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2020 Kia Seltos revealed, here October this year

Kia has officially revealed the exterior of its all-new Seltos SUV, its first global entrant into the burgeoning compact crossover market.


As previewed by an undisguised pre-production vehicle a few weeks ago, the exterior design of the new Seltos is heavily influenced by the SP and SP Signature concepts, signalling a new design direction for the Korean brand’s SUV line-up.

Up front is a long bonnet that extends into an upright and imposing fascia, with a new interpretation of Kia’s ‘tiger nose’ grille that blends with the headlights.

The front light units employ a stacked design, with the LED main beam (likely reserved for higher models) up top and the LED indicators below, with 3D multi-layer effects for the turn signals.

LED technology has also been used for the front and rear fog-lights, along with the tail-lights.

A range of alloy wheel designs and sizes will be available, ranging from 16 inches to 18 inches in diameter. Tyre sizes include 205/60 R16, 215/55 R17, and 235/45 R18.

No official images of the interior have been released as yet (we have a sketch below), though Kia is touting the “high-quality, futuristic materials” aimed at young and tech-savvy buyers.

Available features include a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, ambient interior lighting with 3D-effect patterns, along with an 8.0-inch colour head-up display. It’s unclear whether the new 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster from the Euro-market XCeed will be available.

The Seltos will also be offered with an eight-speaker Bose sound system depending on grade.

In terms of motivation, the Seltos will be offered globally with a range of petrol and diesel motors depending on market, three in total.

Kia Australia has confirmed local models will get a 110kW 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine running the Atkinson cycle (used in overseas versions of the Cerato) paired with a CVT automatic driving the front wheels.

The other option for Australian buyers will be a 130kW 1.6-litre T-GDi turbocharged petrol mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic and all-wheel drive.

Each powertrain offers three driving modes – Normal, Eco, and Sport – each tailoring the throttle response and steering accordingly to suit driver tastes.

From a technology perspective, a suite of active safety and driver assist features will be available – though Kia is yet to detail exactly what they all are.

Given the Seltos was revealed in India today, and a version of it will be built there for that market, features like AEB and adaptive cruise control aren’t as much of a priority compared to markets like Australia and Europe, and probably explains why they haven’t been detailed yet.

The Seltos will definitely have, however, six airbags, and your usual array of electronic aids like ABS, traction control, brakeforce assist, hill-start assist, along with front and rear parking sensors.

Expect autonomous emergency braking and lane keep assist to be fitted as standard to Australian models, given they’re a requirement to achieve a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Australia

Sales of the all-new Kia Seltos are scheduled to commence in Australia before the end of the year, with local versions to be produced at the company’s plant in Gwangju, South Korea.

Other Kia models assembled at this facility include the larger Sportage SUV, along with the boxy Soul crossover.

Further details for Australian-bound versions will be revealed in the coming months, though pricing should kick off around $25,000 before on-road costs.

The local division has previously indicated we can expect the Seltos to launch around September/October.

 

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