Where each one leads
Hyundai Tucson
- Against cars of the same year, the Hyundai Tucson comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 10% less often than average) than the Kia Seltos (fails 2% less often than average).
Kia Seltos
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 Kia Seltos uses 7.6 l/100 km, the 2026 Hyundai Tucson 8.8.
Too close to call: NHTSA overall safety rating.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Hyundai Tucson | Kia Seltos | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2004–2026 | 2021–2027 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 944,582 (2010–2022) | — |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 256,427 | — |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 43,046 | — |
| In traffic in Finland | 4,499 | — |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Hyundai Tucson | Kia Seltos | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 82% | — |
| … against cars of the same age | +1% | — |
| New York safety inspections failed | 1.0% | 0.6% |
| … against cars of the same year | −10% | −2% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 1.9% | — |
| US owner complaints | 6,316 | 566 |
| Most complaints about | Engine | Engine |
| Model year with most complaints | 2016 (1,625) | 2021 (378) |
| US recall campaigns | 36 | 4 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 1,755 | 238 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 26 | 3 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Hyundai Tucson | Kia Seltos | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 5★ (2026) | 5★ (2026) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Hyundai Tucson | Kia Seltos | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 8.8 l/100 km (2026) | 7.6 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | 7.2 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 7.6 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | 5.2 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel hybrid | 6.2 l/100 km | — |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 117 g/km | — |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 121 kW (162 hp) | — |
| Average mass in running order | 1,663 kg | — |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €31,434 | — |
| Average odometer in Finland | 142,000 km | — |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).