The Kia Seltos may be the best subcompact SUV on the market. Kia keeps improving it anyway, but those improvements also nudge the price higher.
The Seltos has won our Best Buy Award in the subcompact SUV class three years in a row. Our editors love its long list of features, its sharp looks in a class full of awkward-looking cars, and its fitment of all-wheel drive on all but two trims (the S and EX, where it’s optional).
For 2024, it’s getting what automakers call a midcycle refresh. Normally, that means a nip-and-tuck job that changes the exterior styling and updates the cabin technology to keep it competitive with newer rivals. But Kia went a little further than normal with the 2024 Seltos, which is on sale now.
Base models use the same 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine and continuously variable transmission (CVT) as before. But an available turbocharged engine gets a 20-horsepower bump — now making 195 — and an improved 8-speed automatic transmission to go with it.
The exterior remodeling job adds a larger grille and new “Star Map” lighting elements, making it look like something from a more expensive class.
The base 2024 Seltos starts at $24,390 — which is only $50 more than last year’s model. That base price is still higher than the entry points of rivals like the Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-30, or Hyundai Kona, but the base Seltos LX also comes standard with all-wheel drive (AWD). On the other end of the Seltos spectrum, a top-of-the-line 2024 Kia Seltos SX begins at $29,990, more than $1,000 above last year’s top trim.
Cheap cars are disappearing. A recent KBB analysis found that there are just 10 models left for sale under $25,000. The Seltos is technically one of them, though barely.
2024 Kia Seltos Pricing:
Kia also charges a mandatory $1,325 delivery fee on all Seltos SUVs.
| Trim | MSRP |
| LX | $24,390 |
| S | $24,990 |
| EX | $25,790 |
| X-Line | $28,690 |
| SX | $29,990 |
