What is the story about?
Back in 2019, Kia entered the Indian market with the first-generation Seltos, a model that quickly became the brand’s biggest success story. Riding on the wave
created by the Seltos, Kia briefly rose to become the fourth-largest car manufacturer in the country. While it shared its platform with the Hyundai Creta, the Seltos carved out a clear identity for itself. Its sharper design language, distinct feature packaging, and a ride-and-handling setup that leaned more towards sportiness helped it stand apart, especially when compared to its Hyundai sibling. The 2023 facelift further refined this formula, making the Seltos better in almost every department while retaining that familiar comfort-versus-sport balance. However, times change—and so do cars. With the 2025 update, the Seltos receives its first proper generational overhaul. It comes with a fresh design, a longer features list, and most significantly, a noticeable shift in character. The new Seltos is no longer chasing sporty credentials; instead, it positions itself as a comfort-focused SUV. To understand whether this evolution works in your favour, let’s take a closer look.
2025 Kia Seltos First Drive Review: Design – Bold and Divisive
This is one of those designs that will split opinion right down the middle. If you’re not convinced at first glance, give it some time—bold designs often take a while to grow on you. Personally, I warmed up to it during my short stint with the car. The headlamps, grille, and front bumper do appear quite aggressive, but Kia has smartly balanced things out by giving the bonnet a cleaner look with very subtle creases.
At the rear, the Seltos features split-style connected tail-lamps. While they don’t meet in the middle, the small break between them works well and, in fact, helps the Seltos avoid blending in with the crowd of SUVs sporting full-width light bars.
2025 Kia Seltos First Drive Review: Interior – Space Meets Sophistication
Step inside and it’s clear that Kia has introduced a new interior design theme. One of the highlights in our GT Line test car was the dual-tone steering wheel, which instantly grabs attention. The repositioned Kia logo is a minor detail, but it adds a sense of freshness. The dashboard layout is slightly busy, yet everything feels well assembled. Kia has done a commendable job balancing soft-touch and hard plastics, and most surfaces you interact with feel premium.
The dashboard is finished in a single colour, though a dual- or triple-tone layout would have added more visual depth. Our GT Line test car featured an all-black cabin, with white accents limited to the upper sections of the seats, armrests, and steering wheel.
Thankfully, the Seltos’ increased dimensions prevent the dark cabin from feeling too cramped. There’s plenty of space all around, and opening the sunroof blind instantly brightens things up. The SUV has grown by 95 mm in length, with 80 mm added to the wheelbase. This translates to generous rear-seat legroom, and despite a marginal reduction in overall height, headroom at the back remains sufficient. The seats themselves are well-shaped, supportive, and comfortably cushioned.
2025 Kia Seltos First Drive Review: Features – Almost Everything Covered
One of the Seltos’ biggest strengths has always been its features list, and that tradition continues with the new generation. Over the years, the SUV has introduced several segment-first features, and while the latest iteration doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it certainly keeps pace with expectations.
The highlights include twin 12.3-inch displays—one for the infotainment system and the other for the digital instrument cluster. Between them sits a 5-inch touchscreen dedicated to climate controls. All three screens offer sharp graphics and an intuitive layout. That said, the HVAC display is partially obscured by the steering wheel, making it slightly tricky to operate on the move. Thankfully, Kia has retained physical toggle switches for key climate functions.
The driver’s seat is 10-way electrically adjustable, including powered lumbar support, and comes with a memory function that can store two positions per user. With support for three user profiles, the Seltos effectively allows up to six seat memory settings. Adding to the premium experience, the driver’s seat slides back to welcome you, the ORVMs tilt while reversing, and side parking sensors provide near-complete 360-degree awareness. You also get 64-colour ambient lighting and Level 2 ADAS, among many other features.
That said, it does feel like Kia is nearing the upper limit of how much tech can be packed into a midsize SUV. There are three features that feel noticeably absent—an electrically adjustable front passenger seat, ventilated rear seats, and a powered tailgate.
2025 Kia Seltos First Drive Review: Performance – Effortless and Refined
Mechanically, Kia hasn’t made any changes to the Seltos’ engine and transmission lineup, even though it now sits on the newer K3 platform, which it shares with the Hyundai Verna. Our test car was equipped with the familiar 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine paired with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. We’ve experienced this setup in other Kia and Hyundai models, where it feels outright explosive. In the heavier Seltos, it’s not quite that intense, but it’s still impressively quick. Drive it gently, and you can expect fuel efficiency figures of around 15 km/l, with gear shifts that are virtually seamless.
I also spent time with the 1.5-litre diesel engine paired with a 6-speed torque converter automatic. This combination retains its easy-going nature, with strong low-end torque allowing relaxed progress without needing to push the engine hard. The gearbox remains smooth and well-calibrated. NVH levels have improved across the board, and at highway speeds, the calmness inside the cabin contrasts nicely with the performance on offer—especially with the turbo-petrol. In the diesel, engine noise is well contained at lower RPMs, only becoming noticeable beyond the 2,000 RPM mark.
The most significant change, however, is in ride quality. Earlier Seltos models were enjoyable on twisty roads, but that sporty edge has been dialled back. Push the new Seltos through corners and understeer sets in sooner than expected. As someone who appreciated the older car’s handling, this is a slight disappointment. That said, the trade-off is an exceptionally comfortable ride. Minor road imperfections are barely felt, and even sharp potholes are handled with ease. In fact, the ride quality feels closer to what you’d expect from cars a segment or two above.
2025 Kia Seltos First Drive Review: Verdict – Comfort Takes Centre Stage
The second-generation Kia Seltos marks a clear shift in personality. Where the older model struck a balance between comfort and engagement, the new one has firmly chosen comfort as its priority. This makes it far more appealing to family buyers who value ride quality above all else.
Beyond that, the Seltos has improved across the board. The only missing piece of the puzzle is pricing, which will be announced on January 2, 2026. If Kia manages to maintain its strong price-to-value equation, the new-generation Seltos will be a worthy successor to the outgoing model.
