Driving Kia’s relatively new small SUV the Seltos this week – the Kia Seltos sitting just below Kia’s Sportage SUV, being 115mm shorter. Kia suggests it will appeal more to a younger audience to Sportage with strong female appeal. Available in a mix of front and all-wheel-drive models – the front drive Seltos S kicking off the batting at $25,990 , the Sport $29,490  and the Sport Plus from 32,990 – all prices drive-away. The first of the 4WD Seltos’ – the Sport Plus $36,490 with the flagship Seltos GT Line $41,990. Frankly at this end of the market 2WD will satisfy most SUV owners, lighter more nimble and you rarely see small SUV’S off the tarmac and in the rough.

I tested the 2.0-litre Sport front drive Seltos – the 2.0-litre naturally aspirated 110KkW engine linked to new generation CVT automatic. Able to run on regular unleaded I managed 7.1 l/100. The engine a reasonable performer but not outstanding but the transmission for a CVT fantastic and very well-tuned. Two areas impress on the Kia Seltos – interior room and local suspension tune – not to mention its overall good looks. Like many small SUV’s today the feature list is impressive – including autonomous emergency braking, an 8-inch colour touchscreen with Apple Car Play and Android Auto, lane keep assist, cruise control, drive attention alert, a reversing camera with dynamic guidelines and rear parking sensors.

I’m David Berthon.

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