South Korean maker Kia is about a week away from launching their very first vehicle – the Seltos SUV – in the Indian market. The vehicle has already been unveiled and the bookings for the SUV are underway. Now the brand has stated that the latest offering from the company has managed to amass huge bookings of 23,000 units in just under 20 days of pre-bookings. Upon launch, the Kia Seltos will take on the likes of Hyundai Creta, Renault Duster, Maruti S-Cross, Nissan Kicks and the Renault Captur in the Indian market. The compact SUV will likely come in as a feature loaded and premium proposition in the compact SUV segment as it has markedly lesser space than other rivals like the Mahindra XUV500, Tata Harrier and MG Hector. However, it does give the other rivals a run for their money in the field of features. However, all will depend on the price point at which the South Korean maker will launch their SUV in the market, something that will be revealed in the launch event itself.
Coming to the engine and transmission offerings of the SUV, there will be 2 petrol units and a diesel unit on offer and a total of 4 options in the transmission department. Among the automatic options, the first option that will be offered with the 1.5L petrol unit will be CVT automatic unit. The second will be a 7-speed twin clutch automatic gearbox that will be offered with the 1.4L turbo petrol model. Lastly, the third automatic option will be a 6 speed torque converter automatic unit that will be offered with the diesel engine. The manual gearbox will be standard on all trims. All engines on the Seltos will also come with BS-VI compliance from day one.
The top models in Kia Seltos will come with a 10.25 touch infotainment system and ambient mood light system which also happens to be multicolour and connected to the sound system of the cabin. Speaking of the sound system, Kia has gone ahead and included a 400W sound system tuned by Bose in the cabin of Seltos. The sound system also comes connected with the acceleration on the car and modulates the sound depending on the speed of the car.
Apart from the sound and ambient lighting system, the Seltos also comes with a Heads-Up Display unit, something that any affordable car is offering for the first time in India. The HUD unit will display vital information for the driver which will ensure minimum line-of-sight disturbances for the driver. Apart from the HUD unit, the Seltos will also come with a 360-degree camera that will give a bird’s eye view of the vehicle’s surroundings.