Like almost all manufacturers, as the shift in the market from traditional saloon, hatchback and estate car models to Crossovers and SUVs continued, in the last few years, Kia have continued to fill out their product range with yet more offerings. Whilst the Sportage and Sorento have long been well established in the middle of the market, this Korean automotive giant clearly felt the need to top and tail the range. The impressive Telluride would sit at the top of the range, large enough to offer 7 seats that adults could ride in, whilst lower down, another new nameplate appeared, the Seltos. This made its debut in mid 2019 and was intended as a “world car”, though it would seem that the world does not include Europe, as for those markets, Kia had in fact already got a small SUV which they had been selling for a few years, the Stonic. The two cars are different, and, not surprisingly, the Seltos is a bit larger, sharing its platform with the Hyundai Kona. There are. In fact, multiple versions of the Seltos. The largest of these, manufactured in South Korea and codenamed SP2 is mainly aimed at developed markets, including North America and Australasia. The two other variations are the Indian-made Seltos (codenamed SP2i) and the closely related Chinese version badged as the Kia KX3 (codenamed SP2c). The SP2i and SP2c models are the low-cost versions of the Seltos to penetrate emerging markets, built on the Hyundai-Kia K2 platform and closely related to the second-generation Hyundai Creta/ix25. Confused? I’m not surprised as the profusion of market specific models and different naming strategies around the world can make the Korean offerings as difficult to untangle as the Japanese brands. The Seltos itself is quite easy to understand, though as this is a car that deviates not at all from class and market norms except perhaps for the fact that all bar one of the versions have standard all-wheel drive. This B/C segment vehicle adopts taller styling to give more space and an elevated driving position in a car of modest dimensions. It is available with a couple of different engines and an array of different trims, aimed mostly at families who want a small and useful car that represents value for money and ease of ownership over excitement and pizzazz. US market sales started early in 2020 for the 2021 model year and I have seen a number of them now in the Hertz rental fleet, so it was not perhaps a surprise to find one available, among the rather limited selection of cars, at Hertz’ Las Vegas airport for the second day of my stay in the area. I decided to take it and see what it was like, knowing that the weather forecast for the test duration was truly terrible, so it was unlikely I was actually going to be going very far in whatever I selected. The forecast proved to be accurate, so testing and photos were indeed limited, but I was able to form some impressions of this addition to the now quite extensive Kia range.

My test car was the new for 2022 Nightfall Edition, which comes complete with a distinctive colour-contrasted roof. It also has, as standard, the more powerful of the two available engines, a 1.6 litre turbo four that features in a number of other Kia and Hyundai cars. It develops 175 bhp and is coupled to a seven speed dual clutch automatic gearbox and features standard all-wheel drive. There is keyless starting. Once fired up, the over-riding impression of the engine is that it is smooth and relative quiet. Acceleration is good, though given the appalling weather of the day I had this Kia, I did not go as far as I usually would and so got more experience in taking off from traffic lights than pulling past slower vehicles on the freeway which is a more rather important test. I also did not go far enough to get any particularly meaningful data on fuel economy, using only a couple of gallons. The Seltos will win few prizes for excitement behind the wheel, but equally, there seemed to be no vices. The best word to describe pretty much all the driving dynamics is “fine”. Nothing here stood out. The steering was light, which made manoeuvering the car easy, but there was not much in the way of feel which does not matter unduly on urban streets but would be more frustrating on bendy roads. The handling was not something I really test, either, but would seem to be safe and predictable and there is plenty of grip. The brakes were effective needing only moderate effort to retard the Seltos. I found no significant issues with the visibility, and the rear-view camera helped with precision when backing up. There are a number of electronic ADAS features included. Lane Keep Assist was mercifully easy to turn off, and like most such systems, it needed to be. The Rear Cross Alert was useful in parking lots especially when parked with larger vehicles on either side.

Whilst not displaying much in the way of flair, the design of the interior of the Seltos is neat, and made from decent quality materials which are well put together. There is a chunky leather-wrapped steering wheel which proved good to hold. The instrument cluster contains two large dials for speedometer and rev counter with smaller gauges for fuel level and water temperature inset in the larger dials. Between them, there is a trip display area which has a number of menu options available. There are two column stalks, with lights which include an auto function, on the left hand of the pair. Buttons for audio repeater and cruise control functions are on the steering wheel boss. The 10.25” infotainment screen is set high but it looks like it was properly planned as opposed to a stuck-on after-thought. Functions on offer here include XM Satellite radio and navigation as well as apple car Play and Android Auto. The graphics are crisp and clear and the system proved relatively easy to use with a row of buttons and a couple of control knobs below the screen as well as the touch interface. There is an eight speaker Bose sound system. Beneath this are the buttons for a single-zone automated climate control system.

Nightfall trim means that you get a full covering of synthetic leather for the seats. They have a wide range of adjustment, all of it electric, and the seats have heating elements, which almost felt like they would be necessary so unpleasant was the weather on the day of my test. There is masses of headroom so this feels like a particularly spacious place to be, and that is a feeling which will be shared by those who get to sit in the back. There is a lot of space here for what is a relatively small car, with ample legroom even when the front seats are set well back, and of course the heard room is plentiful, too. There is not much of a central tunnel to get in the way for a middle seat occupant’s feet though the console unit is quite bulky. A drop-down central armrest is included and this has cup holders in the upper surface and for odds and ends there are both a single map pocket on the back of the front seats and bins on the doors. The boot is also generously sized, among the largest in the class and there is a wide opening and the floor is flush with the base of the tailgate which makes it easy to get loads in here. The rear seat backrests are asymmetrically split and simply drop down to create a much longer load platform which is completely flat end-to-end. There is a load cover included. Inside the passenger compartment there is a good-sized glovebox, a deep recess in front of the gearlever, an armrest cubby and pockets on the doors, which combined should be more than enough for the needs of most people.

The 2022 Kia Seltos comes in five trim levels: LX, S, Nightfall Edition, EX and SX Turbo. The LX, S and EX models use a 149 bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine paired with a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), while the Nightfall Edition and SX Turbo get a turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. All-wheel drive is standard in every trim except the S, which can be had with either front- or all-wheel drive. The entry-level LX has cloth seats, an 8-inch touch-screen infotainment system, Bluetooth, a six-speaker stereo, a USB port, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Its driver-assistance suite consists of forward collision warning, pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, driver-attention monitoring, rear-seat alert, a rearview camera and automatic high-beam headlights. The S is the only Seltos available with front-wheel drive, which saves some fuel. The S has several notable upgrades compared to the LX, including a 10.25-inch touch screen, navigation, satellite radio, proximity keyless entry, push-button start, remote start, automatic climate control, partial synthetic leather upholstery and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Heated front seats are available. The Nightfall Edition features unique black trim and is one of two Seltos models to use the turbocharged engine. It also gains blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert and can be had with heated front seats. Though it lacks the turbo engine, the EX builds on the Nightfall Edition’s equipment with wireless device charging, full synthetic leather upholstery, heated front seats and a 10-way power-adjustable driver’s seat. It’s also the only Seltos with a standard sunroof. The top-of-the-line Seltos SX Turbo comes with the turbocharged engine and adds an eight-speaker Bose stereo, a 7-inch digital gauge cluster, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, adaptive cruise control and a vehicle exit warning.

No-one could get terribly excited about the Seltos, it is just not that sort of car. But it is extremely competent, and would meet the needs of many people very well indeed. Indeed, there are no significant shortcomings, and plenty of strengths including a lot of space inside compared to the external dimensions, a good standard of fit and finish and generous equipment levels. Add in the long warranty that comes with a Kia and you can see that as an ownership proposition, the Seltos makes a lot of sense. It does not have the market to itself, of course. Far from it, with a long list of competitors, several of which are also excellent. I liked the Kia’s close relative, the Hyundai Kona, and I suspect that if I can ever find one to test, the Mazda CX-30 would also hit the spot, and there are plenty of other options, such as the Honda HR-V, Chevrolet Trailblazer and Buick Encore GX to name just a few, so, as generally applies these days, right across the market, it really is a case of trying out the alternatives to see which appeals the most. For sure, though, this is another Kia which, if offered at the rental car counter, you should take without misgivings.