Elderly Woman Drives Her Kia Seltos 9.17 Lakh Kilometers In Just 4 Years! [Video]
In India, most car owners do not keep their vehicles for long. We have seen people putting a 1-2 lakh kilometers on the odometers of their cars. Though rare, we have also seen vehicles that have run over five lakh kilometers and continue to be operational- these mostly ply as cabs. The vehicle in most such cases was a Toyota. But, can you imagine a Kia Seltos being used for over 9.1 lakh kilometers? Well, this isn’t a joke! An elderly woman from Texas has put 9.17 lakh km on her 2021 Seltos! A video of her talking about the same has now been shared online by the dealer.
This video has been shared by ‘Cowboy Kia’ on their social media channels. In it, we see the Seltos owner, an aged lady, talking about her time with the SUV. The host begins by asking her the actual mileage (miles covered by the vehicle as shown on the odometer). She says ‘570,141 miles’. (translating to 917553 km). The video shows the odometer reading up close.
The lady then talks about the ownership experience. In September 2020, she took delivery of the Seltos, a 2021 model, from Cowboy Kia, a dealership in Conroe, Texas. It was a brand-new car with zero miles on the odometer. The vehicle here is just a little over four years old. 9.1 lakh kilometers in just four years- that’s terrific!
The woman then explains how she managed to drive the Seltos so much in such a short span of time. She says that she had a contract with the Department of Defence and thus had to travel a lot. She had to connect with cadets from all over the country and had to drive across South and central America for the same.
The video doesn’t mention if the SUV is still on its first engine, or if she has done overhauls or replacements to keep it in service for so long. Considering the daily mileage added to this vehicle on a daily basis, it makes sense to expect multiple transmission failures or engine failures during the ownership period. The owner doesn’t mention anything about these and seems to be very happy with the purchase and ownership experience.
This incident has proved the reliability and long-term serviceability of the Seltos, a model that’s now on sale in several global markets, including India. Despite being an affordable model, it can ‘ last a lifetime’ and take incredibly high kilometres (miles), if maintained and driven well.
The woman here deserves appreciation for her driving style. In cases like this, where a vehicle is driven for tens of thousands of kilometers per year, the driving style plays a key role in keeping the engine and other key powertrain components healthy. It isn’t just the make and model that matter!
The Seltos sold in the US differed sharply from the India-spec with its specifications. The 2021 model sold in the USA came with just two petrol engines- 2.0-liter, naturally aspirated (NA), four-cylinder and a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. The former used to produce 146hp while the latter had 175hp on offer. Both these are bigger and stronger than the engines offered on the India-spec. Back in 2021, the Seltos sold here had three engines on offer- 1.5 naturally aspirated petrol, 1.4 turbocharged petrol and a 1.5L diesel.
Circling back to the US-spec, the NA engine was paired with a CVT automatic transmission (iVT as Hyundai-Kia calls it) and the turbo-petrol came mated to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic (DCT) transmission. It is unclear which of these powers the vehicle in this video. It is likely to be the turbocharged petrol. All Wheel Drive (AWD) hardware was offered on the higher variants while the lower ones came with a Front Wheel Drive (FWD) layout.