Kia QYI will reportedly go on sale in July 2020 after making domestic premiere in the near-production form at the 2020 Auto Expo
Kia Motors India Limited has endured tremendous success with the Seltos that went on sale only a few months ago. It certainly ate into the sales of the mid-size SUV segment-leading Hyundai Creta. The second product from Kia for the domestic customers will be the Carnival that will go up against Toyota Innova Crysta and it has larger proportions than the Japanese MPV.
It is offered in multiple seating configurations globally. The India-spec version will likely make its premiere at the 2020 Auto Expo before going on sale. At the Indian motoring show this coming February, Kia could showcase a concept version of the upcoming compact SUV, just as the SP concept that spawned the Seltos or a near-production version.
It’s just a speculation though but the sub-four-metre will be the next model to target volume sales, just like the Seltos has been doing currently. The compact SUV segment is one of the highly sought after categories in recent times and the arrival of the Hyundai Venue earlier this year has proved to be the biggest challenger for Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza.
In a similar fashion to how the second-gen Creta will be based on the Seltos, the Venue will more likely spawn Kia’s sub-four-metre five-seater SUV. The rendering posted here gives you some indication of how the Kia compact SUV might look like. While the basic silhouette remains the same as the Venue, the difference lies in the design of the front and rear portions.
It carries Kia’s signature Tiger Nose front grille in less fancy manner and adorns the split headlamp setup as in the Venue. The LED DRLs as you can see in the digital image could be offered in the top-end variants while it runs on a set of alloy wheels similar to the Kia Seltos.
Codenamed QYI, the compact SUV was spied for the first time only recently in India and is expected to boast the same powertrain lineup as the Venue. It includes a 1.0-litre turbocharged GDI three-cylinder petrol engine developing 120 PS and is mated to a seven-speed DCT automatic transmission. The interior should get a large floating touchscreen and Kia UVO Connect suite. Internet reports suggest that it will reach showrooms in July 2020.