After Tasting Success With Seltos In India, Kia Motors Begins Work On Electric SUV

Recently, News Nation reported that Kia Motors is planning to introduce an all-electric Seltos SUV in the Indian market. Well, the South Korean brand has already started working on the all-electric variant of the Seltos. Yes, you read it right. According to a report of Autocar India, the model has been internally codenamed SP2 EV and is being road-tested internationally. The report further suggested that the Seltos EV may get minor styling tweaks to distinguish it from the standard SUV, similar to those seen on other Kia EV models like the Niro and Soul.

The production would be limited to less than 10,000 units for the first year and for the entire world. However, the company has a plan to increase the supply later as per the demand. Kia Seltos EV is expected to come equipped with the same electric engine as the Hyundai Kona, a 204bhp motor coupled to a 64kWh battery pack.

It is to be noted that with the launch of Seltos on August 22, 2019 in India with prices starting at Rs 9.69 lakh for the base petrol, going up to Rs 15.99 lakh (all prices, showroom) for the range-topping diesel, Kia Motors marked its debut in the country on a positive note.

Kia Seltos is available in Tech Line and GT Line trims, each of which is offered in five variants - E, K, K+, X, and X+. Kia Seltos is available in 16 variants. The Tech Line gets a more premium appearance with a beige and black cabin with leather upholstery. On the other hand, the GT Line gives sportier look to the Seltos with an all-black cabin, black leather seats with red contrast stitching. The GT Line also gets a sporty looking bumper.

Kia Seltos comes with BS-VI compliant powertrain. The SUV comes with an option of a 1.4-litre Turbo GDI petrol engine that produces 138 bhp and 242 Nm of peak torque. It is mated to a 6-speed manual and a 7-speed automatic transmission. The SUV comes with a 1.5-litre diesel engine that churns out 113 bhp and 144 Nm of peak torque. It is mated to a 6-speed manual and an IVT (Intelligent continuously variable transmission) automatic transmission.

Also, Kia Seltos comes with a 1.5-litre VGT diesel that belts out 113 bhp and 250 Nm of torque. It is paired to a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission. The compact SUV is available in normal, eco and sports drive modes. It also gets different traction modes like Snow and Mud.

The mid-size SUV has the iconic tiger-nose grille with full LED headlamps on the front and vertically housed LED fog lamps. On the rear, the car will be equipped with LED taillights and dual exhaust pipes.

Along with 17-inch five-spoke dual-tone alloy wheels, the compact SUV comes equipped with roof rails and shark fin antenna. Inside the cabin, the new Kia Seltos features a 10.25-inch touchscreen audio video navigation system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.

The compact SUV also gets features like 8-inch HUD (Heads Up Display), blind-spot view monitor, EPS (Electronic Power Steering), eco coating, three-spoke multifunction steering wheel, and push-button start/stop. The compact SUV is available in eight monotones and five dual-tone colour options.

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On the safety features front, the car carries multiple airbags, ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) with EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution) and BA (Brake Assist), reverse parking sensors and camera, the compact SUV also gets VSM (Vehicle Stability Management), ESC (Electronic Stability Control), TCS (Traction Control System) and HAC (Hill-start Assist Control). There is a 360-degree camera as well.

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