2023 Kia Seltos GT-Line 1.6L Turbo AWD Review

The Kia Seltos is Kia’s small-to-mid-sized SUV that fits above the Stonic and below the Sportage in the Kia Australia range. For the 2023 model year, Kia facelifted its popular small SUV to offer more safety kit, a different gearbox, more performance for turbocharged models and a new look with updated styling. We’ve previously tested the second-from-top Sport+ and quite liked it, but what if buyers want more equipment? We tested to find out if the range-topping 2023 Kia Seltos GT-Line with the optional 1.6-litre turbocharged engine paired hits the same highs.

The Seltos sits in the most lucrative segment for most modern manufacturers. The small SUV segment has exploded in the last 24-months and with offerings from every manufacturer the little Seltos has some stiff competition. The most direct rivals are the Mazda CX-30 and the Toyota Corolla Cross, but there are also other options like the Nissan Qashqai, Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross and Subaru Crosstrek.

Price & Equipment: 7/10

The top spec 2023 Kia Seltos is the model we have here, the GT-Line. Starting at $41,500 plus on-road costs for the front-wheel drive 2.0-litre or $44,900 +ORC ($47,690 drive away nationally) for the optional 1.6-litre turbocharged engine paired with all-wheel drive that we tested here.

Standard equipment on the 2023 Kia Seltos GT-Line includes 18-inch alloy wheels, automatic LED headlights with LED daytime running lights, automatic wipers, LED front fog lights, LED tail lights, roof rails, keyless entry and start with remote start, heated and auto-folding mirrors, single-zone climate control with rear air vents, faux leather upholstery, a 10-way power driver’s seat with two-person memory, an eight-way power adjustable passenger seat, a leather steering wheel and gear knob, a 10.25-inch touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation with live traffic, digital radio, a heads-up display, an eight-speaker Bose sound system, four USB charging ports, a power tailgate, sunroof, a digital driver’s display and live services such as weather and traffic. 

Safety equipment includes seven airbags, auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, intersection assistance, lane keeping assistance with active lane tracing, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, auto high beam, driver attention monitoring with lead vehicle alert, intelligent speed sign recognition, front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera. The Seltos has a five-star ANCAP rating from 2019.

The only non-cost colour on the Seltos range is ‘Mars Orange’, with ‘Snow White Pearl’, ‘Steel Grey’, ‘Fusion Black’, ‘Gravity Grey’, ‘Pluton Blue’ and our test car’s ‘Neptune Blue’ costing $520 extra. You can also pair a black roof with ‘Pluton Blue’ or ‘Clear White’ for no extra cost but you lose the sunroof. Black synthetic leather trim is the only option for the GT-Line.

There a few things that – for the price – we think should be added to the standard equipment list of the Seltos GT-Line. For one, only having a driver’s auto up/down window is annoying so at least a front passenger’s auto window should be added and we also think that dual-zone climate control would be beneficial as well, plus wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring.

In our opinion, the closest rivals for the 2023 Kia Seltos GT-Line AWD are the $45,310 Mazda CX-30 G25 Astina AWD and the $43,550 Toyota Corolla Cross Atmos petrol. While the Mazda is $410 more expensive it gains four automatic windows, walk away walking, a 360-degree camera, Matrix adaptive auto high beam, auto dipping exterior mirrors, real leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control and a 12-speaker Bose sound system. The Corolla Cross is actually $1,350 less, yet it adds two extra airbags, dual-zone climate control, a 360-degree camera, a nine-speaker JBL sound system, real leather trim and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto over the Seltos.

Engine & Performance: 8/10

The 2023 Kia Seltos GT-Line comes with a 110kW 2.0-litre petrol engine that’s paired with a CVT automatic. But our test car was fitted with the optional 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which is paired with all-wheel drive and an eight-speed automatic transmission. It produces 146kW of power (at 6,000rpm) and 265Nm of torque (between 1,600rpm and 4,500rpm), which is healthy for this class – the Corolla Cross petrol makes 126kW/200Nm and the CX-30 139kW/252Nm.

The engine in the Seltos GT-Line is rather performance oriented for a small SUV. It makes the Seltos quite the fast little SUV – it’s rather brisk when pushed. The engine is rather quiet at regular speeds though up high in the rev range can get a little vocal, but the exhaust note is rather fruity and makes the Seltos a little more fun than its competition. This same engine is used in other Kia products like the Cerato GT and Sportage GT-Line, though its power is boosted to 146kW and it has an eight-speed auto.

The new eight-speed torque converter automatic – which replaced the old seven-speed dual-clutch transmission – is rather good, it matches with the turbo engine very well and is much better than the transmission it replaces. The shifts are smooth and there is none of the jerking around at slow speeds that the dual-clutch had. We do wish the Seltos had steering wheel mounted paddle shifters for a sportier driving experience, however.

The claimed average fuel consumption figure of the 2023 Kia Seltos GT-Line with the 1.6-litre turbocharged engine is 7.4L/100km and emissions of 175g/km. Our week spent behind the wheel with a mixture of highway and urban driving saw an average of just over 11L/100km, which is quite thirsty – a Corolla Cross hybrid has exactly the same power, yet will use comfortably less than 5L/100km. Helping costs in the Seltos is that it can use 91RON fuel and it has a 50-litre fuel tank.

Ride & Handling: 9/10

Like most other Kias in Australia, the 2023 Kia Seltos’s ride is locally tuned. Thanks to that and the multi-link rear suspension that the all-wheel drive system adds over the front-wheel drive model, the ride of the Seltos GT-Line is fantastic. It offers a comfortable ride that offers enough of a performance kick to let you know you chose the sporty model. While not as comfortable as the Corolla Cross, we think the Seltos is one of the better riding offerings in the small SUV segment. The Seltos’ handling is pretty good too, with heavy but well weighted steering and a great chassis.

Road noise levels in the Seltos aren’t amazing but visibility is pretty good and Kia’s active safety systems are well tuned. Unfortunately, a new feature has made its way on to the Seltos’ equipment list: intelligent speed assist, which uses the camera in the windshield to relay speed limit information to the driver with audible warnings. The issue we have with this system is it will pick up school zone signs when they are not in force, for example, on weekends and beep at you to tell you that you’re speeding – but you aren’t. You can turn it off, thankfully, but it turns on automatically with every start, it’s not easy to find and when you do, all speed limit information disappears.

Interior & Practicality: 8.5/10

The pre-facelift Kia Seltos’s interior was nice when compared to rivals and this updated has freshened it up, though the materials haven’t been upgraded much. The design and layout of the 2023 Kia Seltos GT-Lines interior is rather nice, though other rivals have better material quality. The GT-Line keeps the lesser Seltos models’ hard dashboard and door tops, with some soft leather-like trims on the doors and dashboard facia, but that’s it for soft touch materials – a CX-30 feels luxurious by comparison.

The storage situation in the Seltos GT-Line is rather good, however. There’s excellent storage with reasonable door bins, a nice-sized bin under the central arm rest, good cup holders and a big dual-level tray ahead of the gearbox and a wireless charger behind the gear selector.

The 10.25-inch touch screen that adorns the centre of the Seltos’s dash is pretty good. It’s well featured with satellite navigation, digital radio, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a reversing camera. For this new facelifted model there is also ‘Kia Connected Services’, which is an inbuilt SIM in the dashboard to provide live services like weather updates and live traffic updates.

The eight-speaker Bose sound system is pretty good too, though not as well-rounded as the Bose unit in the CX-30. Interestingly, there is a sound mood lamp feature that uses the ambient lighting to make a night club-like experience.

The rear seat of the Seltos is a great size for its relatively small dimensions. Two six-footers will be more than comfortable with good legroom and excellent headroom. There are also reasonable door bins, one map pocket, air vents, an armrest with cup holders and two USB-C charging ports. In the segment, you don’t get better than the Seltos for the rear seat experience, in our opinion.

The boot of the all-wheel drive Seltos is nicely size too at 433-litres with the seats up and 1,393L folded – 8L bigger than the Corolla Cross Atmos with the seats up and a full 116L larger than the CX-30. There’s under-floor storage too, and even a full-size alloy spare wheel but no hooks or nets. 

Service & Warranty: 8.5/10

As with other new Kia products, the 2023 Kia Seltos GT-Line AWD has a seven-year/unlimited km warranty with 12-months of roadside assistance that’s topped up to eight years in total if serviced through a Kia dealership. Five years/50,000km of servicing – thanks to the 1.6-litre turbo engine’s short 10,000km service intervals – costs $2,178 ($435 per service). Buying the less expensive 2.0-litre engine increases the service intervals to 15,000km, which is something to consider if you’re comparing the two.

Mazda and Toyota both feature lesser five-year/unlimited km warranties, though both have their strengths and weaknesses. Mazda gives you five years of roadside assistance regardless of where it’s serviced and Toyota gives you none, but if you service your Toyota at a dealer, you get up to seven years of warranty for the engine. The CX-30 has the same short 10,000km intervals as the Seltos and costs $2,011 to service ($402 per service) and despite longer 15,000km intervals, the Corolla Cross costs just $1,150 (just $230 per service).

2023 Kia Seltos GT-Line AWD DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.1/10

The 2023 Kia Seltos GT-Line is a good small SUV for those who want all the equipment but don’t want a larger car. It isn’t the cheapest to buy, neither is it cheap to service but the Seltos GT-Line offers a lot of equipment and a greatly packed interior. The turbocharged engine fitted with all-wheel drive is an option we think we would skip however, as it’s quite thirsty and in our opinion not worth the extra $3,400 spend.

There are quite a few options in the small SUV segment so is the Seltos GT-Line the one to choose? Well we do like the Seltos’s long warranty, nicely laid out interior and long equipment list. But we would also consider a Mazda CX-30 and a Toyota Corolla Cross as they bring their own attributes to the segment. Overall, it’s not difficult to see why the Seltos has so many sales as it offers a lot for a lot of buyers.