The KIA Seltos is a new subcompact crossover SUV
KIA has been building cars for a long time now. Their history goes all the way back to 1944 when they first started making motorbikes and then, five years later, they began producing cars in South Korea. They have been building quality automobiles ever since!
In 2018, KIA debuted a new subcompact crossover SUV called the Seltos (pronounced like ‘coyotes’). It’s meant to be a competitor of other popular models like Toyota RAV4 or Honda CR-V—but it’s still new enough that we haven’t seen how it stacks up against those models yet.
From the outside, it’s a handsome machine.
The Seltos is a good looking car. It’s not a bad-looking vehicle, either. In fact, it’s one of the better looking cars in its class—and that includes some pretty good-looking vehicles.
When you get past the flashy exterior design and consider the overall shape of this thing, you can see that KIA has put together an attractive little machine here. The front end features wide air intakes for cooling purposes; these are positioned below what would be traditional fog lights on other vehicles, but they do serve as daytime running lights when on low beam or auto headlights if you have them switched on (you can turn them off). Atop these intakes sits a bold grille with chrome accents that give off an upscale vibe despite being relatively reserved in size compared to some competitors’ designs. All told there are no major visual elements here aside from these pieces: everything else is subdued and understated—but still pleasing to look at from most angles thanks to curves that aren’t too futuristic yet don’t feel dated either.
Hyundai/KIA seemed to blur the line between sports coupe, or SUV.
Admittedly, it was easy to get lost in its design cues, but it did strike me as yet another Hyundai/KIA that seemed to blur the line between sports coupe, sedan, or SUV. The roof line is low and slung back from the windshield; there’s a strong shoulder line that wraps into some very attractive wheel arches and has an integrated rear spoiler; it has a wide stance on large wheels that are still well within modern wheel-to-wheel proportions (although these sizes will be larger than most buyers want). I like how the front end flows with clean lines all around.
The Seltos rides atop a 100mm longer wheelbase compared to the Stonic compact SUV sold in Europe—and has more headroom and legroom inside than its sibling thanks to bigger windows—but looks almost identical from behind because they share similar tail lamps. This may be due in part to KIA using much of its existing parts bin when designing this new model, although we won’t know for sure until we see one next month at Geneva Motor Show 2019.
Lego bricks and put them in a bag and shook them around really fast,
Imagine, if you will, a bag of Lego bricks. Now take those Legos and shake them around until they end up all over the floor.
Now, try to build something with those Legos. Maybe it’s a car or maybe it’s a house—it doesn’t matter as long as it has wheels or needs walls and doors to keep out the elements. When you’re done building your creation, take it for a spin in your driveway or on the street outside your house (depending on where your parents live). You might even drive that creation into another car because there are no laws against playing with Legos: just be careful not to hit anything too hard with them!
There are some nice touches that stand out though.
The Seltos is well equipped, with features such as heated and cooled front seats that can be adjusted to fit the driver’s height. The infotainment system is easy to use, and comes with Apple Car-play, which lets you integrate your phone into the car’s display screen for navigation and music control.
The steering wheel is also adjustable for comfort so you can find a perfect driving position on long journeys.
Liked the fact that all four wheels had their own fender flairs
The all-new 2020 KIA Seltos is a very good looking vehicle. When I first saw it, it had me thinking of old-school hot rods and muscle cars (but with more modern design sensibilities). The front end looks especially impressive thanks to the large chrome grille and sharp headlamps. But what really stood out for me was how well the fender flares complement this design language.
The big question here is: why does it matter if all four wheels have their own fender flares? The answer is simple: aerodynamics! Fender flares are critical for minimising drag on cars as they move through air at high speeds, which means that having them on each corner helps improve fuel economy by reducing wind resistance—and when you’re talking about a car like this one that boasts an impressive 200 horsepower engine, every little bit counts!
Front end is an attractive mix of strong design
The front end is an attractive mix of strong design cues making up the corporate grille and headlight signature atop sharp angles for air deflectors down low. The trapezoidal shape at the bottom gives it a sporty appearance and helps direct air through a duct toward the wheels, reducing drag on both sides.
The LED headlights are distinctive in their own right but don’t stand out as much as they would in another vehicle with which this car might be compared. That’s because KIA has chosen to use them in combination with its signature floating roof graphic (the part that goes from corner-to-corner across the top), which creates a very cool visual effect when viewed from almost any angle above or below it—like an upside-down triangle maybe? It’s tough enough to describe without even seeing it!
Back is where things started to look more like a family of vehicles
The taillights are a bit boring, as is the rear bumper. The two-tone treatment and LED light bar look great, but I just feel like there could be more going on here. This is where things started to look more like a family of vehicles than one distinct crossover, but there’s nothing glaringly bad about what I saw from behind.
The overall shape remains unique enough that you can tell it’s not an Audi SQ7 or something else on the road, with those tall fenders and small overhang creating an aggressive stance that suits its personality perfectly.
Interior tries its hardest like the Sportage and Soul.
I think it’s worth noting that the Seltos has a lot of the same interior design elements as other KIA, particularly the Sorento, Sportage, and Soul. For example: despite its lower trim level (and price), the Seltos uses similar textures and colours to those found on higher-end models like the Optima.
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