Save thousands on any new car (Australia-only): autoexpert.com.au/contact
Did you like this report? You can help support the channel, securely via PayPal:
www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr...
As usual, Kia conscripted its on-call dynamics wizard to do his mad, Jedi voodoo and turn the conventional vomit-spec South Korean suspension into what is actually an outstanding platform to drive on our preposterously crap ‘Strayan roads.
The drive program on the launch was on mainly these B and C roads around Noosa, and I’d have to say the body control and steering feedback is excellent. So, big tick there.
There was probably 90 minutes of freeway driving as well - it’s quiet and composes at 110.
Interestingly enough - this vehicle has a next-generation motor driven power steering assistance system. That means an electrical servo motor provides the steering assistance. It detects input from you, and a computer tells it how much to help. That’s when you’re turning in.
But when you’re on the way out of a bend, MDPS typically defaults to ‘off’ and the self-centring steering effect you feel (If any) is just mechanical control feedback.
But in this system, the motor also provides self-centring feedback assistance. It’s really excellent. It’s a real step up from previous MDPS systems, which sometimes feel as if there’s insufficient self-centring.
Here’s the range. You get S, Sport, Sport+ and GT-Line in order of increasing appeal and price. 2.0-litre CVT only on S and Sport. 1.6 Turbo only on GT-Line. But you can have either engine in Sport+.
So the fuel economy powertrain is available in the first three variants. The performance powertrain on the top two. They overlap at Sport+.
Here’s how you tell the four variants apart like an automotive ninja. (This is gunna help at the dealership when they jam one under your snout for a test drive - if you know this, you cannot be bullshat to about which one you’re driving. And before you say it in the comments: ‘bullshat’ is the past participle of the verb ‘to bullshit’.)
The poverty S model rolls on steel wheels. That’s dead easy to spot. If you’re looking at a Seltos with alloy wheels and a folding key - like, a key that you actually stick into an ignition barrel, it’s a Sport.
If it’s got 17-inch alloys and a pushbutton start it’s Sport+ and if it’s got 18-inch alloys (with a bright red highlight around the hub) and a head-up display, it’s a GT-Line. Just remember to drive the one you’re thinking of buying.
There’s more safety gear on Sport+ and GT-Line, but you can get that on S and Sport for $1000 as an option.
So, I’m not going to bore you with the spec sheet - because that really will induce narcolepsy - but the salient observations arising from the spec sheet are:
S is a real poverty pack. Anything that can be removed to cut costs basically has been, and this is done primarily to appease the great cheapskates of the automotive universe: Fleet managers.
These people are the beancounters who decide what to buy using a spreadsheet, not their hearts.
It’s a big step - $3500 - to go from S to Sport, but it’s well worth it for a private owner. You get alloys, a full-sized spare, the big centre infotainment screen, SUNA live traffic and 10 years of free mapcare updates (and, I’m assured, there are no strings attached to that - you just get the updates when they’re available).
Sport+ is probably the pick of the range - because you get adaptive cruise and the better safety gear standard. Plus front parking sensors, nicer interior, proximity key. And it’s $5500 cheaper than GT-Line, which is loaded with all the nice toys, certainly, but do you really need all that stuff? Probably not.
You get a full-sized spare, too … except in the beancounter-appeasing poverty-pack S. So that’s nice.
I’d strongly suggest you buy the 1.6 turbo if sporty engaging driving matters to you. The CVT that goes with the 2.0-litre is a little bit frustrating for enthusiastic driving. It displays this noticeable re-engagement lag, getting on the gas when you clip an apex and want to start feeding the power on smoothly.
If you don’t know what that means, the 2.0-litre will be fine. It’s totally adequate for normal driving - just like a Subaru XV.