Value is so hard to find these days. Inflation has made nearly everything (too) expensive, from everyday groceries and electronics, to toys and booking a vacation, and more. The automotive industry isn’t immune — new cars have shot up in price significantly, and don’t even ask about used car values. It’s hard to get your dollar to stretch very far these days, but when looking for value, the 2024 Kia Seltos X-Line may be one of the few silver linings to be found.
Since you can’t really quantify value without dollars, let’s start immediately with price. This particular Seltos X-Line tester stickers for $38,395 before fees and taxes, with the only option being an additional $250 for a paint colour Kia calls Pluton Blue, bringing the total to $38,645 as-tested. (For comparison’s sake, white paint was a $1,395 option on the last Cadillac XT5 we tested). Here’s some additional context to give you an idea of how much value this loaded Seltos offers: according to AutoTrader’s latest Price Index at the time of this writing (June 2023), the average price of a new car in Canada ins $66,288 — nearly twice of the Seltos.
In the loaded Seltos X-Line, you get a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine mated to a responsive eight-speed automatic transmission. This combo puts out 195 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 195 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm, which feels wholly adequate at this price point. It’s generally smooth and doesn’t sound low-rent and strained, unless you really give it the beans.
The Seltos churned out good fuel economy as well, settling at 8.4L/100 km after a week of mixed driving. Side note: I was surprised to see it had an old-school manual fuel door release lever from within the car, something that reminds me of my high school days.
The Seltos is kept in line with a suite of intelligent safety features such as forward collision avoidance, lane-keep assist, and highway drive assist — Kia’s fancy way of saying adaptive cruise control. It works very well, never feeling jerky or slow to respond, unlike some other systems in the segment. The suspension is well-balanced, absorbing road imperfections well yet maintaining a fun and sporty feel. Even the steering, despite being on the lighter side, has some feedback to it.
There are three drive modes — Normal, Sport, and Smart — but they didn’t feel particularly different. Overall, the drive felt buttoned-down and solid, with no weird quirks, squeaks, noises, or chassis flex to speak of. The chassis felt like it could really take a beating and keep going. Kia is able to offer this level of build quality at such a low price point because they have a level of vertical integration in the manufacturing process — for example, they own their own steel manufacturing.
The interior gives you good value as well. The fully digital dash has decently sharp graphics and screen resolution — at least, better than the pricier Infiniti QX55 we had recently. The gauges are even supplemented by a clean heads-up display that offers more than your basic level of information. The central infotainment screen is larger than expected with an intuitive and colourful interface with no lag to be found. Even the Bose sound system sounded pretty good for the price point, but I’m not sure about the prism-shaped speaker grilles. You can even activate “Party Mode”, which makes the sound-sensitive ambient lighting pulse to the beat of the music. Neat!
Wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity are included, as is a wireless phone charger and a pair of USB ports. Yes, interior materials are mostly cheap plastics, but in order to provide the level of value that the Seltos does, Kia had to cut at least some proverbial corners. Interior space felt more than adequate, and the cargo area — with a power liftgate, of course, because value — easily fit a baby stroller and other accompanying baby gear. They don’t travel light, that’s for sure.
Admiring the Seltos’ looks from the outside is easy as well. The X-Line is the more off-road-oriented trim; this little CUV does its best to look brutish, but it ends up cute — think angry puppy. The brutishness starts up front with its chunky truck-like grille and headlights, and the gunmetal skid plate at the bottom of the front (and rear) bumper. Along the sides, you have some more body cladding down low, and some lumpy, rugged-looking roof racks up top. You also get small but beefy looking 18-inch gloss black wheels to finish it off. You could say the Seltos X-Line tries too hard to be taken seriously, but you know what? It works.
The 2024 Kia Seltos X-Line isn’t the most refined piece of machinery out there, and some may not like the trying-too-hard rugged looks. But there’s no denying the Seltos is a feature-rich, well-built, and value-packed CUV. And at a time where value is hard to find anywhere, this little Kia stands out.
