2024 Kia Seltos Road Test and Review

2024 Kia Seltos ・ Photo by Kia

The 2024 Kia Seltos is refreshed this year with new features and a new design that give it more modern appeal. Outside, this compact crossover has a more striking grille for a bold first impression. New Star Map headlights — a part of Kia’s design language moving forward — accent that grille and create an aggressive, sporty demeanor. The lineup also adds an X-line trim with unique exterior enhancements including special badging and black accents.

The available turbocharged engine gets more horsepower for better acceleration and a more engaging driving experience. The inside of the Seltos gets attention, too, notably the dashboard setup. There’s now an available 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster with a matching 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen. These are set in one long display spanning the width of the dashboard in a clean line. Let’s take a closer look at the 2024 Kia Seltos to see if it’s the right choice for you.

Five Available Trim Levels

The Kia Seltos is available in a range of five trims. The base LX starts at $24,390 with standard features including all-wheel drive, a 2.0-liter engine, 17-inch wheels, a 4.2-inch digital instrument cluster, cloth seating surfaces, and an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen. The S has standard front-wheel drive, cloth and SynTex seating surfaces, and a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and infotainment touchscreen for $24,990. The new X-Line, which adds sporty appearance enhancements and a more powerful turbocharged engine, is $28,690.

The EX comes in at $25,790 with the base engine and additional features including SynTex seating surfaces, 10-way power driver’s seat, and heated front seats. The top trim is the SX with pricing of $29,990. It has the turbocharged engine, 18-inch wheels, an electrochromic rear view mirror, a cargo cover, 8-speaker Bose premium audio, smart cruise control with stop and go, forward collision avoidance assist with junction turning, and highway driving assist.

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More Power for a Better Drive

There is a choice of two engines for the Kia Seltos. The base engine is a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder with 146 horsepower and 132 lb-ft of torque paired to a continuously variable automatic transmission. Those aren’t especially impressive figures, but they’re enough to get the Seltos up to speed for easy merging with highway traffic. The X-Line and SX trims have a 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine that’s far more engaging

This engine delivers 195 lb-ft of torque and 195 horsepower, an increase of 20 horsepower compared to last year. It also gets an 8-speed automatic transmission. That’s a significant power and torque increase, and it makes the Seltos much more fun to drive. It accelerates smoothly up to highway speeds with no hesitation when you press on the gas. There’s even good power when you need a little extra to pass slower vehicles.

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Good Fuel Economy

The fuel economy of the Kia Seltos helps ensure it remains an affordable crossover even if gas prices rise. It gets an EPA-estimated 28 mpg in the city, 34 mpg on the highway, and 31 mpg combined when equipped with front-wheel drive and the 2.0-liter engine. This is the most fuel efficient configuration of the Seltos so it’s the one to get for those who want to spend as little as possible keeping the gas tank full.

Add all-wheel drive, and fuel economy drops to 27 mpg in the city, 31 mpg on the highway, and 29 mpg combined. It’s a small dip for the added stability of all-wheel drive. The 1.6-liter engine is available only with all-wheel drive and gets an EPA-estimated 25 mpg in the city, 27 mpg on the highway, and 26 mpg combined. The Kia Seltos helps you manage fuel costs more easily in any configuration.

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The Ride Is Smooth and Quiet

The ride in the Kia Seltos is smooth and composed, even over rough road surfaces. It handles uneven pavement with ease, hiding road imperfections. Even driving over sections of road that alternated between pavement and rough dirt in a construction zone didn’t make the Seltos an uncomfortable ride.

Many affordable crossovers are noisy, but Kia clearly worked to ensure the Seltos delivered a quiet ride. There was a minimum of road and wind noise and even engine noise was kept mostly outside the cabin, accept under hard acceleration. This makes it easier on the driver during long road trips and lets passengers truly relax. The Kia Seltos has a quiet cabin that creates a pleasant environment for the driver and passengers whether on an extended trip or the daily commute.

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Comfortable and Roomy for Passengers

There’s seating for five people in the Kia Seltos. This is a compact crossover, so it doesn’t have the expansive amount of room found in larger SUVs. That doesn’t mean it’s cramped. Up front, there’s room for even the tallest adults to get comfortable. Seating is easily adjustable with a standard 6-way manually adjustable driver’s seat and 4-way manually adjustable passenger seat. Top trims add a 10-way power driver’s seat that includes lumbar support. Available features include headed and ventilated front seats.

Base trims have cloth seating surfaces while top trims add synthetic leathers for a more premium look and feel. The rear seats accommodate three, but it’s a tight squeeze for more than two. Headroom and legroom, however, are good so tall adults won’t feel like there’s not space room to get comfortable.

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Plenty of room for cargo.

The Kia Seltos is a compact crossover, but it still has ample room for cargo. It’s not ideal for those who have significant cargo needs or who carry very large, bulky items, but for light duty cargo situations, the Seltos work well. If you keep the rear seats up, there’s 26.6 cubic feet of cargo room. It’s easily enough space for luggage on a family getaway.

Those rear seats split-fold 60/40 to expand cargo capacity without completely eliminating the ability to have passengers in the rear seats. Fold them both down and there’s 62.8 cubic feet for cargo. The load floor is low to make stowing heavy items easier and the tailgate opening is wide. Folding the seats is easy, too, so switching back and forth from cargo to people isn’t a chore.

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There’s a New Panoramic Display

The standard infotainment setup in the Kia Seltos includes a 4.2-inch digital instrument cluster with an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen. It includes AM/FM/MP3, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and a 6-speaker audio system. There’s also one front and one rear USB charger, and the ability to connect two devices simultaneously via Bluetooth. Although there are two screens, they’re set inside one long panoramic display.

This gives the dashboard a clean, streamlined look rather than having a separate housing for each display screen. All but the base trim of the Seltos gets an upgrade with a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen and a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster. Also available is wireless charging and an 8-speaker Bose premium audio system with a subwoofer. No matter which trim of the Seltos you choose, the panoramic display and a digital instrument cluster create a more premium look than what’s found in the average compact crossover.

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A Wide Range of Standard and Available Safety Features

When it comes to safety, there are plenty of standard safety features to set your mind at ease and help keep you safe on the road. These include rear occupant alert, forward collision avoidance assist with car, pedestrian, and cyclist detection, driver attention warning, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, lane following assist, and high beam assist.

There’s also bling-spot collision warning, rear cross-traffic collision avoidance assist, and safe exit warning as a standard feature on all but the base trim. At the top of the lineup, the SX adds forward collision avoidance assist with junction turning, highway driving assist, intelligent speed limit warning, and intelligent speed limit assist. It’s a good combination of standard and available features with even the base trims well-equipped.

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Final Thoughts

The 2024 Kia Seltos shows off lots of changes for this mid-cycle refresh. It’s noticeable before you even get in the car with a redone front fascia that creates a more aggressive, modern look for this compact crossover. There’s also the new X-Line trim for those who want a more striking exterior design. Inside, materials are high-quality with the new panoramic display and 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and infotainment screens adding a premium look to this affordable vehicle.

Standard safety is good, and there’s a choice of two responsive engines. The available turbocharged engine with its increased performance figures delivers a more engaging drive while still providing fuel economy that won’t empty your wallet when gas prices rise. The 2024 Kia Seltos is a well-equipped, roomy, and appealing crossover with plenty of power and affordable pricing, making it easy to fit into most any budget.

Photo by Kia