[TG_F196]

Saw the car in person today at the Malad showroom and these are a few of my observations:

The showroom itself was barebones and they only had the Diesel HT Line on show, they mentioned that the cars were gone for registration and test drives would start from next week. The experience was good, everyone was served refreshments and the staff was engaging and ready to answer questions.

Now coming onto the car, on first look it was stunning, I like how it looks like in the flesh and I think one should see it in real life before deciding since it is an either you like it or not situation. The headlights and taillights look nice and expensive and I feel the knurled chrome goes well with the light bar.

Coming from a VW Vento owner, the doors have adequate weight and the hood and tailgate are solidly heavy. The paint quality the grey car on display had a metallic effect on it. The backseat is comfortable and has more than enough leg room although due to the low width, 3 people might be a stretch.

The boot space is decent, has a flush loading lip and the split floor is a great design for me, since I had to hold the floor in place to change tires in my Vento. I was told by the SA that the spare is 17 inch on a steel wheel, but i'm not sure about the information.

Coming to the front, the steering wheel feels nice in the hands and the steering mounted controls are great with good quality switches. The gauge cluster looks stunning and the startup animation is great. I also quite like the mid which is large and has all relevant information displayed. On contrary to other Team BHP members I loved 10.25 inch screen, it was very easy to use and had all necessary information. It looked great and the whole unit did not hamper my visibility. The sun roof is tiny and it's really not worth the premium in this car. The plastics all over are great quality comparable to my VW and the driver side door even has padding but the one place where they have glaringly cut costs is the handbrake lever, it feels super cheap. The adjustments for the steering were great but as others mentioned the low ceiling is felt here. With my high up driving position my head was hitting the roof (I'm 5' 8'') so I think getting a comfortable driving position might be a little tricky, and the sun roof does eat a bit into the roof area, so maybe not having it would be better?

The car is well proportioned and looks good but one thing my mother noticed was that while passengers were sat in the back seats the car lowered down a lot with the wheel almost touching the arches, this might be a problem with 5 people and a boot full of luggage, is this due to a soft suspension? The SA also mentioned that we need to select colours and variants by 10th and they will deliver cars withing 10 days of launch (i.e 22nd August) for pre-booked customers. Don't know how much of this is true.

All in all the car does live up to the hype for me, I was looking for a car similar in quality to my VW but without a huge price tag, the test drive with tell how it performs, so I will update once I get a chance.

[//M]

Saw this Kia Seltos TDV in Gurgaon today.

[momsonlydriver]

The low Kia Seltos does look sexy, I hope it handles our Indian roads well. It doesn't look like those cars that have a weird gap between the body and wheels but surely I have a concern on how low it gets when five are seated.

I haven't shared my full experience on the Seltos as I am up to the habit of giving homeopathic doses.

The display car that was kept for display (both HTX and GTX) ran out of battery and henceforth we could barely try any of the fancy features on the latter. The cars failed to startup due to the exhaustion of the batteries.

The spare well is a 17inch but a steel wheel (i call it weight saver than cost cutting). The flooring did have an have an accessory and that the floor mats were sealed and protected by a transparent film, it definitely looked fancy and gave a neat look to the cabin. As mentioned before- vanity mirror was in the passenger side with no cover and no light while the driver side has a ticket holder. (Cost cutting, the Korea model has a cover and a light on both the sides)

The cars had no BS6 or Bose badges like mos bhpians are showing. I think that's an after thought by the Kia local dealers. Would personally remove them if I ever get it with the car. Since the battery ran out, I knocked on the rear red cuts to make sure if it's a reflector or a rear fog lamp. I felt it was a light piece and the instrument cluster had a rear fog lamp symbol. I'll confirm it on my test drive.

The headlights and fog lamps are led blue, does look very expensive and that includes the heartbeat led tail lamp. Regarding the doors, it did feel heavy. Obviously comparing to a baleno the doors felt alot more solid and did give a solid thud on closing (both front and rear). Yes, I did feel secure. When you sit inside the car with mirrors closed, you can barely hear anything from outside.

The horn of the car was straight out from a Verna but twice the noise as I heard it opening and closing doors with key fob. It sounds meek, I wish they offered the Creta horn.

The rear windows roll down fully. There were coat hangers integrated in the rear grab handles. The overall body and quality of the paint seemed very attractive and metallic. I'm so used to seeing my Maruti's daily that this seems like a total upgrade.

I have pre booked a red gtx+ auto seltos. Dealer said I can change my color preference in future. I'm confused between black, white and red. Dual tone is not my cup of tea, the car seems more shorter in that case for sure. The small seltos is perfect for my garage space
(I thank them for lowering the car!)

I touched everything inside and out the car. A special mention to the screen on the dashboard. It looks bad in pictures but in reality it does not feel cheap at all. It is nicely finished in a glossy material and the screen feels like a mobile phone with no what so ever lag. I have tried other manufacturers Infotainment screen in this class and this feels the best. Even the verna touch screen lags at some point. I tried to fiddle with screen for a good 10min to see how responsive it is!
If you have any questions regarding material, do let me know as I have touched and felt every part of the interior and exterior.

[sharninder]

Originally Posted by momsonlydriver

you have any questions regarding material, do let me know as I have touched and felt every part of the interior and exterior.

How are the plastics and fabric material used ? Is it hard plastic or soft touch ? Does the fabric on the Seats and doors feel premium enough ?

[libranof1987]

This is pretty ballsy from Kia; such commitment in a time when the automobile industry is going through tremendous turmoil and dealerships are shutting down at the drop of a hat. Especially considering they're starting off with one car at the moment.

Given the overall market sentiment; hope the ambitiousness of Kia's plans doesn't lead to sudden job cuts in the near future.

[momsonlydriver]

Originally Posted by sharninder

How are the plastics and fabric material used ? Is it hard plastic or soft touch ? Does the fabric on the Seats and doors feel premium enough ?

The plastic were mostly hard touch and the center leather finish on the dashboard was soft including all the doors that had the soft finish. It being hard touch doesn't mean they were bad, they were good quality plastics and more importantly the fit and finish were beyound expectations. Especially it being a prototype car the production model will be better.

I'm my personal opinion plastic bags are soft and plastic parts are hard, jokes apart.

The GT car had a defect with the seat power adjustable panel, it was wobbling whereas the HT car had no issue. Again, must be a prototype issue. The sun blinds were not lined properly on the GT car whereas the HT car had the blinds perfectly installed.

Well, the seats were not fabric but leather finished in white chewing color and black which was super soft and cozy. Trust me, if you love to sleep. I highly recommend these seats.

Seats do feel premium and sophisticated especially with the plastic black board contrast of the seat. (Due to ventilated seats). Surprisingly both the seats had rear pockets! I prefer the GT line seats better than the HT line.

The plastic under the dashboard was again solidly put together as my Sx4 has very cheap plastic bits down there which broke and had to be glued.

There are no holes in the interior and everything was insulated and cladded. I couldn't give the center console a wobbling test as there were so many people staring. I will for sure test the interior durability! Hope I don't break anything!

Also note, a car can have plenty of soft touch materials but at the end the fit and finish matters alot. I faced issues with my sx4 regarding fit and finish of my interior panels like the footstep cladding, center console wobble. Fixing them was a pain too but my foot step on my driver side door is still loose and not fitted properly.

In conclusion the interior felt premium and a step higher than hector which actually puzzled me because I thought this car (being smaller) will be lower in interior quality.

[Sebring]

The car I was in had the Bose logo. It was more like a sticker. Who would nick them? Since the display cars are the prototypes, maybe they missed slapping them on. Agree with your points! Also, the shiny silver buttons (plastic) on the steering felt too cheap. It will lose its lustre soon. Plastics quality was very good, and so were the Leatherette upholstery. Only grudge is that it was close to white, and will blacken soon.

Originally Posted by momsonlydriver

The cars had no BS6 or Bose badges like mos bhpians are showing.

[GRAND23]

Hello All,

Myself and my daughter (5.5 years old) visited the Kia showroom (located near Hoodi, Graphite Junction, Bangalore) on Sunday morning. Crowd was minimal and staff was courteous enough to welcome you and were quick to assign sales advisor.
Below are the few things what I noticed:

• Superb fit and finish from Kia (both exterior and interior).
• Hyundai has transferred all their knowledge to Kia. It’s evident from their cars, features, sales person attitude and many more.
• Diamond knurling finish in front of the car is not to my taste.
• Personally I felt driver ingress quite narrower than my Duster.
• Cabin felt roomier and brighter (sufficient outside light in the cabin).
• Looks like ergonomic is spot on. But will wait until I drive this car in highways.
• Power adjustable driver seats. Operates without any fuss.
• Superb flat bottom steering (sporty look). My favourite one.
• From driver seat, one can see bonnet neatly. Similar to Duster.
• I ignited the diesel engine inside the showroom. With the sales advisor permission, I managed to revv it to higher rpm. I must say no way you can make out that there is a diesel engine inside the hood. I felt cabin insulation is done properly. But again, ownership/official review will reveal more.
• Paint Quality is good, felt premium.
• Tyres are Goodyear. I felt the R17 section was suiting the car.
• Sunroof is favourite for my daughter. See below the funny conversation with my daughter on this.
• Deliveries start from August 23rd and also test drive vehicles will be made available.

Below are the few pictures of car. Red one is GT and the grey one is diesel car. I didn’t click much pictures as many are already available in this thread.

Here is the funny conversation between me and my daughter on sunroof.

Daughter: Papa, this opening (she meant sunroof) is so big. Why we don’t have in our softy car (Renault Duster, RxL Variant)? She has named Duster as Softy for obvious reasons.
Me: It’s not available since our car is older. Now new cars is launching with this feature.
Daughter: Papa, if our car is old then why don’t we give our car to this uncle (she meant sales advisor) and drive away with this car (pointing towards showroom display model).
Me: No kanna (meant baby). We will buy when papa has some money.
Daughter: Uncle (again sales advisor), can you please buy my papa’s car. It’s parked outside. I want this car and I love this sunroof. Please uncle.
Me: (Knowing situation may get worse and sales advisor also felt same) Kanna let’s leave the showroom. We are supposed to go mall and play there and buy some toys. You forgot?

Immediately she came out of the car. For kids, out of sight is out of mind. But for me, this car is going to get stuck in my mind for long time.

[DASKD24]

Originally Posted by Sebring

The car I was in had the Bose logo. It was more like a sticker. Who would nick them? Since the display cars are the prototypes, maybe they missed slapping them on. Agree with your points! Also, the shiny silver buttons (plastic) on the steering felt too cheap. It will lose its lustre soon. Plastics quality was very good, and so were the Leatherette upholstery. Only grudge is that it was close to white, and will blacken soon.

Would be fab if Black upholstery is given as an option.

[MukundanMK]

Originally Posted by GRAND23

Here is the funny conversation between me and my daughter on sunroof.

Your daughter is very cute . I have a 4.5 year old daughter and her 2 conditions for my next car is a) Sunroof b) Blue color. While I will be happy to have a sunroof (more happier if its panoramic), my preference is not a blue colored car. Kids will be kids and it is impossible to fulfill all their wishes.

Originally Posted by DASKD24

Would be fab if Black upholstery is given as an option.

Completely agree on this. I have pre-booked Seltos GTX Auto, which as per current spec comes with beige interiors. The unofficial brochure had a mention of optional black upholstery and I am going to press down hard with my dealer on this. I am fine taking GTX Auto or even GTX+ Auto, if either one of them comes with black seats and off course 6 airbags is a must for me

[aroonanand]

Originally Posted by DASKD24

Would be fab if Black upholstery is given as an option.

There's a lot of disconnects even within dealers on it. I have prebooked at Epitome Kia in Bangalore and one of the salespersons was ignorant on black, whereas another firmly said both GT and Tech line models will have black option. All of this will be revealed on the 22nd they said. I am hoping for a black interior.

Also hoping against hope, that Kia offers some sort of an option pack, through which one can get the 360 degree camera and the 6 airbag as options on the HTX+ Auto variant. I asked the dealer and while they said the 360 deg camera may be offered as an accessory, they were clueless on the airbags. I am very keen on a fully loaded Auto and am annoyed at Kia going the Hyundai way by not offering this.

[RajeevSharma]

I visited Bhavna Kia showroom in Navi Mumbai on Saturday. The grand launch was accompanied with some bling from dealer with some eatables, tea/Coffee etc.

The car on display was red GTX + Manual. Here is what I felt:

1. We (a family of three ) were easily accommodated on the back seat with good knee room on offer.

2. I checked the boot which looks slightly bigger than that of Creta. At 433 litres of space, it will be sufficient for our use.

3. The car in red looked stunning. My wife liked it inside out.

4. The quality of plastic in acceptable all around. It looked and felt better than Creta at door panels.

5. The PU leather seats are soft and the quality of material is not as good as I had on my Ford Fiesta AT in 2012.

6. Did not check any functions in the car except power seat and steering wheel adjustment which was working fine.

7. Automatics may be available for test drive within two weeks. I have pre booked HTX + AT on first day of bookings being opened. The SA told me that they could deliver my car by end of September.

8. They do not have any specific information on non visible feature list like ESC, Hill Assist etc for AT cars.

9. Got a verbal approval from wife and kid for purchase which I will decide after test drive for steering feel and handling if I want to purchase of wait for Harrier AT.

Anyone who took a test drive please update on driving dynamics.

[pannags]

Originally Posted by GRAND23

Daughter: Papa, this opening (she meant sunroof) is so big. Why we don’t have in our softy car (Renault Duster, RxL Variant)? She has named Duster as Softy for obvious reasons.
Me: It’s not available since our car is older. Now new cars is launching with this feature.
Daughter: Papa, if our car is old then why don’t we give our car to this uncle (she meant sales advisor) and drive away with this car (pointing towards showroom display model).
Me: No kanna (meant baby). We will buy when papa has some money.
Daughter: Uncle (again sales advisor), can you please buy my papa’s car. It’s parked outside. I want this car and I love this sunroof. Please uncle.

Beautiful conversation. My daughter has named our S-Cross "Speedy" and the Brio "Shiny". She refused to come along to check out the Seltos because she wants me to keep the S-Cross.

I deliberately did not tell her about the Sunroof.

Originally Posted by RajeevSharma

Anyone who took a test drive please update on driving dynamics.

As I mentioned before, I only took a short 15 min spin, but here is what I can recall from my drive.

A relatively firmer suspension compared to the quintessential Hyundai, to the extent that it even felt a bit hard at low speeds. I think the car should handle tripe digit speeds with considerably better elan than the Creta. The steering weighed nicely as I moved to the 50s, but not sure if this level of feedback will continue at higher speeds. If it does, this is a big plus for the Korean.

The NVH levels are the best for any car I have driven in recent times.

[maverick145]

GTX Plus DCT Auto Petrol will be available for sure. Bookings open now. My Dealer friend just communicated the same to me.

[ChiragM]

Thanks to the Team-BHP fan (he prefers to remain anonymous) who sent these images in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts via this page!

I have booked a Kia Seltos DCT. Sales representative shared this picture with me and has confirmed that DCT will be available in the top variant GTX+.