Upgraded from Polo to new Seltos GTX+: Purchase & dealership experience

Considering my frame of reference is a 7-year-old entry-level hatchback, everything about this SUV feels incredible.

BHPian arcanec recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

The backstory

I've been a fan of the Seltos ever since its release in 2019. Back then, I'd bought the GTX+ MT as a retirement present for my dad and two of the things that sealed the deal in favour of the Seltos were:

1. The sheer amount of tech in the car and Kia's attention to detail in the car interiors
2. The showroom experience at Automotives De Cristal in Goa

Creature comforts like ventilated seats and useful driving aids like the 360° camera imprinted on my back at a time when no other car in the segment came anywhere close to this offering. What I didn't like much about the car were the blocky binnacle and the rather stiff suspension. When I saw the facelift with the refreshed binnacle and retuned suspension, not to mention even more tech thrown in with ADAS, I knew it was time to take the plunge and say a fond farewell to Kelly the Kwid, my trusty sidekick of almost 7 years

Early promising signs

While I had my heart set on the Seltos, I thought it'd be remiss of me to not at least give the other cars in the segment a fair fighting chance. Among these, the Taigun's driving dynamics strongly tempted me, but the interiors felt a couple of steps down from the Seltos. JSP Kia at Marathahalli ORR was just a couple km down the road from my residence so I went there with stars in my eyes and a ready checkbook. My initial impression of the showroom was...underwhelming but, in my mind, irrelevant. What I wanted was a hassle-free purchase experience and a good solid car to enjoy for the next half-decade or so. Oh boy!

As this section header indicates, early signs were promising. The SA agreed to my terms of:

1. No payment beyond the booking amount before getting a PDI
2. Matching the insurance quote I received from outside or accepting that I'd buy the insurance myself
3. Installing a dual-channel dashcam (which he said they'd do free of charge)

While sorely tempted by the matte finish X-Line with its blacked-out elements, research on teamBHP made me decide against it. After agonizing over the decision between a pewter olive, imperial blue, and the good ole black, I decided to go with the Pewter Olive GTX+ Turbo Petrol DCT. Is it just me or is there a sudden upsurge in the number of olive/khaki/bottle green cars of late? The amount of chrome on the exterior is still a bit much for my liking and I'd look at ways to dechrome the car maybe a year or so down the line. Even with all the chrome bits, the Seltos in this colour is a stunner in my utterly non-biased opinion. On October 17th, I put down the booking token and that's when things started to go a bit pear-shaped.

A rude awakening and a bit of a rant

N.B. For those of you who know how to deal with dealerships, you may want to skip this section or take the opportunity to laugh at a naive buyer. For those who are considering buying the car, especially from the dealership mentioned, you may want to read on.

JSP Kia's booking confirmation email had the following disclaimer in bold:

Any verbal commitments given at the time of booking will be invalid and only written commitment according to the booking will be considered.

Kinda sus, but let's trust the SA. Mistake! More on this soon. I sat back expecting to get the car somewhere towards the end of November as communicated by the SA. Instead on October 27th, I got a call from him saying the car had been allocated and that I should make the payment. Eh? Payment? Recall point 1 above. Anyway, as the showroom was close by, I popped in for a visit. The SA tells me they need to lock in the price before the month-end, and that the car has been allocated to me. On my insistence, he even shared a VIN with me and said it's a Kia policy that I've to pay the ex-showroom amount at least. I spoke to Kia's customer care on the call, and they said that as the car has been allocated, I could choose to pay. I...did, and the SA promised delivery of the car by Nov 8th. Here's where the real fun begins.

The following Monday I got 3 calls from the JSP Kia sales team in the span of half an hour. First, the SA tells me they'll issue the invoice later that day due to issues with their backend system. A few minutes later, his manager called me saying that the car delivery would be delayed as the car hadn't been dispatched yet by Kia. On my insistence, he agreed to refund the amount paid, for which he'd need a cancelled check from me. While I was drafting the reply to this, I got a call from his manager saying the car would be delivered by the 10th and that I could do a PDI on the coming weekend (Nov 4th). Talk about manic Mondays, eh?

Lesson learnt, folks. Don't ever EVER pay a paisa above the booking token before you see the car in person.

The PD"I":

On the scheduled PDI day, I arrive at the stockyard to see a filthy car. Honestly, I wouldn't have known if the vehicle was olive, blue, or pink under the layer of dust. I Saw Naara Kia dealer stickers on the red windshield and a PETROL sticker on the fuel cover. Looked at the VIN and sure enough, it was different from the VIN of the vehicle supposedly allocated to me. To add to the fun, Bangalore turned from sunny skies to a thunderstorm in 5 minutes (mirroring my inner mental state) making further examination impossible. Headed back to the showroom to give the team a piece of my mind.

Surprise surprise, the Sales Manager put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the SA and put on a bit of performance art scolding him for the VIN being miscommunicated to me and not having the car cleaned before I visited. Owing to my limited Kannada comprehension, I only caught snippets of "first impression, best impression", and "again same story", in that 5-minute performance. He then got the car to the showroom so I could do a proper PDI. Of a car still streaked with mud spots in the evening shade and drizzle. Inspection indeed.

The delivery experience

At this point, I started putting everything in the mail and I'm glad I did. The SA committed to deliver the car on Nov 11th with the whole delivery period taking 45-60 minutes. I arrived on schedule to see a green colour car dusty both inside and out. Who's surprised? At this point, I wasn't. Took them a couple of hours to get the car cleaned and ready, with the dashcam installed. The PETROL sticker on the fuel cover was still there, which I raised with the SA who then proceeded to remove it, scratching the metal cover in the process.

Of course, they didn't have the mats I'd ordered available either. The SA told me they'd arrange for the mats the next week and that he'd replace the fuel lid free of charge as well as a "goodwill gesture". Uhuh. Remembering JSP Kia's disclaimer, I demanded this in writing, and all in all, after spending about 2.5 hours there, left the showroom in a pretty foul mood after the mandatory delivery pictures.

This has turned into an insanely long post, so I appreciate it if you've stuck to it so far. A couple of fun post-sales nuggets to keep it concise:

1. I get a call from the SA (not his official number) a couple of days later saying I need to pay for the dashcam installation. Told him I had it in the mail that the installation would be free of charge. He immediately disconnected.
2. The scratched fuel cover was to be replaced on Nov 13th. Anticipating their delays I decided to call the SA on the 16th to check on that and the mats, only for him to tell me that the cover was arranged but since I didn't come in, they used it for another customer. How many fuel covers are you damaging, Kia?

Ownership experience so far

In the ~300km I've driven I've had little to complain about apart from the experience with the dealership. As I'm regularly forced to reverse out of my parking onto a road, I find the reverse parking assist handy after getting over the initial shock of the auto-applied brake. Likewise with the blind spot assist. The 360 camera is a boon and I find it easier to park/manoeuvre this 4.3m car than my old trusty compact hatchback. Coming from a manual, the DCT feels butter smooth apart from a bit of hesitancy at ~20-30kmph more so when coupled with an evident turbo lag. This is less so when using the paddle shifters. Considering my frame of reference is a 7-year-old entry-level hatchback, everything about this car feels incredible. More discerning drivers may find the tyres subpar or the suspension not as pliant as some others in the category, but I can't say I've found either to be problematic. The seat does lack a bit of under-thigh support, but I don't find it concerning for my daily drives.

Here's hoping for many happier miles with this beast.

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