By virtue of its designation, a subcompact should be small. But a week-long test drive of the 2022 Kia Seltos showed how giant this subcompact SUV is. For starters, the seats are not skin-tight, so front and second row occupants have first-class roominess. Seltos is also large in terms of cargo space. With rear seat upright, there’s 26.6 cubic feet of space. With rear seat folded, the space grows to 62.8 cubic feet. As a bonus, the dual-level cargo floor enables two floor heights. Forward collision warning, lane departure warning, and other safety features are now standard on the 2022 model. Seltos comes in five trims, including the new Nightfall Edition.

The tested 103.5-inch wheelbase Seltos SX with all wheel drive was powered by a 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder producing 175 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 195 lb-ft of torque from 1500-4500 rpm. The engine mates to a 7-speed dual clutch automatic transmission. (A 2.0-liter 4-cylinder provides 146 horsepower at 6200 rpm and 132 lb-ft of torque at 4500 rpm. Engine mates to an intelligent variable transmission.) Seltos presents a crisp interior with easy-to-see features, like a 7-inch LCD color instrument cluster. The tested Seltos SX Turbo carries a base price of $28,090 and collects estimated mpg numbers of 25 city and 30 highway.