8 km/l.Smartstream1.5petrol
( 1 ) The rear seat can be inclined a
couple of notches for more comfort
( 2 ) The Seltos has large disc brakes
on all four wheels which give it a
confident bite1 2
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Kia Seltos | First Drive