All-New Kia Seltos Spied In India For the First Time [Video]

Kia India is preparing to launch the all-new Seltos in the country. The vehicle will come with a lot of notable changes both over and under the skin. Thought of as a stronger successor to the SUV that’s been on sale since 2019, the new Seltos has now been spotted testing for the first time. The camouflaged mule says little about the design details. What we know however, is that the new SUV will undergo major restyling even while staying identical in dimensions.

2025 Kia Seltos: What To Expect?

The new Seltos will have major restyling gone into it. It will borrow a lot of its design cues from the EV5 and other newer KIA cars. The latest spy shots are from India, and come weeks after the SUV was spotted testing in Korea. Interestingly, the two pictures look identical, indicating the India-spec could stand close to the Korean in design.

KIA manufactures Seltos locally, in countries like India, S. Korea, China etc- a departure from a few other models which are produced only in Seol.

The manufacturer is expected to base the new Seltos on the same platform (Hyundai-KIA K2) as the present model. The K2, if you’d remember, is derived from the PB and GB platforms, and is quite flexible. The dimensions of the new SUV are expected to be similar to the outgoing model, despite the design being all-new. There are, however, rumours suggesting slight lengthening of the body and the possibility of more room inside.

So, what could the new model look like? Speculations suggest that it could come with more angular cuts, sharper headlamp design, connected LEDs up front, a new grille design, and fresh-looking bumpers. At the rear, expect connected tail lamps with angular C-shaped elements- like what you see on the EV5. While a new set of wheels is also expected, it remains to be seen if the side profile would have other notable design deviations.

The new SUV will have a new cabin design and layout. It will use more upmarket materials, and trims and have a dual-tone colourway. Kia is also likely to offer a new multi-layered dashboard design, a two-spoke steering wheel and more premium materials inside.

No detail of the powertrains to be expected are out yet. It is, however, rumoured that KIA would introduce a wide range of powertrains on the new model. There will be turbocharged petrol and diesel engines, along with a new Petrol-hybrid joining later in time. Kia India had previously hinted at the possible introduction of petrol hybrids here.

The outgoing Seltos offers three engine choices- a 1.5 naturally aspirated petrol, 1.5 turbocharged petrol and 1.5 diesel. The same turbo petrol and diesel engines could be carried forward.

Kia Seltos Hybrid In The Works?

The strong hybrid powertrain will likely have a bigger 1.6L petrol engine paired with an electric motor. This could be identical to the hybrid setup found in Kia Niro, sold abroad. It could deliver a combined output of 141 bhp and 265 Nm on the Seltos. A 6-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission could be offered with this engine. Whether or not this powertrain would come with a manual transmission remains to be seen. Rumours suggest it to return fuel efficiency figures of 18.1-19.8 kmpl.

Seltos To Get AWD?

Though there are reports suggesting the possibility of Kia rolling out an electronic AWD (e-AWD) system on the new Seltos, it would be primarily for the European markets and would hardly make it to the Indian shores. In many global markets, even the current generation of the SUV is offered with AWD.

Seltos EV Coming?

We know that Hyundai is working on a Creta EV for India, and KIA readying an all-electric version of the Carens likely with the same underpinnings. It remains a possibility that the Korean manufacturer will build a Seltos EV sometime in the future. No word on this is out yet.

Spy picture sources: Korea, India