Summary
With its stylish looks, spacious cabin and fun-to-drive advantages, the 2024 Seltos earns its place in Kia’s lineup, which is full of other vehicles of similar value. Seltos are the slots between the smaller ones Soul and bigger Sportbut its slightly larger size than a subcompact makes room for more cargo than such competitors Hyundai Kona and Nissan Kick. A styling refresh for 2024 makes the Seltos more appealing than ever and the interior has also been updated with better infotainment technology. A four-cylinder duo is available, including a 195 hp turbocharged engine that provides good spirits. Most models come standard with all-wheel drive, and even the base-model Seltos provides good value and utility, making it one of our favorite small SUVs.
What’s New for 2024?
Seltos has received a refreshing for its exterior and interior style for 2024. A restyled grille and updated lighting elements enhance the SUV’s exterior along with a new wheel design and taillight bar connecting the taillights. The cabin receives an updated infotainment panel with two large displays and the more traditional gear lever of the current model appears to have been replaced with a rotary controller. The Seltos’ optional 1.6-liter turbo four-cylinder now produces 195 horsepower, up 20 hp from last year’s model, and adds a new eight-speed automatic transmission to replace the previous seven-speed unit. The rugged-looking X-Line model also joins the lineup and sports a unique exterior styling.
Price and Which One to Buy
Despite the stylistic makeover, the Seltos will likely remain a fairly affordable option. We expect trim levels to mirror the 2023 model, but with a slightly higher price and a possible overhaul of options. Not yet known whether all-wheel drive will remain a standard feature or not.
Engine, Transmission and Performance
Kia offers two different four-cylinder engines in the Seltos: a 2.0-liter producing 147 horsepower or a turbocharged 1.6-liter producing 195 hp. We sampled Seltos with 1.6 liter turbocharged back when it was making just 175 horsepower and felt it had more than enough power. While the base engine is mated to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), the turbo comes with an eight-speed automatic. All-wheel drive comes standard on all but the S trim. The Seltos offers a firm but mostly smooth ride, and handling is snappy for an SUV—much more entertaining and quiet than rivals such as Compass Jeep and Mitsubishi Outlander Sport.
Real World Fuel and MPG Savings
The EPA hasn’t released fuel economy estimates for the 2024 Seltos, but we don’t think much will change from last year’s model. The 2023 Seltos’ road fuel economy is estimated at 35 mpg for the front-wheel drive model with the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. On our 75 mph fuel-efficient test route, an all-wheel-drive Seltos with a turbocharged 1.6-liter manages 30 mpg. For more information on the fuel economy of the Seltos, visit EPA website.
Interior, Comfort and Cargo
Inside, the Seltos offers more space for people and cargo than the Hyundai Kona. The materials used throughout the cabin are refined enough to feel right at home in the showroom next to the brand’s outstanding Telluride SUV. Interior ambient lighting is standard on the high-end SX model and can be set to pulse along with the music like the system Kia offers on the smaller Soul SUV. During a test drive of our pre-facelift model, the cargo area effortlessly engulfed our suitcases, backpacks, and photo bags; in our test, we stuffed eight carry-on cases in the cargo hold and 20 with the rear seats folded. We expect the Seltos’ cargo-carrying capabilities to remain unchanged for the 2024 model year.
Infotainment and Connectivity
The Seltos’ infotainment setup has changed drastically for 2024, with a new seamless panel that spans two-thirds of the dashboard serving as both a digital gauge display and an infotainment touchscreen. This arrangement is optional and similar to what other modern Kia models offer. A smaller display with an analog gauge cluster is standard. Kia hasn’t said yet, but we expect to see Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, SiriusXM satellite radio, and a Wi-Fi hotspot installed.
Safety and Driver Assistance Features
Kia offers a standard suite driver assistance technology in Seltos, but high-tech features like adaptive cruise control are optional. For more information on the results of the Seltos crash test, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) website. Key safety features include:
- Standard automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection
- Standard lane departure alerts with lane maintenance assistance
- There is adaptive cruise control with lane centering features
Warranty and Maintenance Coverage
Kia’s warranty is the best in the industry, and the company continues to offer 10 years or 100,000 miles of powertrain coverage on its models. The only other rival that can match it is the SUV from its sister company Hyundai.
- The limited warranty covers 5 years or 60,000 miles
- The powertrain warranty covers 10 years or 100,000 miles
- No free scheduled maintenance
