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The 2021 Seltos can get down and dirty when you need it to.

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The 2021 Seltos SX comes standard with not only radar cruise control but lane departure warning, lane keep assist, and lane following assist. What does all this add up to? It is an almost autonomous driving vehicle that has the ability to follow the lead vehicle with ease, also staying centered in its own lane.

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The 2021 Seltos SX comes standard with not only radar cruise control but lane departure warning, lane keep assist, and lane following assist. What does all this add up to? It is an almost autonomous driving vehicle that has the ability to follow the lead vehicle with ease, also staying centered in its own lane.

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2021 Seltos

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After only a couple hours in the new Seltos, however, we were impressed not only with its great looks but more importantly with its performance and awesome technology package that were included with it all wrapped up in a package the cost less than $30,000.

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2021 Seltos

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2021 Seltos

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2021 Seltos

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Our first 2021 model year vehicle arrived in early June this year, making it one of the earliest new models we have ever received. The fact that it was an all new model in the Kia lineup made it even better. We had a nickering to drive it ever since Kia introduced it back in November at the L.A. auto show.

After the hugely successful launch and sales of the new three-row Telluride SUV breaking records, it would have seemed that Kia would be hard pressed to come up with a unique and successful offering in the already very competitive compact SUV market.

After only a couple hours in the new Seltos, however, we were impressed not only with its great looks but more importantly with its performance and awesome technology package that were included with it all wrapped up in a package the cost less than $30,000!

Our time in the Seltos was spent mostly driving around town, going to work and executing our daily routine. We did, however, get to take an extended drive on Sunday out through Eureka, Utah, then heading even further south and making a right onto Utah Highway 36 that would eventually lead us North to Tooele.

The day happened to be during the June cold snap that had settled into Utah, and Mother Nature was not cooperating very well for our drive. The weather turned out to be a great test for all the safety features in the new mid-sized SUV.

The Seltos SX comes standard with not only radar cruise control but lane departure warning, lane keep assist, and lane following assist. What does all this add up to? It is an almost autonomous driving vehicle that has the ability to follow the lead vehicle with ease, also staying centered in its own lane!

So in what turned out to be a pouring rainstorm, we headed south on I-15 to see just how these functions would engage with water coming down everywhere. In the end, the rain had no effect on them whatsoever as they functioned perfectly even in some heavy southbound traffic.

The Seltos didn’t even flinch or go awry in any way in the heavy rain and not only that the Kia will recognize speed limit signs on the freeway and adjust its speed with the cruise control set, be that up or down. This is a technology we have only seen in vehicles priced north of $70,000.

This was a great addition as we went down the freeway as it automatically adjusted from 70 to 75 mph just as the signs adjusted on the road. Along with this we found that it would allow us to set the speed a couple of mph above the limit with no problem.

The Seltos also came standard with blind spot monitoring, blind spot collision avoidance, forward collision avoidance, rear cross path detection with avoidance and automatic high beam assist. Loads and loads of safety features that we would always recommend, but usually come at a much higher price!

Our three-hour Sunday Drive was so much easier and smoother with all of these great additions, and we were so impressed with how they functioned in what went from pouring rain to some sun in the West Desert and back to rain as we returned home.

On the performance side there are a couple of choices of power plans available for the mid-sized SUV, the first being a 2.0 liter version that makes 146 horsepower or the 1.6 liter turbocharged engine that our test ride came in. The smaller made 175 horsepower with 195 ft.-lbs. of torque, which in the smaller SUV was more than plenty of go, giving us all the power we ever needed.

The SX comes standard with the smaller turbo version and we would have to recommend this option, we were also able to choose a driving mode, normal, Eco and sport. Each would give the vehicle a very different driving experience. We found the sport mode to be the most exciting as it kept the revs higher and the SUV ready to go.

This was all tied to an automatic 7-speed transmission that proved to be very spirited. The SX also came with all-wheel drive with torque vectoring that would push power to any of the four wheels to help it in its current driving situation the most. Again all options we would have expected at a much higher price.

The interior of the Seltos proved to be more than comfortable with a combination of leatherette and cloth seating surfaces that were of course heated up front! There were soft touch points everywhere we rested our hands and arms. High gloss piano black trim was used throughout the cabin adding a hint of luxury to our drive.

A huge 10.25-inch wide touchscreen is the focal point of the center dash that was of course Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible. The system in the Kia also allows for the use of two smart phones at one time which again just added to the value of the new Seltos.

Connecting said phones took all of about 10 seconds each with the system working flawlessly with both our phones connected, not many vehicles out there yet that can do this.

Also standard in the SX was a fractal patter Bose speaker system. We were not entirely sure what this meant, but figured from experience with Bose that it would add up to a great sound that was pushed around the interior of the Seltos as if by some Bose magic!

The designers had even included a dancing light show that syncs to the music being played at night similar to the lights that were included in the Kia Soul when it debuted.

Our week with the new Seltos was everything and more that we had imagined it would be coming from the same company that last year came up with the ever-popular Telluride. All things included, the new Seltos is a great bargain and would be a great addition to anyone’s lifestyle.

Base Price: $27,890

Price as Driven: $28,365