Having driven a Hyundai car I was sold with the quality, fit, finish, engine refinement and features of the Kia Seltos
BHPian swsunil recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
The Story Behind My Purchase
In November 2021, we moved into our own apartment. We wanted to buy a new car upgrading from our then Hyundai Eon to at least a decent sedan. The only problem was the ground clearance in Indian and specifically Bangalore roads. So, we decided to go for at least a mid-level SUV with decent ground clearance. But we didn’t want to invest in a new car for just two of us.
Good news – we were expecting our first baby around August 2022. So, we had a reason to upgrade our ride. Having done all my research in shortlisting the ideal car for us, I was contemplating between Tata Harrier and Kia Seltos. By then I had seen 90% of the videos of Seltos and Harrier on Youtube.
Kia was new in India. But having driven a Hyundai car I was sold with the quality, fit, finish, engine refinement and features of the car. Harrier was good, bigger, better in size and ground clearance but their service has/had issues even today. My idea of a new car was not to have any service center visits. Just topup fuel and drive. As we were expecting the baby soon, we knew that we would spend more time in understanding and learning the new born.
So, for us Seltos checked all the boxes of engine power, transmission type, comfort, features, quality, modern interiors and lastly a Kia service center at 1Km away from our home.
We booked an intense red Seltos GTX+ Diesel Automatic (torque converter) on 2nd Jan 2022 in Epitome Kia, Whitefield Bangalore. The wait time was 3-4months. We would still have ~4months to have the new born in our hands after getting the car. So, the delivery timeline was not a problem. Loan was approved in SBI.
By the end of Jan 2022, we received a call from the dealer. They asked if we were ok with black or white as it was available. My first car was a white Maruti Zen. So, white was an absolutely no. I personally didn’t prefer black due to maintenance being aware that I am an OCD. So, the dealer asked me what other color preferences do we have apart from the intense red. I was ok with gravity gray as it was dark but not as much as black. The dealer said he would get me a gravity gray and we should make the down payment immediately to reserve the car. We were least expecting to car so soon. Bang! We got a confirmation call that gravity gray of the same variant was available for us to take the delivery if we reserved it. We went to the showroom and did the due diligence.
Post Delivery Drive Impressions
On 2nd Feb 2022 (2-2-2022), we took the delivery of Kia Seltos. It was bigger than Eon in every aspect. I was just getting used to driving an automatic and keeping my left foot idle. My first reaction near the U-turn from Epitome Kia (I still remember) was a big smile on my face. The first stop was at the nearest fuel station as fuel was low and I didn’t take any chance searching for a Shell Station. For the first time in my life I was filling my car with diesel. My two previous ones were petrol. The initial mileage was very low. But as I got used to controlling my right foot, I could see an increase in the mileage after 5000km. I guess that had to do with my right foot pushing Eon’s accelerator hard. Seltos having a 1.5L engine could easily take off at the slightest push of my right foot.
Our first trip in the new beast was to Hogennnekal waterfalls. My wife was in the second trimester. So, we felt it was safe and we wanted to unleash the beast in the highway and experience that adrenaline rush. When we crossed the Hosur city limits, the beast was indeed unleashed. Overtaking was so easy even without down shifting. I explored all the features – cruise control, HUD, inbuilt maps, voice control, sun roof and paddle shifters to name a few. The road grip was solid and I was so confident taking those curves at high speeds. Speeds of 140-150kmph seemed like 80-90kmph if I had not looked into the HUD.
This is my first blog here. I will be sharing road trip details soon.
Happy Reading!
Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
