#SELTOS KIA CROSSOVER 2021 DRIVER#
#SELTOS KIA CROSSOVER 2021 PLUS#

Seats are black perforated leatherette in the SX and the dash is black textured plastic.

Once I drove about 5 miles around town and the system suggested I may need to stop for rest.

#SELTOS KIA CROSSOVER 2021 DRIVER#

Although I admit the driver attention thing can be quirky. This one included blind-spot warning and collision avoidance assist, forward collision avoidance, rear cross-traffic collision avoidance, lane-keep assist and warning, high-beam assist and driver attention warning. The Seltos' interior features black perforated leatherette and an excellent ash layout with a large touchscreen that is easy to use and includes a navigation system. Naturally Kia is generous with safety equipment, something it and partner Hyundai have been leading with in their value-oriented lineups for several years. I managed 28.6 mpg for the week with a fair mix of both driving conditions. Gas mileage is appealing too, the test vehicle rated at 25 mpg city and 30 mpg highway. Many small crossovers either don’t offer AWD or charge a couple grand more for it, that feature alone makes Seltos a fine value for upper Midwest buyers.

#SELTOS KIA CROSSOVER 2021 PLUS#

Otherwise handling is light and easy, a nice city or highway driver, plus there are 18-inch tires underneath and the AWD will come in handy once the winter slop arrives. I perceive little difference in Smart mode, but maybe if I had the vehicle for more than a week its shifts would seem more Savagelike! Kia also offers Smart mode, which apparently is so smart it learns your driving habits and adjusts shifts from the fine 7-speed transmission to mimic your normal driving patterns. Tap the gas pedal and the crossover responds, plus steering effort firms considerably in Sport.

That smoothed out quickly and turning on the Sport mode put more pep in its step immediately. The power is fine in Normal drive mode too with just some slight hesitations upon acceleration, particularly when the Seltos was freshly started. The SX Turbo also was quiet and calm on the highway, much quieter than one might expect. An independent rear suspension helps the ride, while the base model, and many other small crossovers, feature a torsion bar rear suspension. That shorter wheelbase normally would translate into a jittery ride, but the Seltos was well controlled just transmitting small bumps to the occupants on our crater-strewn streets. The S Turbo has the same engine, while all other models pack the base enginee, a non-turbo 2.0-liter I4 with 146 horsepower, still not bad for a vehicle of this size, just 172 inches long with a 103.5 inch wheelbase. My tester was the top-end SX Turbo meaning it had Kia’s peppier 1.6-liter I4 turbo that kicks out 175 horsepower and a boisterous 195 lb.-ft. The Seltos' shorter wheelbase normally would translate into a jittery ride, but the car was well controlled just transmitting small bumps to the occupants on our crater-strewn streets. Confused? I was, but consider there also are EX, S Turbo, and SX Turbo trims, and those are likely the ones most folks will favor. That’s the same price as the LX model with AWD, but not the active safety features found on the S 2.0 model. A base S 2.0, either without AWD, starts at $23,110, including delivery fee. That’s a key Kia selling point throughout its lineup. That’s right, the new 2021 Seltos, which Kia says represents the “brave and assertive spirit of Celtos,” but with an S implying speed and sportiness, is low cost, high value. But really, when a well-equipped compact crossover starts at just $29,010, what’s a little extra for some paint?

This one had a black roof that along with its sizzling yellow paint scheme added $345 to the crossover’s cost. It’s a stout AWD crossover in all but basic S 2.0 trim that will carry four adults comfortably. Yet Seltos, named after Hercules’ son Celtos from Greek mythology, is more than a bright sunspot on the exploding small to compact crossover market. It stands out like a scorching yellow dot in a black and white minimalist’s painting. This is not a vehicle that would be hard to find in a parking lot. READ: 2020 Kia Soul GT-Line 1.6 Turbo Review Mine was a retina-burning Starbright Yellow, which I initially nicknamed Electric Mustard, but Electric Dijon might be more accurate. Again, that’s a lot to take in from a name standpoint, but simply put, this is a fine compact crossover that borders on cute. Sometimes it’s all of that, which brings me to this week’s drive, the Kia Seltos SX Turbo AWD. It may be their looks, their ease of driving, their usefulness or simply their price. VW’s Beetle was one, the Mini Cooper another. Some cars (or crossovers) just make you feel good.

Seltos kia crossover 2021