Kia retails the Seltos at a base price of Rs 9.89 lakh, which goes up to Rs 17.34 lakh (both prices, ex-showroom) for the top-end trim
Hyundai’s sister brand Kia Motors entered the Indian market with the ‘Seltos’ SUV, and the car received an overwhelming response in the country upon its arrival. The Seltos was quick to become the highest-selling mid-size SUV in the country, and its success has continued over months.
The Seltos emerged as the best-selling SUV in the country in March 2020, beating its cousin, the newly launched 2020 Creta by 760 units. Kia managed to sell a total of 7466 units of the Seltos in the said month, which ensured that the car’s stay at the top of the SUV sales chart for the third month in succession.
Not only was the Seltos the most popular SUV last month, but it also became the fifth best-selling car in the entire country. However, the sales were halted due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, and the nation went into a 21-day lockdown starting from March 24. As a result, the entire automotive industry suffered and continues to suffer a great loss.
Kia currently offers the Seltos with three different powertrains, including a 1.5-litre diesel engine that puts out 115 PS power and 250 Nm torque. It also gets a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine that makes an identical 115 PS power, but has a lesser peak torque output of 144 Nm. Apart from these two engines, a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine rated at 140 PS/242 Nm is also offered.
| Model (YoY) | March 2020 | March 2019 |
| 1. Kia Seltos | 7,466 | – |
| 2. Hyundai Creta (-41%) | 6,706 | 11,448 |
| 3. Hyundai Venue | 6,127 | – |
| 3. Maruti Vitara Brezza (-61%) | 5,513 | 14,181 |
| 5. Tata Nexon (-53%) | 2,646 | 5,616 |
Transmission duties are handled by a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard, along with a 6-speed torque converter automatic (diesel), an IVT gearbox (NA petrol), and a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission (turbo-petrol).
In terms of equipment on offer, the Seltos is one of the most feature-packed cars in its segment. It gets a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 7-inch TFT display for the instrument cluster, a heads-up display, powered driver’s seat, electric parking brake, ventilated front seats, an electric sunroof, UVO connected car-tech, an 8-speaker audio system from Bose, ambient lighting and more.
While the Seltos has dominated the mid-size SUV segment over the past couple of months, the newly launched second-gen Hyundai Creta poses a direct threat. Apart from that, the Seltos also faces competition from the Nissan Kicks, Renault Captur, as well as the MG Hector.