Kia Seltos GTX+: My observations after 1,000 km, Mods & Upgrades

Mileage has been a slight disappointment so far, hovering around 9 kmpl. Running has been mostly in Normal Drive Mode and within City Limits with just 1 short Highway Trip and Auto AC On all the time.

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So, it took way too long than I anticipated to reach the 1st Milestone of 1000 Kms (exactly 3 months today), but that's ticked now. Blame the Company WFH Policy for that.
Ownership of my Seltos GTX+ aka Hulk has been largely fuss-free in the limited running I have done so far. Won't go over the Pros and Cons in detail as it has been discussed to death here.

Sharing below a few of my Observations so far:

• Premium In-Cabin experience feel with Good Quality Interiors, be it the Plastics, Seats, Instrument Cluster as well as the Infotainment System.
• Big Car Feel, upgrading from a Ritz. Very Practical and useful Storage spaces are provided.
• All the Tech incorporated in the GT Line variant works quite well. Though i have not made full use of them due to my limited Highway running so far.
• Have yet to complete reading the Full User Manual to understand what all features are incorporated and what all it is capable of doing.
• Not sure which ADAS feature is responsible for this action, but on more than a couple of occasions while entering the Road from a roadside parking, the Car just abruptly braked heavily with a metal clanking-like sound, which almost felt to me like I rammed into something. I got out of the Car to check but it was all good. Maybe it detected a person or vehicle while I was joining the Main Road. Though I have kept the FCA feature of ADAS Switched Off.
• Ventilated Seats are a real boon in this Heat and Humidity.
• Auto-hold and ISG are a must-have. There is no going back, once you get used to this
• I was not too fond of Sunroof in Cars. So much so that I had made up my mind to purchase a Car without Sunroof. But, now that I got one with Sunroof, I really like it with the big and airy feel it provides on use, in a dark Interior colored Car. Am still a bit unsure about how it will hold up in the long term.
• Ride was a bit rough and bumpy initially, but has improved post-dropping Tire pressure to 33 psi.
• Good Insulation and the Cabin feels Silent, at least when driven with a light foot. Might not be the case during spirited driving, which I have not done so far.
• Cooled Glove Box is a miss.
• Since I have mostly driven within City limits, there is definitely some initial turbo lag I have felt at low speeds, which is irritating at times.
• Mileage has been a slight disappointment so far, hovering around 9 kmpl. Running has been mostly in Normal Drive Mode and within City Limits with just 1 short Highway Trip and Auto AC On all the time. Also, there have been quite a few instances of the Engine Idling while stationary either to check certain settings or to beat the heat. Also, the Petrol Fill-ups are only once a month due to low running. These factors might have also contributed towards lower FE figures, but hopefully, it improves with more running as the Engine beds in.
• Expected a better fit and alignment of the Headlamps and tail lamps with the Body Panels. Some inconsistent gaps are present.
• Pewter Olive Color, though an amazing and unique shade, is a full-on Dust Magnet and it's a huge task to keep the car clean and shining. Which i had thought would be easier to maintain before finalizing this Color.

Few Mods & Upgrades done so far:

• Upgraded Tires to Conti UC6 in the same stock size, which has contributed to Good Ride Quality and less Road noise seeping into the Cabin. UC6 also tends to retain Tire Pressure pretty well. Have just done 1 Nitrogen Top-up in the past 3 Months and it still shows 31 psi.
• Got the Door Handles painted to Body Color. Personally, it gets better now and has enhanced the look. I also wanted to do something for the other Chrome bits, but maybe sometime later.
• Got the Brake Calipers painted bright Yellow. This was a tricky choice to make with options of green lime, chrome, gold, and yellow that go with the Green color. Did not consider the standard Red Color Calipers to avoid it looking like a Christmas tree. Glanced through a few pictures on the Web of a few Green Aston Martins with Yellow colored Calipers and finally decided to go with the Yellow.

• This just came up randomly, but taking inspiration from the Hyundai Creta N-Line, got this GT-Line Decal for the Front Grille. Am not expecting it to hold up for too long, but it's held on so far.

• Got a VIOFO A229 Plus 2ch Dashcam. It's a bit on the costly side when you can get much cheaper Dashcams but hopefully, it's a worthy investment which hope I never get into a situation to make use.

• Last, but not least, it's never complete without showing off Team-BHP Stickers, is it.

Also, super excited that I will be covering the next 1000 Kms within the next week itself as I am off on a Road trip to Goa. Looking forward to spending more time with my Hulk and untapping its potential.

Ciao, until next time

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