Kia Seltos vs Peugeot 3008

What's the difference?

Kia’s updated Seltos is more expensive than the previous version but it's better as well.

The entry grade no longer has hubcaps and gets alloy wheels, all grades have directional air vents in the second row, the jerky dual-clutch auto is gone and an excellent regular eight-speed auto has arrived, plus there’s more safety tech and modern displays screens.

What hasn’t changed is the Seltos’s size. It’s a big, small SUV, that’s easy to park in tight spaces but roomy inside even for tall, awkward humans like me. 

The sweet spot in the range is the Sport+ with the 1.6-litre engine, if only it had the LED headlights that only come on the GT-Line.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

Technology is supposed to make life better and easier, but I’m afraid this hybrid version of the 3008 falls short on that score due to its slow charging and limited range. Nor does this hybrid version make a great driving, practical and good looking SUV much better.

Then there's the price. A list price of $80K is too much, relative to class rivals and the petrol equivalent 3008. 

For this money you could buy a Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric, Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Tesla Model 3. All charge at (relatively) lightening-quick rates and deliver about 400km of range. And none of them require petrol, because they are fully electric.   

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid needs charging pretty much every moment it’s not being driven in order to make sure all of that 60km of range doesn’t run dry.

That’s a lot to ask from people in Australia who don’t blink at driving 500km for a family holiday, in a country which has far fewer charging locations than Europe. 

This updated Seltos has had a few styling tweaks, too. The grille is taller and  there’s a new headlight design which on the GT-Line is stunning with its LED running lights.

The rear of the Seltos has been restyled as well, with a new tail-light design and again on the GT-Line there’s an LED strip which runs between them.

The Seltos is pretty big for a small SUV. At 4.4m long it’s bigger than a Hyundai Kona and a Honda HR-V and about the same size as a Nissan Qashqai and Corolla Cross.

What’s good about that is you’re getting more space inside with a package that’s still smallish on the outside.

If you think the Seltos’ look is familiar, then I agree. The Honda HR-V and Haval Jolion have very similar tail-light designs and the profile follows many of the same styling cues of the Toyota Corolla Cross.

To my eyes, though, I think the Seltos is the more refined looking of its peers with a more modern and interesting interior.

Speaking of which, keep in mind that the top-of-the-range GT-Line’s cabin is far more fancy than the interior of the entry grade S. The GT-line’s large double digital displays are impressive and the buttons around the shifter for seat heating and ventilation are replaced with blank plastic panels in the S. 

Hard plastic armrests were another of my gripes about the previous entry grade Seltos, too.

Still all cabins have a premium look even if the feel isn’t luxurious throughout on all grades. 

There’s never been a Peugeot that hasn’t been interesting in its design. That’s a big part of their appeal and the 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid is intriguingly good looking inside and out.

Look at the grille with its chrome studs filling that monstrous grin like glistening teeth. And see how the headlights blend into the jagged design and notice the eyebrow-like ridges above them which extend into the bonnet towards the windscreen. 

It’s a tough-but-pretty design that’s carried on down the side panels as they curve and crease towards the tailgate with its striking LED tail-lights.

The cabin is stunning with its black leather upholstery, metallic and faux wood trim, and Peugeot oddities such as the small angular steering wheel, the elongated gear shifter and high-placed instrument cluster.  

Some small SUVs are seriously small, which might be fine for some, but if you’re hoping to also have enough space for passengers in the back seats, and a boot which can carry plenty of luggage then the Seltos is a good choice.

Even at 191cm tall I had more than enough room to sit behind my driving position with good headroom back there, too.

Cabin storage is also good with door pockets front and rear, and a deep centre console box. As for cupholders there are two up front on all grades, while the Sport+ and GT-Line get two more in the second row fold-down armrest.

Boot capacity depends on if you’ve requested a full-sized spare wheel or the space-saver spare. With the space-saver you’ll have more room at 469 litres, while the full-sized wheel under the boot floor will leave you with 433 litres. That’s still decent for the class.

The new Seltos has directional air vents for back seat passengers which is a win (motoring journalists had been complaining about the lack of them for years) and there are also two USB ports (Type-C) for the second row along with another two for those in the front, plus a 12V outlet.

I think we can all agree leather trousers look tremendous, but aren’t very practical. And there are some SUVs where form is favoured over function, too. But not this one... in most cases.

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid is spacious for a mid-sized SUV with great cabin storage and a big boot.

Up front there are huge door pockets that are more like buckets, a large split opening centre console storage box and two cupholders.

The second row has smaller door pockets and two cupholders in the fold-down armrest.

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid’s boot is big compared to its rivals at 591 litres with the second row up, and 1670 litres with the rear seat folded.

For people space, there’s more than enough room for me at 191cm to sit behind my driving position. 

For charging there are USB ports and a 12V power outlet. 

Peugeot offers the plug-in hybrid version of its 3008 exclusively in the top-of-the-range GT Sport grade for a list price of $79,990. That makes it the most expensive Peugeot offered in Australia.

This hybrid is $20,000 more than the petrol version, in the same GT Sport grade, with identical standard features.

Electric cars are currently more costly to produce than their petrol counterparts, but expecting consumers to fork out $20K is hard to justify. Particularly when prestige rivals to the 3008 Plug-in Hybrid cost less. The Volvo XC40 Recharge Plug-in lists for $66,990.

But if you're determined to own the GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid you’ll be treated to the full banquet of 3008 features.

Coming standard is a 10.0-inch media display, a 12.4-inch digital instrument cluster, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio, sat nav, a 10-speaker Focal stereo*, dual-zone climate control, power adjustable and heated front seats, and Nappa leather upholstery. 

*UPDATE: Peugeot advised on 5 May 2022 that Australian-spec MY22 models will temporarily omit the Focal premium audio system due to a manufacturing irregularity. See your Peugeot dealer to confirm when this feature will return.

There’s also a panoramic sunroof, 19-inch alloy wheels, aluminium roof rails, LED headlights and running lights, adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, auto parking, proximity key, and tinted rear windows. 

The Seltos range has two engines to choose from: a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine making 110kW/180Nm and a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine producing even more grunt at 146kW/265Nm.

The 2.0-litre engine comes with a CVT which is a type of automatic transmission and the 1.6-litre engine has an eight-speed auto.

CVT stands for Continuously Variable Transmission and some people (me included) find the droning they cause the engine to make to be annoying. They also come with a feeling of less acceleration. 

The good news is the eight-speed auto that comes with the 1.6-litre is a great transmission with smooth shifts and a sporty nature that matches the punchy engine. 

This eight-speed auto is welcome because it also replaces the jerky dual-clutch transmission that had been paired with the 1.6-litre engine in the previous Seltos.   

All-wheel drive is only available with the 1.6-litre engine while front-wheel drive comes solely with the 2.0-litre.

So, if you’re after great acceleration and better traction then the 1.6-litre is the way to go. If you’re not after a sporty driving experience then the 2.0-litre engine will suit you, and it costs less.

The all-wheel drive (AWD) 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid is powered by a 81kW/320Nm electric motor on the front axle, an 83kW/166Nm motor on the rear axle, and a 147kW/300Nm 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine driving the front wheels.

The total combined output is 222kW/520Nm, which makes it one of the most powerful mid-sized SUVs for the price. Acceleration is impressively quick with 0-100km/h coming in just 5.9 seconds.

The smaller engine actually uses more fuel, but not a great deal more. Kia says the 1.6-litre engine with all-wheel drive uses 7.4L/100km after a combination of open and urban roads. The 2.0-litre engine according to Kia will use half a litre less at 6.9L/100km.  

Both engines only need 'standard' 91 RON petrol, too - that’s the cheap one.

Where is the hybrid variant? Good question. The answer is, there isn’t one. And neither is one coming, I’ve asked. That’s disappointing considering the Corolla Cross comes with a hybrid version of each grade in its line-up.

It’s for this reason the Seltos range scores a lower mark for fuel efficiency.

This sounds obvious but plug-in hybrids need to be plugged into a charger. And I mean they need to be charged every time you’ve finished driving for the day. 

Otherwise, you’ll run out of charge and your fuel use will rocket past that of a petrol-powered 3008 due to the extra weight in batteries and motors you’re lugging around.

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid has an electric range of 60km, although I went through the entire charge in less than 50km. Then I had to hunt down a fast charger and discovered it would take about four hours to stuff the batteries full of power again.

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid is extremely slow to fill up due to a small 3.7kW onboard charger. If the inverter unit was larger (as in BEVs like the Tesla Model X or Hyundai Ioniq 5) charging time would be much faster.

Charging overnight each day you use the 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid is the scenario you’ll have to adopt if you want to get the most out of this SUV. 

I found that after starting with a full charge and driving it for a day of mainly urban usage the trip computer was reporting an average consumption of 1.4L/100km. 

If you plan on adding motorways and open roads into the mix Peugeot says you can expect to use 1.6L/100km.

That’s outstanding fuel economy, but let the charge run out and you’ll start seeing 9.5L/100km, and higher, as I did. 

In that scenario the petrol engine needs to lug 1.8 tonnes around, a decent chunk of which is heavy batteries and motors, which aren’t doing anything.

If you don’t have access to power at home to charge a car, then you’d be better off with the type of hybrid which charges through the engine and regenerative braking, such as a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. 

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid has received such a low score here because of its extremely slow charging time and limited range. 

A larger inverter would solve this issue. It's possible consumers will end up using a lot more fuel than the pure petrol variant unless they are vigilant in always charging this car (nearly) every time it is not being driven.

The Kia Seltos has two personalities. The laid back Seltos with a 2.0-litre engine and the enthusiastic sporty Seltos with the 1.6-litre engine.

Regardless of which Seltos you pick, the ride is comfortable, the handling is good, and the steering is excellent. 

Kia says it's worked to make the Seltos’s cabin more insulated from road noise, but having driven it on country roads for hours I think it could do with more sound dampening.

If you’re considering the Sport+ grade and are not sure if the $3500 premium for the 1.6-litre engine is worth it, my answer would be absolutely, if you can afford it.

That 1.6-litre turbo petrol is a great engine and the new eight-speed transmission is excellent. Even as a daily driver I think anybody would enjoy driving this version of the Seltos more, and for those who like sporty driving then it’s definitely the powerplant for you.

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid is an excellent SUV to drive. The ride is composed, the body feels nicely controlled and the handling is good. 

Add great acceleration, thanks to the torquey motors, and this SUV is well above average when it comes to the driving experience.

Any downsides? There always are. Visibility is compromised by thick, long A-pillars and the steering wheel’s odd shape and tiny size are a letdown. So too is not charging regularly, causing this SUV to suddenly have to lug its 1.8-tonne weight around under petrol power alone.

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid comes with all the safety tech in the 3008's arsenal. 

There’s auto emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keeping technology, blind-spot monitoring, a camera system, and front and rear parking sensors.

There are some gaps though. No rear cross-traffic alert or reverse AEB. These things are now common on new cars.

For child seats there are three top tether anchor points across the second row along with two ISOFIX mounts.

The Peugeot 3008 was given the maximum five-star ANCAP rating in 2017, but in the past five years safety tech has come a long way and this SUV has fallen behind.

Please be aware, too, that the plug-in hybrid version has yet to be given a ANCAP score. 

The Seltos is covered by Kia’s seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty. 

Servicing differs between the two engines.

A Seltos with a 1.6-litre engine needs to be serviced every 12 months or 10,000km and over seven years the average service cost comes to $497 per year.

A Seltos with the 2.0-litre engine needs to be serviced every 12 months or 15,000km and over seven years the average service costs comes to $434 per year.

Capped price servicing is good, but the prices can get higher than $600 for some visits.

The 3008 GT Sport Plug-in Hybrid is covered by Peugeot’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. The battery is also covered by an eight year warranty.

Servicing is recommended annually or every 20,000km. Service prices are capped, and you can expect to pay $3108 over the course of five years, for an annual average of $622.