Entry-level doesn’t mean spartan with the 2021 Kia Seltos

• The 2021 Kia Seltos is the brand's entry-level crossover and joins one of the most competitive parts of the car market. [credit: Kia ]

By now, you'd think the last thing the automotive world needs more of is small crossover SUVs. In order to garner any kind of notice in this crowded field of vehicles that include the Ford EcoSport, Nissan Kicks, Honda's HR-V, Toyota's C-HR and a smorgasbord of others, the Seltos had better be compelling on some level.

It is.

First off, it looks higher-end, with plenty of chrome and complex headlights at the front end. The Seltos design borrows a now-common glass treatment with an upkick at the rear sides. Kia also employs the well-established—perhaps even clichéd—rear end jewelry of a chrome spear across the tail that protrudes into the tail light assemblies. Net-net: the Seltos front end is much more original-looking than the rear and sides.