Kia Motors enters India with the Seltos Compact SUV

Finally, Kia Motors has entered the Indian market with its much-awaited Seltos compact SUV. At an affordable price range of Rs.9.69 lakh to Rs.15.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the connected mid-size SUV is available in two trim levels – Tech Line and GT Line with a total of 16 variants.

The Kia Seltos is available in both petrol and diesel engine versions. It has been offered with a choice of three BS6-compliant engine options including a 1.5-litre petrol, a 1.5-litre VGT diesel and a 1.4-litre GDI turbo-petrol motor. Transmission duties are handled by a 6-speed Manual and CVT gearboxes on the petrol, 6-speed Manual and 6-speed torque converter automatic units on the diesel while a 6-speed Manual or a 7-speed Dual-clutch automatic gearbox does duty on the turbo-petrol version.

The 1.5-litre petrol engine generates 115PS power and 144Nm of torque and the 1.5-litre diesel engine generates maximum power of 115PS and 250Nm of peak torque. The 1.4-litre direct-injection turbo-petrol engine puts out 140PS and 242Nm of peak power and torque outputs.

Dimensionally, the Kia Seltos is slightly longer and wider than the Hyundai Creta. It measures 4,315mm, 1,800mm and 1,620mm in terms of length, width and height respectively.

The connected mid-size SUV comes equipped with many segment-first features which includes sweeping LED light bar, crown jewel LED headlamps, unique heartbeat LED tail lamps and LED DRLs, ice-cube style front LED fog lamps and 60:40 split with adjustable rear centre headrest. As a major highlight, the Seltos gets the UVO (Your Voice) Connect system with 37 features that are subdivided into 5 various categories – Navigation, Safety & Security, Vehicle Management, Remote Control and Convenience. It comes with three years of free subscription.

The GT Line trim of the Seltos gets red brake callipers and red accents on the side cladding which offers a distinctive appearance to the SUV. In addition, the higher-spec variants of the Seltos comes with a 10.25-inch touchscreen, a head-up display, a 360-degree around-view camera, a sunroof, multi-coloured ambient lighting, cooled front seats and a Bose audio system. Safety features offered are 6 airbags, ABS, Brake-force Assist System (BAS), Vehicle Stability Management (VSM), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), front and rear parking sensors, Hill-start Assist Control (HAC), Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and disc brakes on all four corners.

Kia offers the Seltos in three driving modes – Normal, Eco and Sport and three traction modes – Mud, Snow/Wet and Sand. The SUV is offered in a variety of exterior colours in single-tone and dual-tone combinations. The single-tone shades include red, black, blue, orange, Glacier White, Clear White, grey and silver while the dual-tone combinations include red with black, Glacier White with black, silver with black and Glacier White with orange.

Rivals for the Kia Seltos include the Hyundai Creta, Mahindra XUV500, Renault Captur, Nissan Kicks and the MG Hector.

Variant-wise price (ex-showroom, Delhi) details of the Kia Seltos are as follows.

• HTE 1.5 – Rs.9.69 Lakhs
• HTK 1.5 – Rs.9.99 Lakhs
• HTE 1.5 Diesel – Rs.9.99 Lakhs
• HTK Plus 1.5 – Rs.11.19 Lakhs
• HTK 1.5 Diesel – Rs.11.19 Lakhs
• HTK Plus 1.5 Diesel – Rs.12.19 Lakhs
• HTX 1.5 – Rs.12.79 Lakhs
• HTK Plus AT 1.5 Diesel – Rs.13.19 Lakhs
• GTK 1.4 – Rs.13.49 Lakhs
• HTX CVT 1.5 – Rs.13.49 Lakhs
• HTX 1.5 Diesel – Rs.13.79 Lakhs
• GTX 1.4 – Rs.14.99 Lakhs
• HTX Plus 1.5 Diesel – Rs.14.99 Lakhs
• GTX AT 1.4 – Rs.15.99 Lakhs
• GTX Plus 1.4 – Rs.15.99 Lakhs
• HTX Plus AT 1.5 Diesel – Rs.15.99 Lakhs