Cupra Terramar vs Kia Seltos

What's the difference?

Creating a model-shared product that’s selling into a hotly contested – and crowded – marketplace is a great way to wind up with something derivative and easily overlooked. But Cupra seems to have managed to avoid that with an end result that is distinctive and has its own character within the VW family. In top-shelf VZ form, the Terramar is an entertaining drive and there’s enough driver involvement for it to be short-listed by anybody who values the journey as much as the destination.

The less powerful entry-level S version, meantime, can’t call on the services of that fabulous 2.0-litre engine and, instead, will possibly have a harder job convincing the masses of its worthiness. The lack of all-wheel drive probably won’t count for as much as the 'missing' 85kW (compared with the VZ) and some would-be buyers might find it hard to reconcile a driver’s SUV with the smaller engine in the S. Inside either variant, though, it’s prime family real estate with the clever rear seating and plenty of space and light inside. The value for money equation is pretty handy, too.

But for all that, you get the sense Cupra will need to shout about the Terramar if it’s to be heard over the general din of this fierce market segment. It would be a real shame if this car became simply a part of that background noise.

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

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.

Depending on which angle you’re looking from, the Terramar has elements of the VW Tiguan and Porsche Macan in the way it sits on the road and in the metal shapes that make up the whole. Interestingly, though, it’s probably genetically closest to the new Audi Q3 alongside which it’s built in Hungary, although there is plenty of new Tiguan in the platform and engineering aspects.

The highlights remain the nth-degree detailing that every current-model Cupra displays, combined with a sensible, practical layout. The detailing extends to what Cupra calls parametric design which, for those with their nerd on, refers to the way the little shapes moulded into the interior fan out and subtly change shape while still continuing the overall pattern.

Think of the way a nautilus shell consists of circular loops but where each one is bigger than the previous. Has car design really come to this? Apparently.

On a more practical level, the sliding rear seat is a master stroke for a vehicle like this one. The two-storey luggage floor is a nice touch, too, although the boot needs to start empty for this to be set up initially. But given Cupra’s place in the scheme of things and its continual hints at cutting-edge technology, you may ask where’s the plug-in hybrid or EV version?

The short answer is production of the plug-in hybrid model starts this week with Australian deliveries due in November this year. And an EV must surely also be on the cards given VW’s announcement that Australia will receive the SUV version of its electric offering, the ID4, and not the hatchback ID3. All of which makes an electric Terramar even more logical. We’ll keep you posted.

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 an awful lot going on inside the Terramar, stating with all that parametric detailing. But the copper-coloured accents are a genuine point of interest and most of the touchpoints are relatively plush as well as looking good.

Given the side profile of the car and its upswept waistline, you might think the interior would be a bit dark and gloomy. There’s certainly plenty of black on show, but the view out is actually great. Even the typical over-the-shoulder blind-spot isn’t really there.

We managed to sample the entry-level S version and the range-topping VZ and, to be honest, the major difference is the cloth-and-vinyl versus leather seating. The former is okay but never threatens to feel high-end, while the leather in the VZ is quite lovely.

There’s only one catch: If you don’t like burgundy leather, you’re out of luck, because that’s all that’s offered. Optional in the S and V variants, the idea of burgundy leather in, say, a blue car sounds awful, but in the flesh, the colour is quite subtle. Classy, even.

There’s a pair of USB charge ports in the front centre console, and another pair in the rear seat. That rear pew also gets its own climate controls (tri-zone) and central air-vents and there are reading lights as well. It also splits 40/20/40 and the centre armrest folds down to include a pair of cup-holders.

But while the rear seat offers plenty of foot and headroom, knee room is a bit tighter. It’s not terrible, but this car won’t necessarily fit families with older, taller teenage kids. Up front, there’s no shortage of space although the centre console feels quite bulky and definitely separates the front-seat occupants.

You can see and feel a bit of Audi ergonomics rubbing off in the Cupra’s touchscreens and customisable layouts and, as always, we’re big fans of having physical buttons on the centre stack for climate control and other important functions.

The luggage area isn’t huge, but is quite deep and the tailgate has a kick-sensor. Bins at each corner of the cargo area keep smaller items under control, but the inky blackness of the trim in this area means it looks like a black hole when you first open it.

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.

The price of the Kia Seltos has increased by about $2000 across the range, but you are getting more in the way of features. Let me take you through the model line-up. 

There are four grades: the entry grade S, then the Sport, Sport+ and GT-Line. Those are all available with the 2.0-litre petrol engine and front-wheel drive.

The Sport+ and GT-Line can also be had with a more powerful engine which is a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol with all-wheel drive.

So, the list prices for the 2.0-litre engine start at $29,500 for the S, then step up to $32,700 for the Sport, $35,800 for the Sport+, and $41,500 for the GT-Line.

The 1.6-litre turbo engine is a more expensive proposition and in the Sport+ you’ll pay $39,300, and to pair it with the GT-Line grade you’ll need to hand over $44,900, before on-road costs.

Kia was also doing drive-away pricing at the launch of the new Seltos. So check with your dealership to ensure that the offer is still available.

Coming standard on the S grade for the first time are alloy wheels, they’re small at 16-inches but better than hubcaps, and there’s also roof rails.

Inside, there are cloth seats, an 8.0-inch media display, digital driver’s display, air-conditioning, wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto.

The Sport grade adds 17-inch alloy wheels, auto headlights, a 10.25-inch media screen and matching 10.25-inch driver display, digital radio, sat nav, climate control, plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Sport+ has all the Sport’s features but brings a proximity key with push-button start, privacy glass, power driver’s seat, synthetic leather upholstery and extra safety tech which we’ll get to soon.

The top-of-the-range GT-Line has all the Sport+ features but adds a power front passenger seat, heated and ventilated front seats, sunroof and a power tailgate.

The GT-Line also comes with the option of two-tone body paint - that is a black roof with 'Clear White' or 'Pluton Blue' body colours. Be advised that this combination is not available with the sun roof.  

The value is good, but I don’t agree with Kia’s decision to keep the LED headlights for the GT-Line only and leaving all other grades stuck with dim Halogen headlights.

Being able to seem clearly on dark Australian country roads at night shouldn’t be a luxury. Toyota offers LED headlights across the Corolla Cross range from the entry grade up.

The Terramar range features a choice of two petrol engines and driveline layouts, three outputs and even a mild hybrid variant. In fact, the Terramar S which uses the hybrid driveline also happens to be the entry-level version of the car.

Generally, you’d expect the hybrid version of any line-up to be a more expensive option, but in this case, the hybrid system is one of those barely-there set-ups where a 48-volt electric motor – in this case disguised as the car’s alternator – also acts as the starter motor offering a little more 48-volt acceleration when required, and then recouping some otherwise lost during braking. Most drivers would need to be told the car is a hybrid at all.

Power for the S’s 1.5-litre, turbocharged engine tops out at 110kW, while torque peaks at 250Nm and the S is front-wheel-drive. Like the other variants, the S uses a seven-speed dual-clutch auto transmission.

The next step up the Terramar ladder is badged V and it gets a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine with no hybrid assistance, but an output of 150kW and 320Nm. This will be a familiar engine to anybody who has driven a mid-sized product from the Volkswagen family in the last decade or so.

In V form, the Terramar gains a part-time all-wheel-drive system. This is not driver-selectable but instead uses sensors to know when to shift some of the torque to the rear axle. In normal circumstances, the vehicle remains fundamentally a front-wheel drive one, but under full acceleration or on low-friction surfaces, the computer will send the torque rearward to maximise grip.

The range-topper is the Terramar VZ which is endowed with a retuned version of the same 2.0-litre engine in the V, but now punching out 195kW and 400Nm. The driveline is the same as the V’s but the VZ gets a premium brake package and also adds Cupra’s version of adaptive suspension to the mix. The system can adjust the dampers at up to 1000 times per second to provide the feel and feedback the driver chooses via the selectable driving modes.

And if you want even better brakes, there’s an optional braking package for the VZ which adds six-piston front calipers and larger front rotors. You might expect the mild-hybrid version of the Terramar to be a reasonably heavy vehicle, which it is at 1696kg. But it’s a lightweight compared with the rather hefty V at 1794kg and the decidedly portly VZ at 1803kg.

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.

Cupra claims a different combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) fuel consumption number for each of the three engines on offer, starting with the mild-hybrid version’s 5.7 litres per 100km. The mid-spec two-litre claims 7.2 litres per 100km and the high output 2.0-litre carries an 8.2 litres per 100km claim.

The standard 55 litre fuel tank in the S, then, should be good for a theoretical range of around 950km, while the V and VZ with their slightly bigger fuel tanks should be able to cover about 830km and 730km, respectively, between trips to the pump.

It pays to keep in mind, however, that Cupra recommends all three engines are run on the pricier 95-octane fuel, rather than standard 91-octane. That will add a few dollars to every fill, but the efficiency of the engines can’t be faulted.

Interestingly, in a mix of highway and city driving, our test VZ managed about 8.5L/100km which is seriously close to the official combined number. Rarely does any car get that close to its government figure.

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.

Let’s start with the S model and its mild hybrid driveline. Frankly, if you can pick this is a hybrid of any sort, you’re doing very well. Sure, any hybrid tech should aim to be as transparent as possible, but this time around, it’s pretty much totally invisible.

So, in the absence of too much electric thrust, the petrol engine is left to do the heavy lifting. And, frankly, with just 110kW to propel it, the 1.5-litre engine has its work cut out. It’s perfectly fine at cruising velocities, but start asking the tough question in hilly country or when powering out of slow corners, and it can all start to feel and sound a bit busy. And yet there’s not the thrust to back up the perception of mechanical activity.

The seven-speed dual-clutch does a good job, but it too is kept mighty occupied by the task of improving velocity. Flapping at the paddle shifters might keep you happy for a while, but the transmission has its own smarts sufficient to make the most of those 110kW.

Which means, of course, the VZ variant is the one for keener drivers. But even then, the excellence of the 2.0-litre turbo when fitted to the Golf GTi is dulled a little when hauling around the Terramar's 1.8 tonnes. It still feels pretty perky, however, and this is certainly not a comparison between a very fast Golf and an SUV, so it’s fair to say the Terramar VZ gets along pretty well.

Again, the dual-clutch auto is your friend, although we reckon its shifts and shift-patterns might have been backed off a little to suit the heavier Cupra.

Ride quality is slightly superior in the S version (18-inch tyres play 20-inch on the VZ) but either specification is tied down pretty well with minimal body roll for this type of vehicle. That plays slightly against outright comfort, but the cabin remains quiet with very little suspension or tyre noise making it inside.

What’s a bit confusing is the way the adaptive dampers have been set-up in the VZ. Rather than using the 'Comfort' drive mode to soften the dampers for small, pattery bumps, Cupra seems to have concentrated on more dramatic, larger wheel movements for the 'Sport' setting. So, the mode-to-mode ride is very, very similar in normal work, but firms up a reasonable amount over longer, swooping bumps that start to use more and more of the available travel.

By far our biggest complaint is that old cracked record about the driver-assistance systems being too insistent. The Terramar is by no means the worst we’ve sampled, but the lane-keeping assistance is over-zealous to the point where you’ll turn it off (defeating the purpose of its inclusion). And the driver distraction alert is just flat out annoying for its habit of confusing any facial expression other than Blue Steel as a clue that you’re nodding off.

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 Seltos has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating but that’s from 2019. Still, the advanced safety tech is excellent. All grades come with AEB, blind spot warning, lane keeping assistance and rear cross-traffic alert.

All grades also come with the rear occupant alert, which is great for sleep-deprived parents, and there’s also the safe exit feature which will let you and the kids know if a car or cyclist is approaching before you open the door and ruin everybody’s day.  

The Sport+ and GT-Line both come with AEB that works at intersections.

It’s good to see front and rear parking sensors standard across the range. 

Cupra’s standard five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty applies to the entire Terramar range. While that’s a decent amount of cover, it trails some of the cheaper brands out there with seven, eight or even 10-year warranties.

The Terramar also comes with five years' of roadside assistance including extras like emergency accommodation, towing and even car rental should the unthinkable happen.

Cupra also offers capped-price servicing packages for the Terramar, with an option of three- and five-year plans. The first three years of servicing can be pre-paid at the time of purchase for $1490, while five years' of servicing costs $2590. That’s based on the Terramar’s 15,000km or 12 months service intervals.

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.