[rahul_goyal]

Originally Posted by hydraulicsteer

Thanks for the update friend. Couple of questions specific to 1.5 Petrol MT

1. How is the high speed(80 kmph+) stability.
2. How well the car insulates the exterior noise in city and on Highways.
3. How well the car masks high speeds.Like a Compass doing 120 feels as composed as a i20 at 60, how is the case with Seltos.
4. How is the low end torque and overtaking with some load say 2-3 passengers or some luggage.

1. Car feels stable and relaxed between 80-100 kmph. IMO, its best enjoyed at that speed. You can cruise all day long in this car.
2. Exterior noise is well contained but definitely not the benchmark (Kia could have done a better job in cabin insulation).
3. I never went past 100 kmph on my trip, but throughout the car felt confident. Also note that while the cruise was set at 90 kmph the interceptor reading on highway was 84 kmph. So the speedometer overstates speed by 6 kmph. This is because of government regulations. Here's a related thread. Speedometer calibration: Government says that vehicle should overstate speed
4. There's ample amount of torque in the revv band. The car starts to pull cleanly right from 1000 rpm and requires minimal downshift in city traffic. Overtaking needs a little planning and you would preferably want to be around 1800+ rpm mark to perform a quick overtake.

[rahul_goyal]

A trip to hills and 2nd service update

I went to Kasauli (Himachal) from Gurgaon and took GT Karnal Road-Panchkula-Kasauli road. It was a joyful journey. This was also my first hill trip on the Seltos. For uphill drive the car had to be kept in the powerband i.e. 2000+ rpm. Road till Dharampur is a proper two way road with divider (with some single road patches where road repair is being carried out). But what really surprised me is that at several pin turns the car climbed up in 3rd gear easily (I was expecting to downshift to 2nd).

Take a left from Dharampur to go to Kasauli and you will find yourself on a narrow lane which at most areas is only wide enough for one car to pass at a time. Road condition is also bad. Due to time constraints I didn't take any pictures during the journey. But here are some picture of MID showing to and fro journey. I am very impressed with the fuel efficiency of this engine. In the past 10 years I have mostly driven diesel cars and therefore I was hesitant to buy a petrol owing to the low FE figures reports by various people and expected a mileage of 12 kmpl at best. But I am happy to report that I am getting an FE of almost 15 kmpl by tankful method in city usage (while MID shows 17kmpl)

Gurgaon to Kasauli


Kasauli to Gurgaon



2nd Service at 5000kms
Since the car had now completed 5000 kms (as can be seen in pic 2), it was due for its second service. I had enquired with the service center before my trip that I might go past 5000 km mark. I was advised that the odo reading should not be in excess of 5400 kms. I was at 5075 km mark and had no time to visit the service center, so I requested Allied Motor, Gurgaon to pick the car from my office. The car was returned with a general inspection and no issue was reported. The air flow from vents improved significantly after the service (I am guessing they must have cleaned the AC filter). Interiors were squeaky clean but exterior had waterlines with dust all over. I immediately sent the photos to the service advisor who apologized and offered me to get the car for washing again. I will personally go and get the car cleaned properly tomorrow.

After the service I again went for a short highway trip on NH9. MID picture of the journey attached (apologies for the poor image quality).

Gurgaon to NH9 (to and fro)

[ortho_surgeon]

Hi nice review.

I too couldn’t get a 1.5 petrol manual for test drive. I drove the 1.5 diesel and loved it.
All my vehicles have been diesel till date.

I’m confused between diesel and 1.5 petrol. My yearly usage is around 12-14k km.
Given the current scenario, even I am thinking of moving to petrol.

How is the 1.5 petrol when you drive the vehicle on the ghats, and on steep inclines?

Please keep me updated.

Thanks in advance and wishing you a pleasant ownership experience.

[rahul_goyal]

Originally Posted by ortho_surgeon

Hi nice review.

I too couldn’t get a 1.5 petrol manual for test drive. I drove the 1.5 diesel and loved it.
All my vehicles have been diesel till date.

I’m confused between diesel and 1.5 petrol. My yearly usage is around 12-14k km.
Given the current scenario, even I am thinking of moving to petrol.

How is the 1.5 petrol when you drive the vehicle on the ghats, and on steep inclines?

Please keep me updated.

Thanks in advance and wishing you a pleasant ownership experience.

On steep inclines, one would need to keep the motor in the powerband i.e. 2000+ rpm mark.

1.5 diesel is high on torque. I too test drove the diesel and absolutely loved it. If it weren't for the 10 year limit in NCR, I would have gone for the diesel.

But I am very happy with my decision of sticking to petrol. It has linear power delivery and decent FE. This car brings a smile on face every time I drive it.

[gkg2423]

Hi Rahul,

Excellent review. I take it as official review of TBHP.

Mine is 1.5P and I had diesel car before this. I noticed that first gear needs some extra acceleration and sometimes if I do not put my foot on accelerator engine might stop. Did you feel same. Someone told me that after 2nd service this issue does not arise. What is your experience. I know the diesel engines have better torque, But coming from swift I expected a bigger petrol engine to perform atleast like the swift's diesel engine.

[rahul_goyal]

Originally Posted by gkg2423

Hi Rahul,

Excellent review. I take it as official review of TBHP.

Mine is 1.5P and I had diesel car before this. I noticed that first gear needs some extra acceleration and sometimes if I do not put my foot on accelerator engine might stop. Did you feel same. Someone told me that after 2nd service this issue does not arise. What is your experience. I know the diesel engines have better torque, But coming from swift I expected a bigger petrol engine to perform atleast like the swift's diesel engine.

Thank you for your kind words.

I also found the first and second gear to be on the shorter side. I think this is because of taller 3rd and 4th gear ratio that first two gears feel short while they are not actually short. If you look at speedometer/rpm figures in first or second gear, they appear to be just fine.

I don't think it has anything to do with the service interval, its rather like a change that you will get used to in some time.

I am also trying to get a hang of the clutch bite point (I found it on the higher side). On a quick start, I still do sometimes stall the car.

[shaheenazk]

Originally Posted by rahul_goyal

I am also trying to get a hang of the clutch bite point (I found it on the higher side). On a quick start, I still do sometimes stall the car.

Hi. Lovely review. I am still making my mind whether to go for manual petrol or DCT, as I am an enthusiastic driver. I would like to know the following:

1. Is the clutch light to operate?

2. Does it tire the left leg in bumper to bumper traffic ?

3. Is the clutch travel too deep or just right?

4. How are the gear throws? Smooth or rubbery and/or clunky?

Thanks.

[rahul_goyal]

Originally Posted by shaheenazk

Hi. Lovely review. I am still making my mind whether to go for manual petrol or DCT, as I am an enthusiastic driver. I would like to know the following:

1. Is the clutch light to operate?

2. Does it tire the left leg in bumper to bumper traffic ?

3. Is the clutch travel too deep or just right?

4. How are the gear throws? Smooth or rubbery and/or clunky?

Thanks.

Hi,

I don't know if 1.5 and 1.4 has the same clutch or not. But, I'll answer your queries based on my experience with 1.5.

1. Clutch is super light.

2. I have driven almost 8000kms now. Never felt pain in left leg after driving.

3. I found clutch travel short and it is such a boon. Footrest is also big and useful.

4. Gear shift felt rubbery initially (specially the first and second gear). But have become much smoother now.

[kunalsingh]

Hi Rahul, how has the car been holding up? any updates after the service?

[rahul_goyal]

Originally Posted by kunalsingh

Hi Rahul, how has the car been holding up? any updates after the service?

Hi Kunal, my Seltos has now completed 10,000 kms and it has been a niggle free experience thus far. I am very satisfied with the overall performance and mileage of the car.

Here's a picture of 10k milestone on the ODO.


3rd Free Service at 1year
I got the 3rd service done around 8500km mark in August, 2020. Gearshifts have become smoother now. I paid INR 2125/- for the 3rd service which includes the basic oil filter and air filter change. Got the wheel alignment and balancing done from outside.


Nightmare of snowflake saga
Around same time just before the 3rd service, I ran into major trouble as my car was covered with dust particles that emanated from house being constructed nearby as the painters were scrubbing the wall with sandpaper. At first I didn't bother much as I thought that normal wash would get rid of the same as it is not actually paint but just dust particles, so I didn't try to remove it right away. I should have just used the jopasu right away. There were some dust particles on my Grand i10 Nios as well but I cleaned that one with Jopasu right away. With Seltos I thought I'll do full wash later as the car was heavily covered in dust particles. BIG MISTAKE.

After a couple of days when I tried to remove it I realized that the dust particles were now stuck to the paint (probably they got hardened because of car being parked under the sun) and will only come out if I scratch each one off the paint using my nails (but that's impossible to do when car is wrapped in the same + there is risk of damaging the paint). Rear half of the car was pretty much covered with dust particles all over.

I was in a state of shock and didn't know what to do. So I thought may be the service center has a solution for this. I took the car for the 3rd service and asked the SA if this would go away with a foam wash. After he and his team inspected the car, he confirmed that foam wash will not be able to take it away. Get the car serviced and washed, then we can see how much has washing helped.

I oversaw the car wash myself and even asked the guy to leave the foam for 10 minutes before washing it off, but it was of no help. Car was still covered with all dust particles. SA suggested that I get rubbing done on the whole car. It would have costed me around INR 2.5k and would mean taking away a thin layer of the paint of the car. I didn't want my barely an year old car to go through this.

Here's a picture of the car covered in dust particles:


I called up my relative who runs a detailing store by the name of OCD Detail Studio in Gurgaon and Mumbai. I explained him the situation and sent him pictures of the car. I also told him that the SA is suggesting a full rubbing/polish of the car and I am wary of the same. He asked me to not get the rubbing/polish and bring the car to him.

I went straight from Allied Motors Kia Service to OCD Detail Studio (Gurgaon). In under 15 minutes I was at OCD Detail Studio. After looking at the condition of the car, he told me that rubbing/polish is an extreme measure which is not required in this case. So he went on using an All Purpose Cleaner concentrate with clay and the dust particles came off right away. In about 15-20 minutes my car was like new again. I had a sigh of relief as no major treatment was required and a simple solution worked flawlessly. I did not click any after picture, but there are no more of those dust particles on the car.

I do plan to get a paint sealant treatment done from in the near future and will share the pictures of the same.

Leaving a link to their facebook page for BHPians to try them out.
https://www.facebook.com/OCDDetailStudioGurgaon/

After this roller coaster experience and due to car not going out as much due to pandemic, I have bought a cover from Polco India website for about INR 2000/-. It is not Polco Tyvek cover but does the job well. The only problem is that fit around the ORVM is not perfect. I also purchased a dupont tyvek cover for Nios from Amazon. The key highlight of the Nios tyvek cover over the Seltos non-tyvek cover is that it fits perfectly, is made of softer material and super light weight. Holding the tyvek cover is like holding a large fluffy cotton ball. Leaving a link to the seltos cover I bought from Polco.

https://polcoindia.com/details/kia-seltos-n-series

[Aviator_guy]

Pardon my ignorance but is there cruise control available on petrol manual? Wondering how does it work? In automatic the control can set right gear as required to maintain the cruise speed but how does it work in manual model?

[rahul_goyal]

Originally Posted by Aviator_guy

Pardon my ignorance but is there cruise control available on petrol manual? Wondering how does it work? In automatic the control can set right gear as required to maintain the cruise speed but how does it work in manual model?

Yes HTK+ has cruise control in manual. The way it works is when you are on a free stretch where gear shifts are not required then you turn on the cruise control and set a desired speed. Pressing the clutch or hitting the brake disengages the cruise control.

However once you hit the + button on steering wheel cruise is engaged again and it maintains the speed set earlier.

Hope this helps.

[rahul_goyal]

4th Service (2 years or 20000 kms) Update | Current Odo - 13151 kms

I will soon be celebrating 2nd anniversary of my Seltos on 29th this month.

While the car have been rarely used in the past 1 year (less than 5000 kms), it was due for the 4th service (2 years/20000 kms).

Went to Allied Motors workshop in Gurgaon. There is no good road to reach this station, all ways leading to this service station have broken road and huge potholes. For this reason alone, I will try out another service station (Frontier or Dhingra) for the next service.

Sunday being the busy day for service stations, it took almost 5.5 hours for the basic service. Car is running niggle free, I had no concerns to report or get rectified.

Paid INR 5089/- in total. Service was kept bare minimum as per the manual. Engine oil, engine oil filter, air filter and cabin filter were replaced. Parts and consumables were charged at INR 2233/- (+ tax) Labour cost came out to INR 2080/- (+ tax).

Got the alignment and wheel balancing done from Shanti Tyre Zone - MRF (Sector 39). Alignment done through Corghi Alignment Machine and the guy even took the car for a road-test. Overall I was satisfied with the service. Paid INR 850/-.

Some pictures I took while getting the alignment:-

[Raghav07]

I might be late on this thread and it has been around 2 years since the last update of it. I have a few queries regarding your car, which looks quiet nice in Grey.
How is the Seltos doing?
What does the odometer read now?
What is the average fuel efficiency you are achieving in the city and highway?
Have you done any modifications to your car?

Wishing you many happy memories with your car and hope it continues munching up the miles ( or km as I should say).

[rahul_goyal]

Originally Posted by Raghav07

I might be late on this thread and it has been around 2 years since the last update of it. I have a few queries regarding your car, which looks quiet nice in Grey.
How is the Seltos doing?
What does the odometer read now?
What is the average fuel efficiency you are achieving in the city and highway?
Have you done any modifications to your car?

Wishing you many happy memories with your car and hope it continues munching up the miles ( or km as I should say).

Yes, I have been inactive on TBHP for some time. Will post detailed update on my Seltos soon. As to your queries:

- Seltos is fantastic. Zero niggle so far. *fingers crossed*
- Odometer stands at 34000+
- Average fuel efficiency is 12 in city and 16.5 on highways on a tank to tank method.
- Everything is stock. No modification.