Kia Announces New Top Model Variant of Seltos With Diesel-Automatic Combo

South Korean maker Kia will mark their entry into the Indian market when they launch their very first vehicle -- the Seltos SUV -- later this month. However, the SUV has already created ripples in the industry when it went on create a record with the number of bookings it got in the market. As of now, the maker has got 23,000 bookings for their SUV in just over a month. 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 launch date of the car has been set as 22 August and this is the date when the maker will also reveal the price of the SUV. 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. Talking of features, there are talks that the maker will launch the fully loaded automatic version of the car in the Indian market.

As of now, the South Korean maker has announced that the top model will not be an automatic gearbox unit rather the auto box will be offered with some trimmed down features. However, there has been an announcement that the maker will also offer a feature packed automatic gearbox trim in the market. The general trend among the makers has been to avoid the loaded automatic versions of their models as the addition of an automatic unit already pushes the cost of the car northwards and the trimming of features helps keep the cost in check. Breaking the trend, Kia has now announced that the Seltos will be available in the top-end trim with the automatic-diesel version. This has been possible largely due to the customer feedback which indicated that the prospective customers are ready to pay a premium for the kind of segment first features Kia is offering. It is to Kia's credit that the maker responded so quickly to the demands of the customers. Kia announced that they are now officially taking the bookings for the top-end GT Line diesel-automatic version.

Before this the maker was only offering the GT Line trim of Seltos with the petrol engine but now the company has announced that the variant will also come with a diesel-automatic gearbox combo. Not to mention that the trim will also be loaded with a lot of features. If Kia manages to get the price of the variant just right, it could prove to be a huge disruptor in the segment that already has good offerings like the Tata Harrier and Jeep Compass. 

Talking of features, 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.