Kia Motors’ India innings is scheduled to officially begin with on August 22, 2019, when the Korean brand launches the Seltos SUV. The info we have so far includes that it will come with three BS6-compliant engine options – namely two petrols and one diesel. The Seltos 1.5 petrol churns out 115hp and 144Nm of torque and will be available with a 6-speed manual gearbox and a CVT automatic option. The Seltos 1.4-litre turbo-petrol GDI engine is good for 140hp and 242Nm of peak torque and will come mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed DCT automatic gearbox. The Seltos 1.5 diesel, which makes 115hp and 250Nm of torque, comes with 6-speed manual and torque convertor automatic gearbox options.
Thanks to a few dealer sources, we’ve got our hands on the expected fuel economy figures for the upcoming Seltos SUV.
Disclaimer: The below figures may differ from the ARAI-certified fuel-efficiency figures that are yet to be officially revealed.
Compared to the sales leader of the midsize SUV segment, the Hyundai Creta, the Seltos seems to be more fuel-efficient across the board, with even the 1.4-litre turbo-petrol-manual bettering the Creta 1.6 petrol-MT’s figure of 15.29kpl.
The company had begun accepting bookings for the new SUV at its dealerships and online on July 16, with the booking amount set at Rs 25,000. In fact, the brand claims that it received over 6,000 pre-bookings for the Seltos in just a day, out of which 1,628 bookings were made via Kia’s website. By the time Seltos prices are revealed, Kia will have a sales and service network of 265 touchpoints nationwide, in as many as 160 cities. The Seltos will be on display at most Kia dealerships by end of July with vehicle test drives slated to commence in early August.
Higher trims of the Seltos will come with features like 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.
Exterior paint shade options on the SUV include red, black, blue, orange, Glacier White, Clear White, grey and silver. There are also dual -tone combinations available – red/black, Glacier White/black, silver/black and Glacier White/orange.
Key rivals to the Seltos include the Hyundai Creta, Mahindra XUV500, Renault Captur, Nissan Kicks and the MG Hector. We expect Kia to price the Seltos from Rs 11 lakh for the base petrol-manual, and go all the way up to around Rs 17 lakh for the top-end variant (ex-showroom).
Rivan RS 
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Uday Singh
Suraj Viswanathan
