Kia Seltos SUV Caught Testing Before Launch

South Korean automaker Kia Motors had revealed its first-ever offering for India, Seltos, a few days ago. The carmaker says that the SUV will hit the Indian roads on 22 August 2019 while bookings are likely to commence in July. Kia even released a TVC for Seltos with brand ambassador Tiger Shroff to build up anticipation for the new car. Now, ahead of the launch, Kia Seltos has been seen testing in Bangalore. What was interesting about this test mule was dual tone roof. It is not clear if the said model was meant for dealerships or was display model heading for some mall or airport. This is the first time in India that the Seltos has been spotted without studio lights on and the SUV looks quite good even from the rear.

As stated earlier, Seltos will be the first vehicle from the South Korean brand in India. It will be manufactured at the new factory in Anantapur of Andhra Pradesh. Although Kia Seltos shares platform with Hyundai Creta, it will be sold through separate Kia dealerships across India. Not just this, service centers will also be different.

From styling point of view, it is clear that Seltos doesn’t have any resemblance to Hyundai Creta. Even the dimensions of both SUVs are different and Seltos is longer both in terms of length and wheelbase. Even the engines on Seltos will be different from what is currently available with Hyundai Creta.

However, once the new Bharat Stage 6 (BS6) emission norms come into force, the engines on Kia Seltos will find way into Hyundai Creta. Yes, Seltos will be BS6 compliant right from launch and this means that it will be pricier than Creta by at least Rs. 50,000. We expect Kia Seltos to start from Rs. 11 lakhs for the base petrol version, going all the way up to 16-17 lakhs for the top-end diesel and GT-Line turbo petrol automatic trims. Kia Seltos will be offered with 3 engines: a 1.5 liter naturally aspirated petrol generating 115 Bhp power and 144 Nm torque, a 1.5-liter turbo diesel with 115 Bhp-250 Nm power-torque figures, and a 1.4-liter turbo petrol with 140 Bhp-244 Nm setup. All three engines will get 6-speed manual gearboxes as standard. The naturally aspirated petrol will get a CVT automatic option while the diesel engine will get a 6-speed torque converter automatic gearbox option. The turbo petrol motor will get a 7-speed twin clutch automatic variant.