Exclusive: Bollywood movie star Tiger Shroff to be Kia Seltos (SP2i) compact SUV’s brand ambassador

The Kia Seltos (SP2i) compact SUV was recently spied at an ad shoot somewhere abroad. In India, the South Korean automaker Kia is producing a TVC starring the Seltos SUV and a Bollywood movie star – Tiger Shroff. Our sources have revealed that the young, upcoming actor, Tiger Shroff is meant to give the Kia Seltos a youthful appeal.

Spyshot courtesy AutoBlog

The TVC with Tiger Shroff also indicates that the South Korean automaker would be aiming the Seltos SUV at younger buyers. What remains to be seen though is whether the Seltos name plate is carried over to India or if Kia plans to use the Tusker/Trailster badge for the new SUV. Trial production for the Kia SUV has already commenced at the newly set-up factory in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh.

While the compact SUV will be built at Andhra at a factory that has no direct connection with Hyundai’s manufacturing set-up in Chennai, the Seltos will share parts and the platform with one of the best selling SUVs of India – the Creta. In fact, the Seltos is likely to get 1.5 liter petrol and turbo diesel engine options, which will eventually make their way to the Creta when the stricter Bharat Stage 6 (BS6) emission norms are implemented. Both manual and automatic gearbox options will be offered with the Seltos, which is expected to be sold with a front wheel drive layout. However, there are a few reports that suggest an all wheel drive option on the top-end variant of the SUV.

The Kia Seltos will be officially revealed in India on the 21st of June. The launch event will happen separately, a few weeks down the line. Kia is likely to start accepting pre-bookings for the SUV after unveiling it in the middle of June. The unveil is likely to also result in Kia announcing the various trims and features that’ll be offered on the Seltos SUV.

It’s likely to be pricier than the Hyundai Creta, and also expected to offer a range of segment leading features. Kia Motors did put out a few sketches of the Seltos’ interiors a few days ago, and the sketches suggest a minimal dashboard design without any clutter. A large 10 inch+ touchscreen will be mounted atop the dashboard in a floating style that’s now common on most new cars.

Other key features revealed through the sketches of the interiors include an electric parking brake, 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. Clearly, Kia Motors wants to take aim at the likes of the Tata Harrier and Mahindra XUV500 in terms of the sheer depth of features on offer.

Edit note: There’s no official communication about this news from Kia Motors.