We are not fans of Kia Seltos’ naturally aspirated engine, so we would recommend you to look at the S Turbo variant that gets the 1.6-liter turbocharged engine. With a base MSRP of about $27,990, this trim gets you bigger 18-inch wheels, Siri Eyes Free, Auto headlights, and many more features as standard, which are a must by today’s standard.

The 2022 Kia Seltos will be released in over five trims, namely LX, S, EX, Nightfall Edition, and SX. The base price will start at $22,490 while the topmost SX trim will start at $27,990. The base three trims get a naturally aspirated engine, while the Nightfall Edition and SX trim gets a turbocharged engine. The AWD will be standard on all the trims except the S trim, which has FWD as standard. 

There are no optional packages or features available individually. You get more or less everything in the trims themselves. Other than standard colors, Kia would expect you to pay a premium for the optional and dual-tone color just like last year.

The Seltos offers a firm but mostly smooth ride, and handling is sharp for an SUV - it's far more entertaining and composed than rivals such as the Jeep Compass and Mitsubishi Outlander Sport - Car and Driver

The 2022 Kia Seltos will get the same engine options just like the 2021 model year. These two engine options are spread throughout the five trim levels of the 2022 Kia Seltos. The base trim levels- LX, S, and EX- get the 2.0-liter naturally aspirated inline four-cylinder engine, which is good for 146 hp and has 132 lb-ft of torque. This engine is mated to a rather dull and slow CVT gearbox. The other engine option is a 1.6-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine, which is standard on the Nightfall Edition and the SX Turbo trim levels, putting out 175 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque and mated to a far superior seven-speed DCT automatic gearbox.

The 2022 Kia Seltos, since it carries forward the same powertrain, will be doing the 0-60 mph sprint in 10.5 seconds and finish the quarter-mile in 17.5 seconds. The Hyundai Kona though is the fastest in the segment to reach the 0-60 mph and quarter-mile figures at 9.2 seconds and 16.3 seconds, respectively, while Chevrolet Trax remains the slowest with 0-60 mph in 11.5 seconds and quarter-mile coming at 17.9 seconds.

Seltos is a compact SUV and has compact dimensions when compared to a conventional SUV. The vehicle feels more like a hatchback to drive, which is really handy in tight parking conditions. The light steering wheel which feels well connected makes it easy to drive. And these particular attributes help in making it so easy to drive in the city traffic. The ride quality though is on the stiffer side as bumps are felt when driving on bad roads, making it slightly uncomfortable for the passengers.

The fuel economy quotient is undoubtedly a core subject for a compact SUV like the 2022 Kia Seltos. Since the 2022 model year shares the same powertrain as the previous model year, we believe that the fuel economy figures will be more or less the same. Thus the 2022 Seltos would offer an estimated 29 MPG in the city, 34 MPG on the highway, and 31 MPG in combined fuel economy figures. Combine that to a 13.2-gallon fuel tank, and you are looking at 400 plus miles of combined range from a tankful of gas.

The fuel economy figures of the 2022 Kia Seltos are pretty impressive, and that combined with its 13.2 gallons fuel tank capacity, makes it a great highway cruiser. On opting for the AWD variant, these figures drop by at least 2 units. Moreover, go for the turbocharged engine option, and the 2022 Seltos is rated at 25 and 30 MPG in the city and highway respectively. Both the Hyundai Kona and Chevrolet Trax are pretty close in terms of fuel economy, but the Trax does have the advantage here in this segment with a bigger fuel tank capacity of 14.0 gallons compared to Kona’s 13.2-gallon fuel tank.

The micro-ute is a handsome-looking thing, with overall design that's hampered only by some mediocre plastic surfaces in its roomy cabin - Motortrend

One of Kia Seltos's biggest advantages is its interiors, and for 2022, Kia will be bringing in certain minor changes to the lineup. Thus, the interior will not only be premium but also feel plush, which is a rare combination at this price point and the segment. There will be soft-touch plastics on the dashboard which will be of really good quality. That combined with the neat and uncluttered design of the dash and leather upholstery will make the interior feel really upscale than all of its rivals in the segment. Speaking of the seats, they will be well contoured, and the bolstering will be perfect, giving you great support when driving long hours. The comfortable seats combined with the spacious interior of the 2022 Kia Seltos will make for a great experience.

Kia will give the 2022 Seltos a lot of features even to the base trim. But if you want the best features, you need to opt for the higher trims, which though on the expensive side, have a lot of additional useful features. The features include remote keyless entry, tilt and telescopic steering wheel, a 12V power outlet, automatic control, six-way manually adjustable driver's seats, rearview camera, and push-button start. A 10-way power-adjustable driver's seat with two-way lumbar support is available on the higher trim levels. Features like a wireless charging pad, heated front seats, and heads-up display are available on higher trims. Moreover, for 2022, a 10.25-inch display with UVO connectivity is now standard in the majority of the trims.

Moving on to the interior space, the Honda HR-V is overall the most spacious crossover in both rows. Next comes Kia Seltos, followed by Chevrolet Trax in the order of the space available in both rows. The Hyundai Kona has a major disadvantage with a mediocre 34.6-inches of leg space in the rear seats, making it very difficult for even average-size adults to sit comfortably back there. It is very evident from the table above that the 2022 Seltos has the most cargo space at 26.6 cubic feet.

In the 2022 Seltos, the infotainment system now sits on top of the dashboard mimicking a floating screen, which both looks cool and helps a lot in terms of visibility and usability when driving. The 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment will come with split-screen capability. For 2022 Kia has updated the virtual assistant, which can now be activated by saying "Hello Kia". The virtual assistant can perform many actions, but what is impressive is that it can recognize a variety of accents. As expected, both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available as standard along with an 8-speaker Bose premium audio system available in top trims.

Highlights of the infotainment system include:

• 8- or 10.25- inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• SiriusXM satellite radio
• Six-speaker audio setup
• USB ports

The Kia Seltos was always a great looker in the segment thanks to its stunning exterior design and sharp elements. The same continues even with the 2022 model year as it is more like a carryover of the 2021 model. One of the important parts which elevate the exterior is that it has really well thought out and impressive color options that help a lot in bringing out its sporty character. Also, with the 2022 model year, the brand is expected to provide yet another attractive color scheme.

Other than the design aspect, the 2022 Seltos is a well-proportioned compact SUV that looks like a proper SUV rather than a jacked-up hatchback. Dimension-wise also, the 2022 Seltos will see no changes, thus the Seltos will be 172-inch long, 70.9-inches wide, 64.2-inches tall, and will have a 103.5-inches wheelbase. Compared to the rivals, Honda's HR-V is approximately an inch shorter in wheelbase, which translates to a slightly smaller cabin space. That said, Kia Seltos and Honda HR-V both get the maximum ground clearance of 7.3-inches, which allows them to wade through small boulders, etc.

Some exterior features of the 2022 Kia Seltos are :

• Front fog lights
• Chrome garnished front grille
• Projector-beam LED headlights with LED DRLs
• High beam assist
• Power-adjustable outside mirrors
• LED taillights
• Heated outside rearview mirrors (ORVMs)
• Roof rails
• Shark fin antenna
• Metal finished skid plates

Kia has always been associated with making safe cars with lots of emphasis on the chassis and structure of the vehicle. The 2022 Seltos, as we have mentioned earlier, will be getting loads of active and passive safety features as standard from this year. Moreover, we can also expect the decent safety ratings that the 2021 Seltos got for the year, to be carried forward into this year. 

The 2021 model was evaluated by both the NHTSA and the IIHS. It secured a 4 out of 5- star rating in the crash tests conducted by the NHTSA. And the IIHS rated it "Good" in all categories, thus making it a very safe SUV in its segment. These are pretty much expected to be the same with the 2022 Seltos.

Some noteworthy safety features that are expected to come with the 2022 Seltos includes:

• Smart cruise control
• High Beam Assist (HBA)
• Driver Attention Warning (DAW)
• Anti-theft system with remote keyless entry
• High Line Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
• Rollover Sensor
• Hill Start Assist (HSA)
• Lane Keeping Assist (LKA)
• Lane Departure Warning (LDW)
• Lane Following Assist (LFA)
• Electronic Stability Control (ESC) with Traction Control System (TCS)
• Forward Collision Avoidance System (FCA) with Assist Camera

2022 Kia Seltos vs 2022 Hyundai Kona

Both the Hyundai Kona and the Kia Seltos are cousins because we know that they are vehicles produced by sister companies. Of these two, it is the Seltos which has the upper hand over the Kona in terms of space and overall dimensions.

The 2022 Seltos in particular is much newer and rounded than all of its rivals, making it a quality buy over the Kona. The Kona is still a great car, and it even shares its platform, engines, and drivetrain with the former but is more quicker and powerful than the Seltos. That said, the Seltos wins over with its premium and plush cabin along with lots of interior space, features, and performance.

2022 Kia Seltos vs 2021 Honda HR-V

The Honda HR-V is a stiff competitor of the Kia Seltos and has almost similar attributes to the Seltos. Rumors are there that the new HR-V could get a hybrid powertrain, and if that happens, then the equation will completely change.

Till then, we will leave this on you to decide as both the cars are equally good with almost similar performance, fuel efficiency, space, and overall quality.

The 2022 Kia Seltos follows the same successful path laid out by the previous model. And to be honest, the 2022 model had quite a lot to live up to, given how successful the previous model has been. To finish things up in one word, the 2022 Seltos will be simply amazing, and it will not disappoint. The basics of the SUV like interior space and seat comfort are great on the Seltos along with very plush and premium materials used all over the cabin. Then we have loads of premium features onboard which is very much expected from a Kia product. All these combined with its good performance, great reliability, and safety make the 2022 Kia Seltos really irresistible.