Listening to a top rating talk radio program recently, I was reminded that most of us care little about the car we own, drive, maintain and only occasionally wash. And don’t start me on the dozens of different ways we pronounce Hyundai.
As a motoring enthusiast, it’s difficult to understand why others don’t share the car passion. Why many only see a car as simply a necessary mode of travel is perplexing in the extreme. Yet there has never been a better time to own and drive a car, often dripping in safety gear, creature comforts and reliability; most with long warranties. What’s not to love?
Build quality and classy design is important to many. A case in point is the Kia Seltos compact SUV.
Kia loves models to start with the letter S. Sportage and Sorrento. Why not? For years it worked well for Toyota with the letter C. Corolla, Corona, Cressida, Crown.
The Kia Seltos is pleasant enough to look at; a lovely front grille with a jamboree of smart looking LED headlights. Kia is certainly doing some fantastic designs, contemporary and very stylish. The poaching of some of the finest car designers from Europe is paying dividends. Kia has moved upmarket and people recognise the value.
The most affordable of Seltos variants are front-wheel drive, the two top-spec models push power to all four wheels.
Inside, the Seltos’s interior is pretty much what you’d expect from a conventional compact SUV; modern and packed with features. The general cabin character is more upmarket than price would suggest. For models above the base specification, there is a giant 10.25-inch infotainment screen one of the clearest and best designed in any car.
You will easily fit in four large adults for longer drives with no trouble. Variants tend to do the head in; Kia Seltos offer five, with two engine choices. Most will pick the front-drives, spread across the S (around $25,990) Sport (around $29,000) and Sport+ (around $32,500). Moving up in price, the options are Sport+ in AWD (around $36,000) and GT Line AWD (around $41,000).
Or you may fancy the curious Nissan Juke. Dark, mysterious and windblown.
But that’s a topic for my forthcoming movie script. For now, I’m off to wash the Seltos.
