Compare the2023 Mazda 3VS 2023 Kia Seltos

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mazda 3 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Kia Seltos doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Mazda 3 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.

The Mazda 3 has standard Whiplash Reducing Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash Reducing Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Seltos doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The Mazda 3 Turbo Premium Plus has a standard 360-Degree Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Seltos only offers a rear monitor.

Both the Mazda 3 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 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 Mazda 3 is safer than the Kia Seltos:

	Mazda 3	Seltos
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	89	129
Neck Injury Risk	17%	24%
Neck Stress	214 lbs.	237 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	205/212 lbs.	460/429 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	153	405
Chest Compression	.4 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	30%	41%
Neck Compression	20 lbs.	171 lbs.

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 flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Mazda 3 is safer than the Kia Seltos:

	Mazda 3	Seltos
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.9 inches	1.2 inches
Hip Force	239 lbs.	428 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	620 lbs.	754 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	10 inches	13 inches
HIC	199	225
Spine Acceleration	30 G’s	33 G’s

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

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Mazda 3, with its five-star roll-over rating, is 5% to 6.8% less likely to roll over than the Seltos, which received a four-star rating.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Mazda 3 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Seltos last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2022.

Warranty

The Mazda 3’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Seltos runs out after 100,000 miles.

Reliability

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Mazda vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Mazda fourth in overall reliability. Kia is ranked 9th.

Engine

The Mazda 3’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 45 more horsepower (191 vs. 146) and 54 lbs.-ft. more torque (186 vs. 132) than the Seltos’ standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Mazda 3’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 16 more horsepower (191 vs. 175) than the Seltos Nightfall/SX’s standard 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder. The Mazda 3’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 75 more horsepower (250 vs. 175) and 125 lbs.-ft. more torque (320 vs. 195) than the Seltos Nightfall/SX’s standard 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Mazda 3 4 cyl. is faster than the Kia Seltos (automatics tested):

	3	Seltos 4 cyl.	Seltos Nightfall/SX
Zero to 30 MPH	2.6 sec	3.2 sec	2.7 sec
Zero to 60 MPH	7.3 sec	8.3 sec	7.4 sec
Zero to 80 MPH	12.5 sec	14.3 sec	13.1 sec
Passing 45 to 65 MPH	3.9 sec	4.2 sec	3.9 sec
Quarter Mile	15.7 sec	16.5 sec	15.9 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	90.3 MPH	85.5 MPH	86.9 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Mazda 3 (except Turbo)’s fuel efficiency. The Seltos doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Mazda 3 higher (7 out of 10) than the Kia Seltos (5). This means the Mazda 3 produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Seltos every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

In an emergency stopping situation, many drivers don’t press the brakes with enough force to stop the vehicle in the shortest distance. The Mazda 3 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.

The Mazda 3 stops shorter than the Seltos:

	Mazda 3	Seltos
60 to 0 MPH	115 feet	122 feet	Motor Trend

Suspension and Handling

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Mazda 3’s wheelbase is 3.8 inches longer than on the Seltos (107.3 inches vs. 103.5 inches).

The Mazda 3 Premium Sedan handles at .86 G’s, while the Seltos S pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

Cargo Capacity

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the Mazda 3 Turbo Hatchback has a standard power trunk, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button. The Seltos doesn’t offer a power liftgate.

Ergonomics

When two different drivers share the Mazda 3 Preferred/Carbon/Premium/Turbo, the memory seats and mirrors make it convenient for both. Each keyless remote activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position and outside mirror angle. The Seltos doesn’t offer a memory system.

The Mazda 3 Premium/Turbo has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Seltos doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Mazda 3’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 Mazda 3’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Seltos’ standard power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully. Only its driver’s window opens automatically.

On a hot day the Mazda 3’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 Mazda 3’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Seltos’ passenger power window and power mirror switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Mazda 3’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Seltos’ manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Mazda 3’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.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Mazda 3 Premium/Turbo has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Seltos doesn’t offer cornering lights.

When the Mazda 3 Preferred/Carbon/Premium/Turbo is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Seltos’ mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Mazda 3’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Seltos offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

On extremely cold winter days, the Mazda 3 Turbo’s standard heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the car heater warms up. The Seltos doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

The Mazda 3 Select/Preferred/Carbon/Premium/Turbo’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.

Model Availability

The Mazda 3 comes in sedan and four door hatchback bodystyles; the Kia Seltos isn’t available as a sedan or four door hatchback.

Recommendations

The Mazda 3 has won recognition from these important consumer publications:

	Mazda 3	Seltos
Consumer Reports® Recommends	TRUE	TRUE
Car Book “Best Bet”	TRUE	n/a