Kia Seltos SUV with dual tone roof spied ahead of launch

South Korean automaker Kia Motors unveiled the Seltos SUV in India a few days back. The SUV will be launched on the 22nd of August, 2019, and bookings for the same are likely to commence sometime next month. Kia has even released a TVC for the Seltos starring Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff to build up anticipation for the hot, new SUV. Ahead of the launch, Kia Seltos SUVs with dual tone roofs were spied in Bangalore, India. It’s not clear if these SUVs are meant for dealerships, or if they’re display models heading for high footfall areas such as malls and airports. 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.

Images courtesy Kia Seltos Club

The Kia Seltos will be the first vehicle from the South Korean brand for the Indian market. It will be built at a new factory that is already up and running at Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. Although the Kia Seltos shares its platform with the Hyundai Creta – India’s best selling 4 meter+ compact SUV, it’ll be sold through separate Kia dealerships across India. Service centers will also be different.

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

However, once Bharat Stage 6 (BS6) emission norms come into force, the Kia Seltos’ engines will find their way into the engine bay of the Hyundai Creta. That’s right, the Seltos will be BS6 compliant right from launch, and this means that it’s likely to be pricier than the Creta by at least Rs. 50,000, if not more. We expect the Kia Seltos’ pricing to start from around 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. The Kia Seltos will be offered with 3 engines: a 1.5 liter naturally aspirated petrol with 115 Bhp-144 Nm, a 1.5 liter turbo diesel with 115 Bhp-250 Nm and a 1.4 liter turbo petrol with 140 Bhp-244 Nm. 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.