Comparison: New Kia Seltos vs Old Kia Seltos

The first-ever Kia car in India, Kia Seltos, did a fantastic job of introducing the brand to Indian buyers in 2019. As a matter of fact, it was the only one to outsell the legendary Hyundai Creta in the segment, even though it managed to do that for a short while. After six years of the first-gen model, Kia has launched the second-generation Kia Seltos. While the first-gen Kia Seltos was a near-perfect product, with the second-gen Kia Seltos, Kia has rectified some faults that would hold the Seltos back in its competition with many capable mid-size SUVs. To understand the improvements better, in this article on the New Kia Seltos vs Old Kia Seltos, we pit them against each other and find out what the new Kia Seltos offers over and above the already attractive package of the old Kia Seltos.  

New Kia Seltos vs Old Kia Seltos: Dimensions & Design

One of the key improvements that Kia has made is to enlarge the Seltos. The new Kia Seltos is 4,460 mm long, 1,830 mm wide, 1,635 mm tall, and has a 2,690mm wheelbase. Compared to the old Kia Seltos, the new one is 95 mm longer, 30 mm wider, and has an 80 mm longer wheelbase. With such dimensions, Kia has opened more room in the Kia Selto’s cabin. Longer wheelbase translates to more legroom for rear seat passengers, and the rear seat can accommodate three average-sized adults more comfortably than it did earlier. In fact, the Seltos has become one of the most spacious cars in the segment, which was not the case earlier. At the same time, being over 4.4 meters long, the new Seltos is closer to the higher segment, which houses the Tata Harrier, Mahindra XUV700, and others.

Following Kia’s latest ‘Opposites United’ design philosophy, the new Kia Seltos is heavily inspired by the recently revealed new Kia Telluride, which will internationally rival the Hyundai Palisade. This gives the Seltos a new ‘Tiger face’ grille, which is a wide toothy grille that even extends over the main headlight units and sleek vertically-oriented LED DRLs. On the old Seltos, the grille had a honeycomb pattern, the DRLs would extend into the grille, and the headlamp cluster was larger. Lower down, the black cladding is there, housing the air dam; however, for the new Seltos, it is gloss black, instead of rugged sheenless black on the old model.

On the side, the new Seltos features flush-type door handles, instead of the flip-type door handles on the old model. Moreover, like the front end, the black cladding over the wheel arches is gloss black instead of sheenless, as the old model featured. Like the old Seltos, the new Seltos has a kink towards the rear end of the window glass; however, on the new model, a blacked-out section that merges with the rear windshield through the kink. The new Kia Seltos continues with the 18-inch alloy wheels, but the design is sharper than before.

The new Seltos’s tail lights have been inspired by the Kia Carens Clavis and look more minimalist than those of the old model. On the old model, the Kia logo was placed on the lightbar connecting the tail lamps; however, on the new Seltos, the logo sits below the slim glass panel that connects the tail lamps. Overall, the new Kia Seltos looks more modern and notably shinier than the old Kia Seltos, while the wide toothy grille at the front is receiving polarised opinions.

The new Kia Seltos is significantly larger than the old Kia Seltos, and looks more modern and sleeker in comparison.

New Kia Seltos vs Old Kia Seltos: Engine & Transmission

As far as powertrain options are concerned, the new Kia Seltos offers the same engine and transmission options as the old Kia Seltos. However, there are some differences in the driving experiences.

One of the commonly reported issues with the old Kia Seltos was the stiff ride, which was understandable, as Kia has tried infuse the Seltos with a sporty character. However, with the new Seltos, Kia has improved the ride comfort of the Seltos, even though the new Seltos features MacPherson struts at the front and a torsion beam axle with coil springs at the rear, like the old Kia Seltos. Possibly, Kia has managed to do this because the new Seltos is based on a new K3 platform. Now, the ride feels softer, the suspension easily absorbs the bumps and jerks thrown by the surfaces underneath. Unlike the old Seltos, there is no harsh edge to the ride. What is even more impressive is that the softer ride does not come at the expense of body control, and the new Seltos feels stable at high speeds.

This 1.5-litre turbo diesel engine is part of Kia Seltos’s powertrain offerings since its launch in 2019, and it is also offered with many other Korean cars like Hyundai Creta, Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet, and Kia Carens Clavis. It is one of the best-selling engines with all these cars, especially due to its refinement and fuel efficiency. However, while the Seltos has grown, its diesel engine has not, which makes it feel underpowered at times. Its power delivery is linear, and you do not feel the reserve of power under the accelerator pedal. It drives the SUV comfortably and smoothly, but it does not like to be hurried. Even in the sport mode, this engine pulls the car rather smoothly but not quickly. Meanwhile, while the gearbox is smooth, the gear shift is slow, even with the paddle shifters.

The new Kia Seltos offers the same powertrain options as the old Kia Seltos. However, the new Kia Seltos offers a better ride quality.

New Kia Seltos vs Old Kia Seltos: Features & Comfort

Like the exterior, the new Kia Seltos brings a thoroughly updated interior. While the dashboard is still layered, it is more angular and modern. Like the old Seltos, the new Seltos gets two connected screens for the touchscreen infotainment and digital instrument cluster; however, both displays are new. Kia has borrowed this entire dual-screen panel from the Kia Syros, and like on the Syros, there is a 5-inch HVAC touchscreen in between the two displays. Although there are also physical HVAC controls below the touchscreen, like the old Seltos. The new Seltos brings a new squarish steering wheel that features buttons for drive and terrain modes in addition to the usual music and ADAS controls. Unlike the old Seltos, wherein the AC vents were on the edges of the dashboard, the new Seltos has slim AC vents running below the dashboard. The new Seltos has a new dual-tone leatherette seat upholstery and new headrests, which are more comfortable than the ones offered on the old Seltos. 

In terms of features, the new Seltos brings almost the same package as the old Seltos. Its feature list includes wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, ventilated front seats, 64-colour ambient lighting, dual-zone climate control, a 10-way powered driver’s seat with memory function, 360-degree camera, panoramic sunroof, wireless charging pad, 8-speaker Bose sound system, connected car tech, and more. Notably, the new Seltos does not feature an onboard air purifier and heads-up display that the old Seltos offered.

A special feature that the new Kia Seltos has and no other car in the segment offers is powered-adjustable ORVMs, which automatically orient themselves in the required position when the reverse gear is engaged, and they are synced with the memory function of the driver’s seat.

On the inside, the new Kia Seltos looks and feels more modern and premium than the old Kia Seltos, however, the feature list is nearly the same as before.

New Kia Seltos vs Old Kia Seltos: Safety Features

Neither the old Kia Seltos nor the new Kia Seltos has been tested by any NCAP, so no comments can be made about their build quality. As far as safety features are concerned, the new Kia Seltos offers the same package that the old Seltos offered. It is equipped with 6 airbags, a 360-degree camera with blind spot monitor, level-2 ADAS, a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), an electronic parking brake with auto hold and disc brakes on all wheels.

New Kia Seltos vs Old Kia Seltos: Price comparison

The new Kia Seltos is slightly pricier than the Old Kia Seltos, for the extra inches and upmarket feel, and better ride quality, it certainly justifies the increment in price.

New Kia Seltos vs Old Kia Seltos: Which one should you buy

Without a shadow of doubt, the new Kia Seltos is one of the best cars in its segment. It has no dearth of space for five adults. Moreover, it offers a host of premium features, dominant road presence, great ride comfort, and reliability that Kia cars are famous for. So, if you are looking for a new car or not more than one year old to save some money, the new Kia Seltos makes more sense than the old Kia Seltos. Meanwhile, the 2 to 3-year-old Kia Seltos can save you a lot of money if you want a Seltos on a tight budget, and it will offer you the package that made the Seltos a phenomenal success in the first place.

New Kia Seltos vs Old Kia Seltos: FAQs