Kia Seltos facelift debuts in India

Kia India has unveiled the Seltos facelift and with it, it has added many features as well as reintroduced the turbo-petrol engine. Bookings for the Seltos facelift will open on July 14.

The Seltos was launched in India in August 2019 and the midlife refresh has arrived after almost four years. However, the Seltos received a facelift globally in 2022. Kia mentioned that it sold more than five lakh Seltos units since midisize SUVs launch. 

Kia Seltos facelift exterior design

Compared to the outgoing model, the Seltos facelift gets a slightly larger bumper, body-coloured inserts in the fog lamp housing, redesigned headlights with new LED daytime running lamps that extend into the grille and the four-block design for the fog lamps. 

In profile, the biggest change in the Seltos is the new 18-inch, dual-tone alloy wheels that are also used on the international-spec model. At the back, the Seltos facelift gets new inverted L-shaped tail-lights (seen on many new Kia models) that are connected by an LED light bar. The Seltos also gets sequential turn indicators. The reverse light has now moved from the tail-light housing to the redesigned bumper. The Seltos facelift also gets a refreshed tail gate design with fewer chrome bits than the outgoing model. 

The Seltos facelift also gets a new colour – Pewter Olive – and will be offered with eight other solid colours and two dual tone colours. The turbo-petrol trims will also get dual exhausts tips, and the GT Line and X Line will get a slightly different body kit than the Tech Line trims. 

Kia Seltos facelift interior and features

Inside, the Seltos facelift now gets a dual screen set-up with two 10.25-inch displays where one is the digital instruments clusters and other is the infotainment touchscreen. The centre console has also been refreshed as it now gets thinner AC vents and a redesigned panel for HVAC and audio controls. The X Line trim will get a new sage green colour for the interior, while the GT Line variants will get a new black and white interior theme.

Talking about features, the Seltos facelift gets dual-zone climate control, panoramic sunroof, an 8-inch heads-up display, electronic parking brake and Bose-tuned 8-speaker system with sound mood lamps. Safety features inlude 17 ADAS functions like forward collision warning assist, blind spot collision warning, lane keep assist as well as six airbags as standard, tyre pressure monitoring system, ESC and Hill Assist Control. 

Kia Seltos facelift powertrains

Under the hood, the Seltos facelift will continue with the 115hp, 144Nm, 1.5-litre petrol engine and a 115hp, 250Nm, 1.5-litre turbo-diesel engine. The former will get a 6-speed manual or a CVT, while the latter will be offered with a 6-speed iMT and a 6-speed automatic gearbox. 

Kia has reintroduced a turbo-petrol engine with the Seltos facelift, where a 1.5-litre unit that replaces the older 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine that was discontinued in March 2023 as it did not meet BS6 Phase 2 emissions norms. The new 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine makes 160hp and 253Nm of torque, which is 20hp and 10Nm more than the previous turbo-petrol engine. The new engine will be mated to a 6-speed iMT or a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. 

Kia Seltos facelift launch timeline and rivals

The Seltos facelift will rival the Hyundai Creta, Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder, MG Astor, Volkswagen Taigun, Skoda Kushaq and the upcoming Honda Elevate and Citroen C3 Aircross. 

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