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Brought home my Seltos X-Line DCT: 5 observations on ADAS post 430 km

5th May 2024, 16:38 by Ananth Iyer

So, I drove the 430kms between Bangalore & Dharwad for the Ugadi festival & I kid you not, it was the most relaxing drive I have ever had.

BHPian Desi_Dybuk recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Finally I took delivery of my Kia Seltos X Line Petrol DCT last week. This is my first car purchase for myself in over 12 years & is joining my stable of 2011 Hyundai Verna Fluidic (very reliable & not a single issue in over 12 years and 1.9 lakh kms). Delivery experience was seamless with PPS Kia on Mysore Road in Bangalore. (Although, I have purchased cars like Fiat Linea & Maruti Baleno for my dad & Maruti Baleno for my spouse over the years, this is my first car purchase for myself in 12 years)

I had booked my car via Acko Drive & didn't visit the dealership till PDI! I am going to write a separate post on the comedy of errors & frustration that was Acko Drive. (TLDR: Avoid services like Acko Drive & save yourself the stress)

Before delivery, I confirmed that the model was a 2024 manufactured on (by checking the 10th digit of VIN as R) and the month of manufacturing was Feb 2024 by checking the VIN number under the front seat which had -B stamped on the sheet metal after VIN.

I have driven 690 kms so far now since I drove to my native for Ugadi festival. Before purchasing the car, I was thinking that ADAS would be useful, marginally at the max, on the highways. Now having driven the vehicle on both highways & city streets, I am a convert to the logic of ADAS.

First things first: ADAS isn't for you if you are the sort who weaves in & out of lanes on highways without signalling & shadowing other vehicles closely. And it isn't for you if you drive like our notorious Bangalore Auto Annas without discipline. If you are, you are better off turning off ADAS because sooner or later, you are going to get yourself in trouble in real hurry.

Now, I consider myself a very sedate driver & I am someone who likes to stick by rules. Having driven in lots of countries, I am a strong believer of defensive driving. If it takes someone 45 minutes to get from point A to point B, I would rather spend additional 15 minutes extra & arrive safely by following rules of the road. (I get made fun of by my friends on this, but I am least bothered). The last ADAS equipped vehicle I drove was a Tesla in US & KIA's limited system was comparable for the feature set it offers (of course, Tesla is much much more advanced).

So, I drove the 430kms between Bangalore & Dharwad for the Ugadi festival & I kid you not, it was the most relaxing drive I have ever had. This was the method I followed;

I would select the middle lane & the Seltos would recognise the lane lines & ADAS would keep the car centered in the lane.
I never took my hand off the steering wheel & would give a light tug on the steering wheel once in a while.
I set Smart Cruise Control to 90 or 95 (I never drive over 95 on India roads unless it's an expressway) & would camp happily in the center lane. If there was a slow-moving truck, I would put the blinkers on, move over to the next lane, let ADAS pick up the lane lines & then let Seltos handle the drive.
If I wanted to make a lane change, the lane departure & blind-spot monitor worked perfectly. The forward radar also worked beautifully & I kept the distance to the vehicle ahead to the shortest possible distance.
Even in the city, I drive sedately & I don't shadow people. ADAS is unintrusive. I haven't turned off any of the ADAS features even in city.

In short, if you are a rule following driver, ADAS will make your drive a lot less stressful & will make you a better driver.

On a very interesting sidenote: My very first car I bought with my own money was a Kia Sephia in US when I was a student there. While all other Desis went for Toyotas or Hondas with 6-digit miles, I bought a 3-year-old Kia Sephia with hardly 31,000 miles on it & with full warranty left for another 2-3 years from a disgruntled husband who was selling his ex-wife's car. During those days, Kia & Hyundai were considered very poorly in US.

That little Kia served me loyally for few years till I totalled it on Houston freeway. And because of how trouble-free my experience with the Kia Sephia was, I have only bought Korean cars across continents since then; Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Azera, Hyundai Verna & now a Kia Sephia. Goes to show how much initial impressions last a lifetime.