[abhishek_hch]

Am I the only one who thinks that the current version of Seltos looks better from the outside than the updated one?

Seltos is the best product in the segment. It had only three things missing - a more pliant suspension, pano roof and a stronger body shell. The first was fixed, the second has been fixed now. Hopefully (though rather unlikely), that they have done something about the third one also.

I had once booked a Seltos but the safety rating came in before I took the delivery. The abysmal report (barely three stars) forced me to move on. The choice clearly came to choosing between a car that possibly left me stranded, on a lonely road, inside a forest, in the dead of a night vs a car that left me bruised, beaten, battered or possibly worse in an accident - I could not make myself chose the later.

The heart is a strange thing though...it still misses a beat whenever a Seltos comes in sight. Alas, if only!

[wheelguy]

Originally Posted by Malyaj

I think there is too much of repetitive gripe about the safety aspect of Seltos.

(Disclaimer: I am a Seltos owner myself)

But the same is happening in Tata threads too. Not a single thread belonging to Tata is spared, you will find many members dissing about their cars, no matter what the subject is. Even the Harrier/Safari twins are repeatedly questioned about safety and other issues. There are numerous cases of reliability issues in Hyundai/Kia cars but they were relatively less discussed. All Hyundai/Kia issues and the related discussions are mostly isolated and restricted to those particular threads, whereas for Tata they bring the topic to every thread containing the word Tata in the title.

The point is, this behaviour is not specific to Hyundai/Kia related threads, in fact they are relatively less criticized than other manufacturers. The manufacturer is refusing to give safer cars for India, what's wrong in questioning them.

rrsteer worded it better than me:

Originally Posted by Malyaj

This constant portrayal of Kia and Hyundai buyers as being some kind of idiots who value style over substance, as people who are bringing home some brainless trophy wife is getting quite irksome.

Trust me, you can replace the words Kia and Hyundai with Tata and Mahindra or even Maruti and your statement is still true! So, you don't have to take it personal and get irked, just enjoy your car.

In the past, Hyundai India sold i20 with Euro NCAP 5 star stickers, which I think is neither legal nor valid for the car sold in India. No manufacturer is a saint, they need to be questioned, be it Kia or Tata or Mahindra or anyone else. We did not spare Renault India for the wrong and misleading marketing of their Captur, here's thread: (The Renault Captur's new ad is ethically wrong & deceiving! Blatantly fooling the Indian customer).



(Disclaimer: Didn't go through your whole post. Nothing against you. Nano owner in the past, zero issues, sold it off recently at 95000km on the odometer, waiting for Punch EV and Exter CNG)

[Malyaj]

Originally Posted by wheelguy

But the same is happening in Tata threads too....

Fair points. Yes, there is nothing wrong in questioning OEMs. Just that every vehicle out there is a built to a certain cost-feature combination. A Seltos with 5 star rating and with all the features that it comes with may prove to be a non-seller. A Taigun with better interiors and stellar A.S.S may be out of reach for many who are currently buying it. And no, I don't take any comments on forums or social media personally . I just wish people would consider various aspects of human behaviour and aspirations into account. If there was one perfect car, there would be exactly one car in the market, like some singular universal truth. Then we would be complaining about lack of variety

There is a lot of talk about GNCAP rating, and rightly so, but I also wish people would talk about how overconfident drivers are senselessly pushing their fast, great handling vehicles to the limit, some of them no doubt in some kind of bubble about their car's indestructibility.

[shibulijack]

Originally Posted by Malyaj

I think there is too much of repetitive gripe about the safety aspect of Seltos.

(Disclaimer: I am a Seltos owner myself)

I agree that it's important to choose a car that meets our specific needs and priorities. Each buyer has their own preferences, and it's unfair to label Kia and Hyundai buyers as superficial or uninformed, as we make choices based on various factors. If I were in the market for a CSUV today, Seltos would definitely be on the top of my list (although I'm a Honda fan who is not so elevated by the Elevate).

[pinnaclecap]

The Indian car buyer is taken for granted. If you go just to Thailand / Vietnam and see the car options...they are amazing. From Civics to Corollas to Mazda's, the list is endless.

I had narrowed down my purchase to the Octavia but before I could get my money together, it was phased out.

The new Tucson is gorgeous, but the petrol version leaves me wanting. The Kodiaq and Tiguan are not E20 compliant and their new versions come soon.

I don't like the VAG twins so much. The new Honda Elevate engine seems underpowered to me.

So, what do I do. I buy the new Seltos. Will be peppy and has a huge amount of creature comforts for my urban driving. When I travel to the hills, I just drive carefully and hope for the best. Also, the 360-degree camera, parking sensors and blind spot warning will come very handy.

The Indian car market has a long way to go...

[ashutoshb]

Why are we talking about Seltos?

Because Kia invited everyone to show them their updated Seltos.

Among the updates, "Is it safer?" is a valid question then.

--

Clearly, just like the outside world, our forum is divided.

Global NCAP has indeed made a difference by changing the opinion of many.

My basic understanding of their results is, that their tests are more stringent than what our government had.

And that is why, even after passing government regulations, many cars failed to impress in the Global NCAP results, including the Seltos.

Those who believe in Global NCAP and their ratings, will go ahead and buy their certified 4/5 star cars and advise their friends and family accordingly.

And those, who have made peace with the low ratings, will keep on buying the car of their choice and advise their friends and family accordingly.

And just like the outside world, both groups can coexist in this forum too

--

But, one thing is still debatable. Is adding more airbags and active safety tech equivalent to passive safety, such as a stable body shell?

We all can have opinions. Even I have one. I think it will be safer than its predecessor. But, are they an alternative to a stable body shell, I have my doubts. What if a truck rams me from behind? Or t-bones me at a crossing. The shell will come in handy there, for sure. If I fit eight airbags in an autorickshaw, will they help me in such a crash? But, again, this is me wondering

I guess the experts in this field should be the ones to answer this.

[07CR]

Originally Posted by wheelguy

here are numerous cases of reliability issues in Hyundai/Kia cars but they were relatively less discussed.

There indeed will be. But the sheer number of cases in Hyundai/Kia is way less than Tata/VW.

You regularly see (one car owner per week) atleast a thread on Harrier/Safari/VW 2.0 cars, where the owner is frustrated with the car or ASS in general. We rarely see that in Hyundai/Kia case. Hence the reason the Hyundai/Kia cases could be relatively less discussed.

[whencut86]

Originally Posted by aseem23

Moreover, if you check the ANCAP rating (5-Stars), they tested the variant which had six airbags, ABS, an autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, emergency lane keeping, and a tyre pressure monitoring system (TMPS), which the newly launched variant of Seltos is having.

This is the discussion thread from our own forum which shows Kia has different structural body shell for the Indian version versus the global version. The Indian version maybe having a compromised body shell (if I can put it that way) without UHSS as can be seen from the below thread. So the Indian version ideally has some cost cutting when compared to the body shell of Global versions. No wonder the Australian version may have scored 5* rating in the crash test because despite all added features, it has a better/safer body shell compared to Indian version. So we will have to wait for the GNCAP to crash test the new version Kia Seltos. Nothing against Kia Motors, but if they have added UHSS in the body shell similar to the export versions and can get a crash rating of 4* or above, it would become an obvious choice for folks looking to upgrade and also bothered about safety.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...dai-creta.html (Kia Seltos body structure facts & comparison with the Hyundai Creta)

[Silverfire]

On the launch
A great package in the mid-SUV segment. Will rocket to the top of the sales charts in my opinion. For a buyer in this segment, this car has everything and fixes most of the feedback points of the first Seltos 1) Packed with Tech and features 2) Everyone's favourite Pano sunroof 3) Electrically adjustable and ventilated seats! 4) Most powerful engine in the segment 5) Range of engines and transmissions to suit everybody 6) Hopefully the same compliant suspension they fixed last year
Good job Kia Product team!

On Safety
Every product is a series of choices where you emphasise some aspects and choose to not do well in others. Balancing between passive safety, active safety, price and weight considerations is always tricky. Kia's sales success shows, they understand what is valued by buyers in India. 2 points
1) We do not know what the safety rating of this car is yet, so maybe wait before we bash it? Would you say an ADAS car, with disc brakes and multiple other accident prevention features is worse than a car which doesn't have ADAS and mediocre braking/steering - but has a 5 star body shell vs 3-star.
2) Saying Kia is taking Indians for granted or giving step motherly treatment, makes no sense. It's an open market and Kia is offering what it believes is the best trade-off between price, safety, fuel efficiency etc. Indians will vote with their wallet. If Kia has made the wrong choice, their product won't sell. Simple.


On Interior Choices
The Kia feature list page is a data dump! 150+ line items here https://www.kia.com/in/our-vehicles/...are-trims.html
You need to sit with an excel sheet to start making sense of what you get in which variant and which you should buy.

They have multiple combinations of Seat upholstery and interior colours available, but each is tagged to a variant. Would have been good, if these were configurable options.

Interesting point: The website mentions an option of Sage green leatherette interiors (check the last line in the attached images). That would have been a kickass look with the green coloured car. But seems like it's not available on any variant currently. Maybe a special edition coming in the future?

[abhishek_hch]

Originally Posted by Malyaj

There is a lot of talk about GNCAP rating, and rightly so, but I also wish people would talk about how overconfident drivers are senselessly pushing their fast, great handling vehicles to the limit, some of them no doubt in some kind of bubble about their car's indestructibility.

This is not a safety related thread but unfortunately much much much worse is people in cars with poor safety ratings driving at very very high speeds. Forget Seltoses and Cretas of the world, I have routinely come across Eon, Alto drivers with fully packed cars trying to chase me down at 110+ speeds.

A good workman knows his tools - unfortunately most Indian drivers are unaware of the limits their cars should be pushed to.

[naikameya]

I have said this elsewhere in this forum: Safety is not just about the structural integrity of the car; safety is about me and the passengers. So a structurally safe car that fails multiple times due to bad mechatronics and leaves me stranded is unsafe as well.

[thesilentone]

In the GT models, the white inserts in the black seats is looking too gaudy in my opinion. They should have persisted with the full black seats which look far more classy. Any idea if the X Line comes only in matte grey colour or whether other colours are also available?

[Himalayan_Ice]

This morning, I sat in my car (disclaimer: Sonet) and wondered WHY is it that KIA are not making their cars safer. Absentmindedly I waved "hello" to my neighbour driving by, while his daughter, jutting out of the sun-roof enjoyed the breeze.
I wondered why was there no mention of a stronger shell during the launch of the Seltos, as I swerved to avoid an auto coming the wrong way down a one-way road.
"A mystery indeed", I thought. Maybe that is what the drivers of two cars ahead to me were calling their friends and discussing. Holding the phones and conversations with such intent, that they'd all but forgotten about the road. Obviously, it is a serious topic to deserve such urgency.
I was jolted out of my thought process when the delivery motorcycle rider ahead me (obviously texting someone about the safety aspect of KIA cars) swerved suddenly to avoid a moon crater sized pot-hole that had been developed as a safety feature by the contractors, so to ensure vigilant driving.

Why indeed?

Life is plentiful, and cheap, in our country. Look at people hanging out of Bombay locals, look at them packed like sardines in DTC / long route buses, building cities on at-risk-of-sliding mountain sides, or construction sites with barefoot labour on bamboo lattices. If you're still not convinced, go have a look at a civil hospital closest to you.

Now before someone @'s me with "different strata than those buying expensive cars" please have a look at the number of Volvos vs other luxury brands on the road.

And if ALL fails, please look at the penetration rate of health / term insurance. Will give you EVERY explanation of our priority for safety as a leading feature.

Now, I will agree that this behaviour is highly counterintuitive considering how hazardous our roads are. But human behaviour is shaped more by "here and now" vs. long term / implicit / imaginary (not explicit till it happens) benefits.

No growth based economic models, especially Capitalism, survive on "doing sensible". They survive on shareholder value. And while it might be the undoing of us as a species, it is effectively the base of our entire social structure.

I am hoping that I have been able to throw some light on "why" we don't get what is actually good for us and instead get what is good for facilitating transactions.

Moving on.

I feel that this is an amazing product, what with the way it looks, the features, the power figures, the drivetrain options and what not.

My only doubt about manufacturers going out-and-out with ADAS elements is that they are pretty useless on our road infrastructure. At the very least, in the city (where I am assuming most of these cars will spend their lives in).

Maybe ADAS is the new sun-roof. Rarely used, but a cool party trick nonetheless.

I'd love to have more AWDs around, but then I also want my car to have a stronger shell.

[sunilarkt]

Originally Posted by Malyaj

I get it, there is step motherly treatment.

There is no question about Seltos being one of the best, if not the best car in the market in its segment. A lot of safety discussion gets dragged out because of the Hyundai/Kia/Suzuki brands reluctance to adopt ncap testing for their Indian vehicles when they are doing it elsewhere. You could say the same about VW and Skoda, and there will always be discussion about their service and reliability issues. These things don't go away as long as OEMs don't work towards fixing them.

I'm in the market for a SUV myself (Seltos would be my frist pick for the reasons you have mentioned)

[CEF_Beasts]

Originally Posted by Silverfire

Interesting point: The website mentions an option of Sage green leatherette interiors (check the last line in the attached images). That would have been a kickass look with the green coloured car. But seems like it's not available on any variant currently. Maybe a special edition coming in the future?

Attachment 2471879

Attachment 2471880

The Seltos X-Line gets the Sage Green Leatherette interiors.

https://youtu.be/CVRZwWIuVag