Compare the2023 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.

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, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Kia Seltos is safer than the Toyota Corolla Cross:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Kia Seltos is safer than the Toyota Corolla Cross:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

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, its standard 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 Safety Pick” for 2022, a rating granted to only 141 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’ 2021 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 above average in initial quality. With 10 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated lower.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in reliability, above the industry average. With 13 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked fifth.

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.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Kia Seltos 4 cyl. is faster than the Toyota Corolla Cross:

The Seltos stops shorter than the Corolla Cross:

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 1.4 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.

Consumer Reports rated the Seltos’ headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Corolla Cross’ headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

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.