<Christmas came a few days early for me>
Hey guys! Recently took delivery of my Kia Seltos X-line (P).
The experience has been nothing short of a roller coaster! Thought I’d take some time out to post my experience.
I bought my first car (i20 Active P) back in 2016, and it served me very well so far. On long trips, the desire to have something a bit more powerful and with some more creature comforts did keep creeping time and again- but never so much to drive me to upgrade.
But 5+ years passed, and the wife and I kept discussing an upgrade for sooner than later. The real catalyst to upgrade came when professional commitments warranted a move to Bangalore from Delhi. I realised that taking a DL number around in Bangalore had its own challenges (Harassment, need to re-register etc- this was posted on another thread on tbhp, and this has sparked a debate, nevertheless the facts remain) Plus, once in Bangalore, selling the car would also have its own challenges.
The final push came in the form of the govt notification for the BH series registration and its prompt adoption by states like Odisha (my home state) and Delhi (my current state)- at the face of it, this would save us cost and hassle, and not have to pay high KA taxes, while giving me the freedom to move- and the criteria for private employers was met by my wife. Thus, by end Oct'21, the decision was made- Sell the i20, and once full clarity/confirmation on BH was received, buy a new car.
We were moderately clear on what we wanted-compact SUV- something not too big, preferably petrol + turbo, automatic, good pulling power, decent fuel economy (something that was a sore point on i20). Some strongly desirable creature comforts were ventilated seats, 6 airbags, driving aids like a 360 camera, a sunroof (preferably panoramic) and so on.
My wife’s first choice had always been the Seltos (and then the Creta)- but the long waiting times had dissuaded us from even TD’ing. My next choice was the XUV 700 when it launched; but the variant distribution, size, and expected wait times all went against it, and with the kind of rush, I did not even TD it- must have features were outside my budget, as was the wait time. My next choice was the MG Astor Savvy Turbo (ADAS)- a beautiful car with most of the desired features and that gorgeous panoramic sunroof; I TD’d it, liked it and this was the first to be booked. Was quoted a wait time of 3 months. However, the missus was not a big fan of the Astor- said the rear felt a bit “wallowy”, and a little cramped- she agreed at my insistence. The day we booked the Astor, she saw a Seltos X-line being delivered nearby, and both of us totally fell for it. But decided to at least go for a test ride- sadly the showroom did not seem too intent to give us one, and we were given excuses for 2 weeks on how the DCT TD vehicle was in the workshop. At this point, we gave up on the Seltos and pinned our hopes on the Astor being delivered in late Dec/Mid Jan.
In the meantime, we TD’d a couple of other vehicles: Harrier (good vehicle, good road presence, but basic/must-have features missing in the XTA+ variant, and found to be too big by wife- ruled out); Alcazar (casual test ride taken since Creta was not available for TD); Kushaq 1.5 DSG (Loved the way it pulled, but just did not feel like a full package) and Honda City (My brother was looking at this for his first car- it was booked and even delivered in early Dec, so it was a good reference point for us. Fantastic driver comfort, good features, great revving engine and so on). Creta, with its 6 -month wait time and no confidence from the dealer, was totally ruled out.
The Seltos story:
After all the TD’s, and having booked the Astor, somehow in the 3rd week of Nov, I thought of trying a different Kia dealer once again to see if I could get a Seltos Turbo DCT for a TD; and interestingly, this time round, a different dealer, Lohia Kia, responded really well, even brought the vehicle home from 20 kms away for a TD which went well- I loved the way it pulled in the sports mode(whoa!) , how it felt like a bigger car, the paddle shifters, great sound system and overall feature list. Wife also loved it- one look at the fancy HUD piqued her interest even further! This dealer quoted a wait time of 12-14 weeks for the X-line petrol (plus assurance that they would get the BH registration done)- this got both of our hopes up and we booked it immediately hoping we’d get lucky. Now Seltos was the first choice; and Astor the second. Concerns around the Fuel economy for Astor was also starting to take CenterStage in my mind and I was heavily leaning towards the Seltos.
The main surprise came in the 1st week of Dec (about 10 days post booking) when the dealer called to ask if I wanted allotment as a car had been made available. I had not expected delivery anytime before late Jan/Feb, so I was both overjoyed and a little fazed! However, I took the plunge and asked the dealer to begin the process, particularly for the BH series registration, since dealer themselves were unsure of the process. And thus started the most tortuous wait of my life, what with arranging for the loan, getting documentation for the registration, back and forth with the RTO/agent, and whatnot. (Noted separately in the BH registration thread). Matters were made a bit complicated with the ownership in my wife’s name and a joint loan.
However, things went mostly smooth versus expectations, and the loan was processed in 5-6 days; it was clarity on registration that took a few days more. In the meantime, we concluded the PDI, completed payments, and the file was sent to the RTO on the 13th of Dec. Quite incredibly, registration was done on 16th, number was allotted, and even the number plate + RC was made available on the same day. All in all, we were ready to take delivery by 18th/19th of Dec
There was the usual discussion on insurance/ accessories etc (we got some reduction from the dealer on the insurance, who was also okay if we got it from outside)- I went for some basic accessories, avoiding anything with chrome. And then, with bated breath, came the D-day, 19th of Dec, when we brought our beautiful new ride home. D-Day was smooth, and the delivery formalities went fairly quick; the number plate got as much attention as the car, and we were asked by quite a few people about it.
Initial impressions: As I write, I have completed about 500 kms in the X-line, and I am absolutely loving every minute in it- the torque rush on sports mode is heady! The HUD is a real boon, and I am starting to really like it a lot. The quality and clarity of the 360 camera is superb, as is the DCT gearbox with its slick gear changes; of course, the manual talks a lot about using the DCT properly, so it doesn’t overheat, and that’s a big mental nag I have all the time. The Bose sound system is terrific, and while people have complained of the stiff suspension (which I can feel), I love the way it handles. The matte finish and the dark treatment certainly lend an air of sophistication and size; It is very pleasing visually, especially with my aversion to chrome. Even the blue seats look very upmarket and are unlike the other options I have seen (except the beautiful sangria red on the Astor). I am getting an overall FE of ~13kmph with mixed city riding, with some spirted riding on the highways. A long trip to the hills is planned over the new year- lets see how that goes!
My next paint point is getting a suitable paint protection for the matte paint- confused between PPF (Which is too expensive to make sense), and ceramic/graphen coating which some shops are saying will be possible for matte paints.
Note: A lot of my thoughts above might seem a little erratic/ disjointed as this is one of my first long posts on TBHP- apologies for the long, circuitous read!
Pictures attached