It was only recently that the South Korean brand Kia confirmed that their first vehicle in India will indeed be sold under the name of Seltos in the country. There were some speculations that the brand may bring the SUV to the Indian market under a different name, a trend that is quite widespread. However, now that the brand has confirmed that the production version of the SP2i Concept will indeed come to the Indian market under the name of Seltos. Kia Seltos will be presented in country on June 20. Upon launch, the Seltos will be placed in the compact SUV segment and will lock horns with SUVs like the Tata Harrier and Mahindra XUV500 in the Indian market. Now there are reports in the internet claiming information about the engine options that will be offered on the Kia Seltos.
The report comes from China and makes claims about the engines that the South Korean maker will bring to that market. However, nothing is confirmed as of now as the brand has not revealed anything in official capacity. Although there are good chances that the same set of engines offered in the Chinese market will also be offered in the Indian market. The report states that the South Korean brand will offer both petrol and diesel engine options on the upcoming Seltos SUV.
The diesel engine options on the upcoming SUV could be the 2L engine rated to deliver around 150 Bhp and the petrol engine could be a 1L turbo petrol unit rated in the vicinity of 120 Bhp or a 1.4L turbo petrol unit rated for around 140 Bhp. Earlier there were reports that the Kia Seltos could come with the same engine options as the Creta in Indian market. However, the launch date of the Seltos puts it closer to the BS-VI emission norms deadline and this could mean that the company will offer compliant engines right from the start. There are hopes that the two engine options could come with automatic transmission options as well.
Although, the upcoming SUV from Kia is based on the platform that underpins the new version of its sister company Hyundai’s Creta, Kia will place the Seltos above the Hyundai offering in the market. The Seltos is supposed to be a more premium offering with loaded interiors and features list. The feature list is likely to come loaded with offerings like electric parking brake, electric sunroof, ambient light, 10.2 inch touchscreen supporting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless charging, hill hold assist, quiet mode with driver-talk mode for the Bluetooth interface, ventilated seats, driving modes, steering assist modes, adaptive cruise control, ambient lighting, idle-stop function and paddle shifters.