Kia Seltos Pricing and Specs

CarsGuide tested the Kona Hybrid late last year (you can check out the review and video here) and came to exactly the same conclusion: That the car was great around the city, but lacked a bit of overtaking oomph at highway speeds.

This will not be a problem for many owners who will possibly never need to overtake on a country road, but for those who do, perhaps there are better choices out there.

Your comparison with the petrol Captiva is a valid one, too. On paper, this car had plenty of urge, but the power was all stacked way up in the higher rev ranges and required some forward planning when overtaking.

I would reject the assertion that all modern engines ping because they run lean. Pinging (or detonation or pre-ignition, call it what you will) is a symptom of a problem (usually with the ignition timing or fuel mixture) and it’s not something you should expect to hear. Over time, continued pinging will damage the engine’s internal components and then you’re faced with a huge bill instead.

The knock sensor should detect the first signs of pinging (even before you’ve heard it) and adjust the engine’s ignition curve (generally) to stop it happening. So, either the knock sensor’s not working or the computer that is supposed to control the engine’s settings isn’t operating correctly. The fact that a tankful of 98RON fuel stops the problem suggests that the engine settings are off.

Kia recommends normal 91 RON ULP for the Seltos and says that E10 fuel is also compatible with the vehicle. So there should be no need to buy the more costly 98 RON stuff just to prevent the engine pinging. Your vehicle is still well and truly under warranty, so make it Kia’s problem to fix it. And don’t be fobbed off by `they all do that, Sir’.

The Seltos was only launched in Australia in 2019 (and has already had a couple of specification tweaks) so I wouldn’t be expecting an all-new model to be just around the corner.

There are strong rumours from around the world, however, that the next Seltos will gain a hybrid driveline option as part of its mid-life update probably next year. If it does, the question then become one of when we will see it. And car-makers being traditionally coy about future product plans, who knows, other than to say Kia doesn’t usually mess around getting new tech to market.

For an idea of what it might be like, we reckon a look at the Kia Niro hybrid (which went on sale here mid-last year) might just give you a pretty good insight into what a Seltos hybrid might consist of. Certainly, that’s what reports out of South Korea are speculating on.