The Kia Seltos is available in three different body styles globally, namely SP (sold in developed markets; SP2c (sold in China), and; SP2i (available in the Indian market)
The Seltos marked the entry of Kia Motors in the Indian market in August last year, and the car quickly went on to become a popular choice among mid-size SUV buyers. The Seltos was able to dethrone the best-selling car in the segment i.e. the previous-gen Hyundai Creta without any trouble, thanks to the former’s multiple powertrains, as well as its long feature list.
The Seltos is one of the most tech-laden cars available in the mid-size SUV segment as of now, but what if we told you there’s a bigger and better version of the car sold in our neighbouring country? Yes, that’s true, the Seltos is retailed as the ‘KX3’ in the Chinese market, and the latter is bigger than the India-spec Seltos, while also comes packed with a few additional features.
Talking about its size, the KX3 measures 4,375 mm in length, 1,800 mm in width, stands 1,675 mm tall and has a 2,650 mm long wheelbase. That makes it 30 mm longer than the India-spec Seltos, while it also has a 20 mm longer wheelbase compared to the Kia mid-size SUV sold in the Indian market.
In addition to the bigger size, the China-spec KX3 also gets two premium features over the Seltos i.e. adaptive cruise control, and a panoramic sunroof. It should be noted that the India-spec Seltos does come with a conventional cruise control system, and an electric sunroof.
The Kia KX3 is only offered with a single 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine (115 PS/144 Nm) in the Chinese market. On the other hand, Kia Motors offers two other additional powertrains – a 1.5-litre oil burner rated at 115 PS/250 Nm and a 1.4-litre T-GDi turbocharged petrol engine that produces 140 PS of maximum power, along with 242 Nm of peak torque.
Talking about the India-spec model, Kia Motors India recently rejigged the Seltos’ variants and added a few new features to the mid-size SUV. This has also resulted in a price hike across many variants, and the discontinuation of the GTK 1.4 MT and GTX 1.4 DCT trims. As of now, Kia retails the Seltos in India at a starting price of Rs 9.89 lakh, which goes up to Rs 17.29 lakh (both prices, ex-showroom).