IT was a full house for the launch of the new Kia Seltos sub-compact sport utility vehicle at the brand’s Oxford Road showroom in Kingston, last Friday.

“We’re excited to have this new vehicle. It’s amazing. It looks beautiful,” Kevin Jackson, sales manager at ATL Tiger Motors, told the Jamaica Observer’s weekly Auto magazine.

He wasn’t the only one who wanted in on the excitement as he revealed that many customers had already ordered their 2020 Seltos from November last year and had been waiting anxiously for delivery in February. The Seltos has been racking up the awards, being crowned the Car of the Year and mid-sized SUV of the year by Autocar India. The Seltos has also been the Kia’s best-selling mid-sized SUV for 2019.

“The Seltos is overall good with technology and an attractive car,” Jackson explained.

That exterior design beauty comes from a very distinctive nose bearing Kia’s signature Tiger grille surrounded by Crown Jewel headlights with a sweeping LED daytime running light bar just under the clam shell bonnet line. Kia’s Ice Cube LED fog lamps return in a vertical configuration and in the rear there’s more LED lighting with Heartbeat Tail lamps. Available are some very interesting colours, single and two-tone. Crystal Cut alloy wheels up to 18-inches and the Seltos is a looker in any configuration. Underneath that expressive design is a crash-worthy chassis using high-strength steel. Further safety is added with six airbags and a host of driver aids to avoid accidents in the first place.

Powering the Seltos is a 1.6-litre four-cylinder with three drive modes and three traction modes to maximise power and grip to the front wheels. A smooth responsive seven-speed dual-clutch transmission rounds out the drivetrain. Size and practicality are more than enough for the average family, as it’s able to seat up to five, has 433 litres of trunk capacity that increases when the 60/40 split folding rear seats are used.

Modern technology is strong with the Seltos as it boasts some serious equipment found in many premium brands and some very unique elements that make it stand out. Helping out the 7-inch TFT LCD Supervision instrument cluster and the touchscreen infotainment screen is an eight-inch Head-Up display. Wireless charging is available as are ventilated front seats for optimum passenger comfort. Unique is the Sound Mood Lighting system. Using the sound from the eight-speaker Bose stereo system, the interior lighting on the door speakers can be animated, reacting to music or simply changing at regular intervals.

Jackson said the Seltos represents a great value in the segment.

“The Seltos starts at $4.2 million, but they can go up to $5.6 million. There are different packages.”