Kia Seltos SUV’s 3 Automatic Gearbox Options; Explained

South Korean company Kia is all set to make a splash in the Indian market and the brand recently revealed their first SUV -- the Seltos -- in the Indian market. A total of 3 engine options will be available with the Kia Seltos, one out of which will be a diesel option and the rest two will be petrol units. Apart from the range of engine options, the brand will also offer a lot of segment first features that will surely set it apart in a segment that is fast growing competitive.

Among the most unique feature is the presence of a high-end Bose tuned speaker setup that is also paired with the ambient mood lighting of the cabin. There is also a large 10.25 inch infotainment system present in the cabin that comes with support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Another unique feature of the Seltos will be presence of a Head-Up Display unit that will display vital information for the driver.  

Coming back to the engine and transmission offerings of the SUV, the petrol units will be a 1.5L naturally aspirated unit rated to deliver 113 Bhp and 138 Nm. The next option in the petrol line-up will be a 1.4L turbo petrol unit rated to deliver 138 Bhp and 242 Nm. Moving on to the diesel option, the diesel unit will be a 1.5L turbo unit rated to deliver 113 Bhp and 250 Nm.

Now talking of the transmission options that the South Korean maker will offer with the Seltos in India, there will be a total of 4 options to choose from. Out of these 4 options 3 gearboxes will be automatic units and a lone manual gearbox option. Among the automatic options, the first automatic gearbox option that will be offered with the 1.5L petrol unit will be CVT automatic unit. The second option 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. Let’s take a look at the different automatic options of the Kia Seltos and find out what each has to offer.

7-speed Dual Clutc​h Transmission

Engine: 1.4L Turbo petrol

This is one feature that was earlier seen only on high end cars. However, recently a lot of VW and Skoda cars and even the Hyundai Venue have started offering the dual clutch transmission. As the name suggests this automatic transmission comes with two clutches and the gearshifts are very quick as well as precise. This makes the performance of the car better as the gear shifts are much quicker.

Conventional Torq​ue Converter

Engine: 1.5L Turbo diesel

Torque converter gearboxes are the oldest kind of transmissions that are still being offered on cars today. Torque converter gearboxes have a planetary design gear system with turbine and impeller. However, the complex mechanism involved leads to loss of energy that brings down the mileage of the car but this transmission still offers better driving experience than AMT units.

Intelligent Variable Transmission (CVT)

Engine: 1.5L petrol

The company has branded the CVT gearbox as IVT. CVT has no gears at all and instead uses discs for linear conversion of torque. This lack of gears and continuous torque conversion leads to a smoother experience. A minor downside of the CVT gearbox is the rubber-band effect during driving that is caused due to lag in changing gears.