Produced by: Hitansh Gaur
Designed by Sahaj ajmani
Kia India has launched the new facelift of its top-selling Seltos SUV on Friday. The car was unveiled on July 4 while the bookings started on July 14.
The Korean automaker has given a major upgrade to the looks of its SUV. The new front and rear fender give a more muscular look to the car along with an all-black front fascia. The LED headlamps and DRLs extend into the front grille. The rear side of the car also gets connected LED lamps with a new faux skid plate. Kia has also increased the size of its alloy wheels to 18-inches.
The new Seltos comes with a 10.25-inch twin-display for infotainment and driver instrument cluster. It also gets an 8-inch heads-up display along with an 8-speaker Bose sound system. The car also gets a voice-controlled dual-pane panoramic sunroof. Other features include dual-zone automatic AC, air purifier, ambient lighting with LED sound mood lights and ventilated front seats.
The Korean auto giant has focused a lot on the safety as 2023 Kia Seltos Facelift is equipped with Level-2 Automatic Driving Assistance System (ADAS), which has 17 autonomous features like Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Monitoring, Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning and much more. The car also gets a tyre pressure monitoring system, hill descent control, hill assist and six airbags.
2023 Kia Seltos Facelift comes with three engine options:- The new 1.5-litre petrol turbo engine with an output of 158 bhp and 253Nm of torque. The other option in petrol is a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated (NA) engine producing 113bhp. Kia has also retained the 1.5-litre diesel engine, which churns out 114bhp.
Kia offers different options for different engines:- 1.5-litre turbo petrol: 6-speed iMT (clutchless manual) or a 7-speed DCT (Dual-Clutch Transmission) 1.5-litre NA engine: 6-speed iMT or a 6-speed CVT automatic 1.5-litre diesel: 6-speed iMT or a 6-speed Torque Converter (TC) automatic
Technically the sibling of Seltos, Creta also comes with multiple engine options – 1.5-litre MPi naturally aspirated petrol engine, 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine and 1.5-litre U2 CRDi diesel engine. Some of the major features of the Korean SUV are a panoramic sunroof, 10.25-inch infotainment system and 8-speaker premium Bose sound system. The price of Hyundai Creta starts at Rs. 10.84 lakh.
Maruti entered the compact SUV segment with a bang as they launched the Grand Vitara last year. The car comes with a 1.5-litre petrol 3-cycle Atkinson cycle engine paired to a strong hybrid engine and an eCVT transmission. The other option is a mild-hybrid 1.5-litre petrol engine paired to a 5-speed MT or 6-speed AT. The major features of Maruti’s SUV are panoramic sunroof, a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment system and the latest Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS). The ex-showroom price of Grand Vitara starts at Rs 10.70 lakh.
Toyota’s mid-size SUV is another major rival which is powered by either of the two 1.5-litre petrol engines connected to different hybrid systems – mild and strong. The mild-engine is paired with either a 5-speed manual transmission or a 6-speed TC. The strong hybrid version is available only with a CVT automatic transmission. Just like Grand Vitara, Hyryder also gets a panoramic sunroof and a 9-inch touchscreen infotainment display. Price of the Urban Cruiser Hyryder starts at Rs 15.11 lakh.
Apart from the Indian and Korean options, the Indian customers also have the option of German mid-size SUVs. The company launched the latest version of its SUV in March this year. Skoda Kushaq is available with either a 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine or a 1.5-litre TSI petrol motor. Both engines are mated with a 6-speed manual transmission but 1.5-litre motor also gets the option of 7-speed DSG transmission. The ex-showroom price of Skoda Kushaq starts at Rs 11.59 lakh.
The other German option in the market is Volkswagen Taigun which was launched in September 2021. Taigun shares its engine options with Kushaq and the two German compact SUVs also have a 5-star Global NCAP rating. Taigun and Kushaq also get the same 10-inch touchscreen infotainment display along with an electric sunroof. Taigun’s ex-showroom price begins at Rs 11.61 lakh.
With a major updated version just on the horizon, MG sold 891 units of its Astor SUV in June 2023. Morris Garages introduced its Astor SUV to the Indian market in 2021. Now, the company is giving some major changes to its compact SUV. The new variant of the SUV is expected to have Level 2 Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) with a 14-inch vertical touchscreen infotainment display. Astor is expected to retain both of its engines - 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol and a 1.3-litre turbo petrol engine.
One of the major rivals for 2023 Kia Seltos will be the upcoming Honda Elevate. The Japanese auto giant is entering the mid-size SUV segment with one of the most feature-rich options in the market. Expected to launch in September, Honda Elevate will be powered by the 1.5-litre DOHC i-VTEC petrol engine churning out 121 PS power and 145.1 Nm torque. Elevate comes with a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system and 17-inch diamond cut alloys. But unlike others, the SUV from Honda has an electric sunroof, which is smaller than the panoramic sunroof. Honda is expected to start the ex-showroom price of its new SUV at Rs 10.50 lakh.