The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- New transmission
- Edgy style
- Good standard features
- Good safety tech
- Roomy cabin
Dislikes
- Hybrid would make sense
- Bling can be a ding
- All that smudgy black plastic
- Pokey base powertrain
Buying tip
features & specs
Refreshed with new ends and updated tech, the 2024 Kia Seltos stands out for its roominess.
What kind of vehicle is the 2024 Kia Seltos? What does it compare to?
The 2024 Kia Seltos is a small five-seat crossover that slips into the Kia lineup between the larger Sportage and smaller Kia Soul. Competitors outside the Kia family include the Hyundai Kona and Honda HR-V, among many others in this popular class.
Is the 2024 Kia Seltos a good SUV?
New in 2021, the Seltos embraces a mid-cycle refresh for 2024 that promises a smoother transmission, good standard features, and a more daring style than other small crossovers. Fuel economy falls short, however, but all-wheel drive remains an option. We give it a 5.6 out of 10, pending safety scores. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2024 Kia Seltos?
Revised front ends and a new X-Line trim highlight the cosmetic differences in the mid-cycle refresh, and a new dash punctuates the interior. A broader, more unified grille stretches out to stacked headlights, available as LED on top trims, and an available light bar cinches the waist of the grille at night. Kia integrated the vertical fog lights with the running lights, and updated the wheel designs and color options as well.
The X-Line trim proliferating through Kia’s crossover lineup adopts some off-road elements, such as a black roof rack bridge, distinct 18-inch wheels, and black elements on the door and grille.
Inside, a flatter, lower dash stretches horizontally like the grille to accommodate available twin 10.3-inch screen displays. Otherwise, the straightforward interior with climate buttons and a mechanical shifter in the console carries over, as does the overreliance on gloss-black plastic panels.
The 2024 Seltos also sports some powertrain upgrades, most notably an 8-speed automatic transmission replacing a clunky 7-speed dual-clutch automatic on the outgoing model. That pairs with a more potent 1.6-liter turbo-4 that delivers 195 hp, up from 175 hp in the outgoing model. The base powertrain remains the same, with a 2.0-liter inline-4 making 147 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque. It has a CVT driving power to the front wheels, though optional all-wheel drive has a center differential lock to apportion power to the axle that needs it most.
The interior dimensions remain the same, and the Seltos has one of the roomier cabins in the class, highlighted by good rear legroom, reclining rear seats, and expansive cargo room. There are five seatbelts, but only four adults will fit. The 26.6 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats can expand to 62.8 cubes with the seats folded down, which is as much as many compact crossovers.
The bones of the Seltos haven’t changed, so we expect mixed crash-test results to carry over. A disappointing four-star rating from the NHTSA countered an IIHS Top Safety Pick award in top trims on the 2023 Seltos. Standard tech includes automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, active lane control, and automatic high-beam headlights. Blind-spot monitors come on all but the base trim, and options range from adaptive cruise control down to a stop to limited hands-free driving.
How much does the 2024 Kia Seltos cost?
The base 2024 Kia Seltos LX carries a sticker price of $25,715 before any options, including a mandatory $1,325 delivery fee. That model comes standard with all-wheel drive, however. Standard features include four USB ports, cloth seats, air conditioning, and an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.
The next trim level up, the Seltos S, is $1,100 more with AWD, but only $600 more if you’re happy with front-wheel drive. The EX adds $800 more for FWD, but a substantial $1,500 more for the AWD trim.
The base Seltos LX is one of the cheaper all-wheel drive small SUVs on the market, if that’s what you’re seeking. Otherwise, the EX in FWD form is a good balance of features and price, at just above $27,000.
The new $30,015 X-Line trim adds an edgier look but not any more functionality than the LX, S, EX, and $31,315 SX grades. A fully optioned Seltos tops out in the low to mid-$30,000s.
Options range from a new panoramic screen setup with a 10.3-inch digital instrument cluster beside a 10.3-inch touchscreen to a power tailgate and cooled front seats.
Where is the 2024 Kia Seltos made?
All Seltos versions are built in Gwangju, South Korea.
2024 Kia Seltos Styling
The 2024 Kia Seltos adds a lot of stylistic flair to an upright small crossover SUV.
Is the Kia Seltos a good-looking car?
The 2024 Kia Seltos has a vertical tailgate that sets it apart from competitors that look more like small hatchbacks. You’ll never mistake this small crossover for anything but an SUV. That upright shape is embellished with a lot of detail—even if parts of it can look busy from some angles. We give it a 6, giving it an extra point above average for a distinctive look that stands out from the SUV crowd.
For 2024, Kia enlarged the Seltos grille, wrapping it around into the headlights. It’s even bigger, and wraps into the top two of the three different sets of lights. The front is the busiest angle, but stresses width to reduce its tall front shape. This year, a reflective band connects the taillights, which also wrap around the corners—again stressing horizontal lines. In the middle, the Seltos’s height is concealed by black rubber cladding around the wheel arches and below the doors.
Inside, the Seltos is a more standard small car. The dash now has the new Kia standard of a horizontal pair of adjoining 10.25-inch screens on top models. Lower-end versions get smaller displays inside the same housing. It’s a clean, modern design, but the Seltos also has knobs and buttons for frequently used controls. Hurray! Hints of brushed silver trim and glossy black plastic aim for upscale, but like the exterior, they can look busy. The two-tone interior on high-end models is a pleasant surprise, however.
2024 Kia Seltos Performance
The 2024 Kia Seltos now has a better powertrain in the top models, and it’s tuned for ride comfort over roadholding.
Is the 2024 Kia Seltos 4WD?
All-wheel drive is standard at the bottom of the range (LX) and the top trims (X-Line and SX). The two models in between, the S and EX, come standard with front-wheel drive and offer optional AWD.
How fast is the Kia Seltos?
Most Seltos versions are fitted with a 146-hp 2.0-liter inline-4 engine paired with a CVT, a combination that’s tuned for frugality at the cost of dull performance. We haven’t yet drives this version of the 2024 Seltos, but in earlier years it was tuned for frugality at the cost of dull performance.
The 2024 Seltos X-Line and SX are powered by a 195-hp 1.6-liter turbo-4. It has 20 hp more this year, and it’s now paired with an 8-speed automatic transmission, replacing last year’s 7-speed DCT. The result is a smoother and somewhat faster combination. Kia didn’t provide acceleration figures, but in our X-Line test, we found it quicker than competitors. It kept up with traffic, and accelerated smartly when pressed. Improvements in this powertrain now bring it up to where it should be, but they’re not enough to gain the 2024 Seltos an extra point over the average of 5.
Sporty trim doesn’t necessarily produce a sporty-driving SUV, and the Seltos is tuned for ride over handling. It leans on corners, though its steering is nicely weighted and responsive, if very much on the light side. Sport mode tightens things up a bit.
2024 Kia Seltos Comfort & Quality
The 2024 Seltos is not only spacious but well-built.
The 2024 Kia Seltos may be a “small crossover SUV” at 173 inches long, but it’s spacious enough for four adults inside. The combination of excellent build quality and its cargo capacity of a whopping 62.8 cubic feet with the rear seat folded down together earn it an extra point, taking it to 6 on TCC’s scale. The tailgate opening is smaller than it looks from the outside, though.
The front seats are flat, without the bolstering found in sportier crossovers, but they hold drivers in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. Heated seats are available, and the standard cloth can be upgraded to a nice imitation leather.
Unsurprisingly, while it may be listed with five seats, it will only hold four adults in any kind of comfort—par for the segment. The legroom’s good in the back, though the backrest must be reclined for taller rear-seat riders.
2024 Kia Seltos Safety
Neither the IIHS nor the NHTSA has yet rated the 2024 Kia Seltos for safety.
How safe is the Kia Seltos?
Neither the IIHS nor the NHTSA has yet rated the 2024 Kia Seltos for safety, but earlier years received mixed ratings.
Standard safety tech on the 2024 Kia Seltos includes automatic emergency braking (with cyclist detection added this year), active lane control, automatic high-beam headlights, and rear cross-traffic alerts. Blind-spot warning is standard on all but the base LX model. The top SX trim now includes more features in its adaptive cruise control with lane centering, including the ability to alter the set speed when speed limits change.
2024 Kia Seltos Features
The 2024 Kia Seltos remains a well-priced small SUV.
The lightly refreshed 2024 Seltos packs a lot of value into a small crossover SUV. Starting at $25,715 for the base LX model with standard all-wheel drive, five separate models cater to a variety of preferences. All models include crash-avoidance technology, blind-spot detection, air conditioning, cruise control, and an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and Bluetooth connectivity. The combination of its features, the touchscreen, and its 5-year/60,000-mile warranty gives the 2024 Seltos 8 out of 10 on the TCC scale.
Which Kia Seltos should I buy?
The base LX forgoes features like automatic climate control and the 10.3-inch infotainment display, but it’s a bargain at less than $26,000 given its standard AWD. (Think of it as the AWD version of the Kia Soul that the company doesn’t offer.)
This year there’s less differentiation between the S and the EX. If you can live with 6-way manual seat adjustment over 10-way power, we’d go for the S, especially in FWD trim at only $600 more than that base LX. Beyond that, the more powerful turbo engine starts at $30,000 and rises from there—and may be worth it for those who value acceleration.
The mid-range EX piles on a power-adjustable driver’s seat, synthetic leather upholstery, a sunroof, and 18-inch wheels for $27,500 or so, and it’s worth the splurge if you’re so inclined.
How much is a fully loaded Kia Seltos?
A loaded 2024 Kia Seltos SX, with standard turbo engine and AWD, will top out in the low to mid-$30,000s, varying with the number of trim and feature options.
2024 Kia Seltos Fuel Economy
The 2024 Kia Seltos is about average on fuel economy for its segment.
Is the Kia Seltos good on gas?
Kia didn’t yet have a rating for the all-wheel-drive base LX. Otherwise, front-wheel-drive Seltoses are rated at 31 mpg combined (the city and highway numbers vary slightly) and AWD versions come in at 29 mpg combined—unless they have the turbo-4, which gets an EPA rating of 25/27/26 mpg. Those base FWD versions would earn a 4 on our scale if rated alone.