Compare the2023 Honda HR-VVS 2023 Kia Seltos

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda HR-V have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Kia Seltos doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Honda HR-V has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Seltos doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Both the HR-V and the Seltos have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the HR-V its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Seltos was last a “Top Safety Pick Plus” in 2019 but no longer qualifies.

The HR-V’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Seltos runs out after 100,000 miles.

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the HR-V for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Honda will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Seltos.

There are over 37 percent more Honda dealers than there are Kia dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the HR-V’s warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the HR-V’s reliability 14 points higher than the Seltos.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 4 places higher in reliability than Kia.

The HR-V’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 12 more horsepower (158 vs. 146) and 6 lbs.-ft. more torque (138 vs. 132) than the Seltos’ standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder.

The HR-V has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Seltos doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

For better stopping power the HR-V’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Seltos:

In an emergency stopping situation, many drivers don’t press the brakes with enough force to stop the vehicle in the shortest distance. The HR-V has a standard brake assist system to detect emergency braking situations (by how hard and how quickly the brake pedal is pressed) and then automatically apply maximum braking immediately in order to help prevent a collision. The Seltos doesn’t offer a brake assist feature.

For superior ride and handling, the Honda HR-V has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Seltos 4x2 has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

The HR-V has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the HR-V flat and controlled during cornering. The Seltos 4x2 suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the HR-V is 1.2 inches wider in the front and 1.3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Seltos.

The HR-V EX-L AWD handles at .80 G’s, while the Seltos S pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The HR-V uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Seltos doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the HR-V EX-L AWD is quieter than the Seltos SX:

The HR-V has .5 inches more front legroom, .5 inches more front hip room, 1.1 inches more front shoulder room and .5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Seltos.

The HR-V’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Seltos has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

The HR-V’s standard driver’s power window opens or closes with one touch of the switch, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths. The Seltos’ standard power window’s switch has to be held the entire time to close it fully. The HR-V Sport/EX-L’s front power windows open fully with one touch of the switches, and its driver’s window also automatically closes. With the Seltos EX/SX’s power windows, only the driver’s window opens or closes automatically.

On a hot day the HR-V’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Seltos can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The HR-V’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Seltos’ standard projector halogen headlights and light instantly. LED lights also last over twenty times longer than halogen.

The HR-V EX-L’s standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The Seltos doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

Insurance will cost less for the HR-V owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the HR-V will cost $150 less than the Seltos over a five-year period.

The HR-V will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the HR-V will retain 50.77% to 52.43% of its original price after five years, while the Seltos only retains 49.25% to 49.41%.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Honda HR-V will be $2107 to $3054 less than for the Kia Seltos.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Honda HR-V and the Kia Seltos, based on reliability, safety and performance.