Compare the2022 Kia SeltosVS 2022 Toyota Corolla Cross

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Seltos are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Corolla Cross doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Seltos’ driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Corolla Cross doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Seltos and the Corolla Cross have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, forward collision warning, crash mitigation brakes, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, with its optional vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, with its optional vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Seltos the rating of “Top Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 120 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Corolla Cross has not been tested, yet.

The Seltos comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Corolla Cross’ 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Seltos 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Toyota covers the Corolla Cross. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Corolla Cross ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2020 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in initial quality, above the industry average. With 41 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked 19th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia third in reliability, above the industry average. With 1 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked fourth.

The Seltos Nightfall/SX’s standard 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder produces 6 more horsepower (175 vs. 169) and 44 lbs.-ft. more torque (195 vs. 151) than the Corolla Cross’ 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder.

For better traction, the Seltos AWD Nightfall/SX’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Corolla Cross (235/45R18 vs. 225/55R18).

The Seltos’ standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Corolla Cross’ standard 65 series tires. The Seltos AWD Nightfall/SX’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Corolla Cross XLE’s 55 series tires.

For better maneuverability, the Seltos’ turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Corolla Cross’ (34.8 feet vs. 35.4 feet).

The Seltos is 3.6 inches shorter than the Corolla Cross, making the Seltos easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Seltos has 4.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Corolla Cross (99 vs. 94.9).

The Seltos has .5 inches more front headroom, .9 inches more front hip room, 2.8 inches more front shoulder room, 6 inches more rear legroom, 9 inches more rear hip room and 2.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Corolla Cross.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Seltos’ rear seats recline. The Corolla Cross’ rear seats don’t recline.

The Seltos S/EX/SX has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Corolla Cross doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Seltos’ variable intermittent wipers have an adjustable delay to allow the driver to choose a setting that best clears the windshield during light rain or mist. The Corolla Cross L’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

The Seltos has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. The Corolla Cross has an automatic headlight on/off feature standard only on the LE/XLE.

The Seltos S/EX/Nightfall/SX’s standard GPS navigation system has a real-time traffic update feature that plots alternative routes to automatically bypass traffic problems. (Service not available in all areas.) The Corolla Cross doesn’t offer a navigation system or real-time traffic updates.