It was known that the Hyundai Motor Group will introduce the Kia brand in India for quite some time now. And when the manufacturer made its grand entry at the Auto Expo 2018, it created quite a buzz amongst the audience. It showcased a number of products that were already available on sale in the international market, which was soon to be available in the Indian market. But, its first car for the Indian market remained a secret, which was an entirely new model.
After a series of events and rumours, the Kia Seltos was expected to be launched in 2019. But before Kia launches its first product in India, it invited us to test it in the party-state of the country, Goa. We drove the Kia Seltos amidst the monsoon in Goa and came away quite impressed.
Now that the Seltos has been on sale for quite some time and the buzz is rapidly increasing, here’s a lowdown to what exactly makes the Seltos a popular product in the Indian market, despite the fact that it comes from a completely new manufacturer for us Indians. Read on.
Specifications
Saying that the Seltos looks nice and beautiful would be an understatement. Just when all the manufacturers are shifting to the new split headlamp setup design, the Seltos gets a conventional setup, but it looks much prettier than any other SUV out there. The GT line, especially, looks great and sporty with its special red treatment and a different design for the alloy wheels. Dimension-wise, the Seltos is 4,315mm in length, 1,800mm in width, and 1,645mm in height. The wheelbase is a good 2,610mm, and the ground clearance is 190mm. The boot space capacity, on the other hand, is 433-litres.
Under the hood, the Seltos comes powered with three engines. There are two petrol engines and a diesel engine. The first and the entry-level engine option is the 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine, which is good for 114bhp and 144Nm of torque. It comes mated to either a six-speed manual or a CVT automatic. Next is the 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel, which churns out 114bhp and 250Nm of torque. It comes mated to a six-speed manual or a torque converter AT. Barring the top-of-the-line GTX+ Diesel AT, both the engines are available in HT-line trim.
Kia has also ensured the enthusiasts won’t be disappointed. Therefore, the next engine is the 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol with Gasoline direct injection, good for 138bhp and 242Nm of torque. It comes mated to either a six-speed manual or a DCT gearbox. It is available only in the sportier GT-line trim. All the engines are BS-VI compliant from day one.
Mileage
Since it comes with a number of engine and gearbox options, the mileage varies for all. Starting with the 1.5-litre petrol, the manual is good for 16.8km/l and the CVT is good for 16.5km/l. The 1.5-litre diesel, on the other hand, delivers 20km/l in conjuncture with the manual gearbox and 18km/l with the AT gearbox. The 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol makes 16.1km/l and 16.5km/l, in manual and DCT guises, respectively (all figures ARAI-certified).
Features
The Seltos brings a number of segment-first features to the table. So, to keep it short and brief, here’s a brief of what you get in the top-spec GTX+ trim: 8-inch head-up display, 360-degree camera, 7-inch coloured MID display, blind spot camera, electric sunroof, 8-speaker BOSE sound system, two-tone leatherette seats, and multiple drive modes (automatics only).
Colours
The Seltos, as of early-2020, comes in thirteen shades, divided into eight single-tone shades and five dual-tone shades, namely, Intense Red, Glacier White Pearl, Steel Silver, Gravity Gray, Aurora Black Pearl, Intelligency Blue, Clear White, and Punchy Orange for the single-tone shades. The dual-tone shades are Intense Red/Aurora Black Pearl, Glacier White Pearl/Aurora Black Pearl, Steel Silver/Aurora Black Pearl, Steel Silver/Punchy Orange, and Glacier White Pearl/Punchy Orange.
Brochure
All the details regarding the Kia Seltos, namely, the engine, specifications, variant wise equipment, colours, dimensions, interiors, and exterior details are extensively covered in the brochure.
Variants and Prices
As of early-2020, the Kia Seltos is available in twenty-four variants, with fifteen variants for the HT-line trim and nine variants for the GT-line trim. The range starts at Rs. 9.89 lakhs for the base-spec HTE 1.5 trim going all the way up to Rs. 17.34 lakh for the top-of-the-line GTX+ AT 1.5 Diesel trim (both prices ex-showroom, Delhi). For the variant-wise on-road prices, visit us at autoX.
For more on the Kia Seltos, be sure to tune in to autoX. Learn more about different auto manufacturers and their sales records, on this website: www.busdriverse.com