Kia Seltos facelift fuel efficiency numbers revealed

Kia recently launched the Seltos facelift in India with revised styling, lots more features and a new 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine. Now, the company has also shared the fuel economy for each of the powertrains available with the Seltos. Notably, all versions of the Seltos get idle engine start/stop system as standard, which aids fuel efficiency.

1. Seltos petrol-MT is least efficient at 17.0kpl
2. Diesel iMT is most efficient at 20.7kpl
3. Prices range between Rs 10.90 lakh-20.00 lakh

Kia Seltos fuel efficiency detailed

The Seltos range starts with the 115hp, 1.5-litre, naturally aspirated petrol engine that’s available either with a 6-speed manual or a CVT gearbox. This, in fact, is the only engine that’s available with a proper three-pedal gearbox. Kia claims the 1.5 petrol-MT returns 17.0kpl, while the CVT returns a fuel economy of 17.7kpl.

Next up is the 160hp, 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine, which is also the most powerful engine in its class. It's available with either a 6-speed iMT or a 7-speed DCT gearbox, where the former returns 17.7kpl and the latter returns 17.9kpl. This is also more fuel efficient than the now-discontinued 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine that returned 16.1kpl and 16.5kpl with the manual and DCT gearbox, respectively.

Lastly, there’s the 116hp, 1.5-litre diesel engine that gets either the 6-speed iMT or a 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox. The Seltos is just one of the two SUVs in this segment that still gets a diesel, and as you’d expect, it’s the most efficient engine in the Seltos range. The diesel-iMT has a claimed fuel economy of 20.7kpl, while the automatic returns 19.1 kpl.

Here’s a table summarising the claimed fuel economy of the updated Seltos.

Kia Seltos fuel economy compared with rivals

The other, most recent addition to the midsize SUV segment is the Honda Elevate. In comparison, the Honda is a little less efficient with a claimed fuel economy of 15.31kpl for the petrol-MT and 16.92kpl for the petrol-CVT.

As for its rivals with turbo-petrol motors, the 150hp, 1.5-litre TSI engine on the Taigun has a claimed fuel economy of 18.47kpl and 17.88kpl for the manual and automatic, respectively, while the same motor returns 17.95kpl and 17.70kpl on the Kushaq for the manual and automatic, respectively.

The Creta is the only other SUV in this segment with a diesel engine, and it has a claimed fuel economy of 21.4kpl for the manual and 18.5kpl for the automatic. Do note that both the Creta and Seltos use the same diesel engine. The Grand Vitara and Toyota Hyryder duo remain the most efficient in this segment with their petrol-hybrid powertrains having a claimed fuel efficiency of 27.97kpl.