Kia Seltos
We test a pre-production version of Seltos
Just over a year after it made its debut as a concept at the 2018 Auto Expo, Kia’s first product for India was presented in June as Seltos. The SUV carriers the weight of establishing the brand in the Indian market so it is imperative that the Seltos meets, nay, exceeds expectations in most departments. We’ve already seen the way it looks and we think Kia has done a great job in the design department. The flat bonnet and upright nose coupled with the wide headlamps and grille impart an imposing look, something that should bode well with SUV buyers. However, the final judgment rests solely with buyers. At a recent visit to Kia’s production facility in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, the company revealed more about the Seltos vis a vis powertrain options, features, trims and more.
In its top-trim, the Kia Seltos boasts an exhaustive list of features complete with a 10.25-inch touchscreen, a 7-inch colour MID, sunroof, an 8-speaker Bose audio system and a segment first 8-inch head-up display. Sprucing up the cabin further is ambient light
ing with 8 mono colour themes and 6 multi colour themes and black and beige choices for leatherette seats. There is a 360-degree camera on offer making parking and navigating through tight spots easier. Kia will offer the Seltos with two trim line options – premium looking family oriented Tech Line and a sportier GT Line. These two trims will be further subdivided into variants with varying levels of equipment and features. There will be subtle differences between the exterior of the two trim lines. The GT Line will feature red accents on the bumpers, side cladding and ‘GT Line’ badges on the boot and front grille. It will also get a 17inch two-tone alloy wheels and red brake calipers. Inside, the GT Line trim will get black upholstery with contrast red stitching. Much like Hyundai Venue’s BlueLink and MG Hector’s iSmart connectivity suites, the Kia Seltos too will come with a similar setup in the form of UVO Connect. Listing all its features will take up a lot of space so some of the highlights worth mentioning are car tracking and location services, emergency and roadside
assistance, vehicle management services pertaining to maintenance and remote control via a smartphone app for the air conditioning system, engine, hood and trunk, and even the air purifier that sits in the cabin.
In terms of interior space, the slightly longer wheelbase of the Seltos in comparison with the Hyundai Creta translates to increased passenger space in the rear. The cabin overall feels roomy and comfortable both in the front and back. We’ll know better about the overall quality and fit and finish inside once we drive the actual production vehicles. Seltos buyers will get to choose from three BS VI compliant engine options – 1.4-litre turbo petrol, 1.5-litre turbo diesel and a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol. All three pair with a 6-speed manual transmission, but the good news here is that all three will be available with automatic transmission choices as well. The 1.4-litre turbo petrol will be offered with a 7-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox, the 1.5-litre diesel with a 6-speed torque convertor and the 1.5-litre petrol
with a CVT. There are three drive modes to choose from – Normal, Eco and Sports – and three traction modes as well – Mud, Snow/Wet and Sand. However, there is no all-wheel-drive on offer so power is strictly sent to the front wheels.
The 1.4-litre turbo petrol is the most powerful of the lot with around 140bhp on tap and is the one that impressed us the most particularly in the automatic configuration. Compared to the diesel variant, its suspension tune seemed to lean more toward the sporty side with a relatively stiffer setup. Our time behind the wheel was very limited and since the test vehicles were pre-production prototypes we shall refrain from passing judgment on specific areas like engine performance, ride and handling.