Named after Hercules's son, the Kia Seltos spells strength and speed

The manual gear shift is a bit tricky and being a six-speed setup, the reverse slot is positioned to the front

It wasn’t by design, but sitting in the spot right next to where I had parked the Kia Seltos was its sister SUV, the Hyundai Creta. Even from a distance the resemblance in their barebones’ framework is impossible to miss.

The arches over the wheels, square shoulder, large grill, the extended front, the robustly designed rear and the overall stance all come together in the format that’s become de rigueur for auto hot-sellers in today’s cut-throat market — the city SUV.

The Seltos — derived from the Greek word “Celtos”, the name of one of Hercules’s sons — is among the several