I must give credit to Kia for their recent efforts to elevate the brand to new, unseen heights that I’ve witnessed in the new Telluride, and now, the new Kia Seltos. It seems as if Kia is on a relentless path in their competitiveness amongst other juggernaut mainstream automakers, and this week’s drive in the newly redesigned Seltos somewhat fortifies that quest as I walk away pleasantly appeased with all that the new compact crossover has to offer.

The Kia Seltos is completely redesigned for 2027, embarking on a journey that essentially replaces a hole left by the demise of the Kia Soul. As a spiritual successor to the Soul, the new Seltos doesn’t leave consumers out in the cold who were once enamored by the Soul’s cheeky style and well-to-do attitude for a compact crossover. For its second generation, the new Seltos will now get more recognition for its standing in a crowded segment where it’s literally grown larger and takes on direct inspiration from its large Telluride sibling, which is a good thing in my book.

Powered by a turbocharged 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine, which is exclusive to the top-trimmed Seltos X-Line SX AWD, feels adequate for everyday driving if you’re not inclined to do anything wildly outside of the legal limits of local roads. With that, the new Seltos with the turbocharged engine and its 190 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque, all mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission, gets the necessary job done much better than the base engine with just 147 horsepower and a CVT transmission.

Zero to 60 mph takes about 7.5 seconds, which is decent for a compact mainstream crossover. Not to add much insult to injury in the performance department, but the Seltos also feels a bit soft and spongy for its suspension, where it tends to loft around up front a bit more than I would like to take away from what I think could have been a better-planted vehicle other than having its all-wheel-drive setup mostly helping to prevent front wheelspin. That softness translates into some unwanted body roll in hard turns at speed, and there’s not much urgency in those times you may need to abruptly use the brakes in an aggressive manner. Moreover, those who opt for other lower trims will have to make do with even less power and the same lackluster feeling of overall handling performance.

Fuel efficiency is on par with what you expect in this class, where the Seltos matches its EPA estimates in the real world of 24 mpg city, 30 mpg highway, and 26 mpg combined. Cruising range is as much as 396 miles on the highway when you’re working with a full 13.2-gallon tank of regular unleaded.

Apart from the shortcomings in the uninspired attitude, the Seltos has when laying down the gas pedal, it is a respectable vehicle in just about every other area. The larger size of the new Seltos pays off well for packing in cargo with just over 27 cubic feet out back accessed by the smart power liftgate, in addition to having plentiful seating areas accommodating most-sized adults. Overall, the interior feels very welcoming with a plethora of desirable features like heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, adaptive cruise control with lane centering, a large 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen with downloadable themes such as those from Star Wars, and the return of the trick blind-spot view system that displays a video feed in the digital gauge cluster of your blind spot when you signal.

Looking at the totality of all that the new Seltos offers, it initially feels more expensive than it is, with an interior that’s almost premium, offering up a good amount of soft-touch surfaces and the convenience of its switchgear and infotainment system that combines wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with an easy-to-use wireless smartphone charging pad. Much of what you find in the Seltos is a page taken from its larger Telluride stablemate – only shrunk down to fit the mold of a compact crossover.

Probably the major takeaway of the new Seltos, apart from a decent list of available features and its smaller Telluride-ish character, is its affordability, where a base Seltos starts at just $24,990 before any fees or options. That not only makes the Seltos one of the most affordable crossovers around, but it’s one of the most affordable vehicles you can buy new today. Such a price point does a lot to position the Seltos in a good place. Even with the as-tested price of my loaded-up top-trimmed test vehicle at $37,250, including a $1,495 freight and handling fee, the Seltos finds itself being an attractive offer amongst many competitors. Kia certainly has a winner here in my view, and I can recommend it for anyone looking for this class of vehicle.