With the facelift, the Kia Seltos has become one of the most equipped offerings in its segment, thus climbing up the price ladder by a big margin over its rivals
Corporate News, 22 July 2023, The Kia Seltos facelift has been launched in India, and is being offered in three broad variant lines: Tech (HT) Line, GT Line and X-Line. With the midlife refresh, the compact SUV has become more premium and is the most powerful model in its segment (thanks to the new turbo-petrol engine). Let’s see how the prices of Kia’s updated compact SUV compare against its segment rivals:
The Kia Seltos facelift’s starting price is on par with those of its prime rivals. While it’s only the Maruti Grand Vitara whose starting price undercuts that of the new Seltos, the Skoda Kushaq-Volkswagen Taigun duo has the highest entry point of over Rs 11.50 lakh. Five of the seven compact SUVs mentioned above – save for the German duo – get a 1.5-litre petrol engine, with both manual and automatic options. 2023 Kia Seltos turbo-petrol engine The facelifted Kia Seltos is the only compact SUV to provide an option of a 6-speed iMT (clutchless manual) with its new 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine. At 160PS/253Nm, the new Seltos is the most powerful and torquiest SUV in its class. Volkswagen Taigun It’s only the Skoda Kushaq and Volkswagen Taigun that get a 6-speed manual gearbox option with both their 1-litre and 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engines. If it’s a CNG powertrain that you desire, your options are limited to the Maruti and Toyota SUVs in this segment. They are also the only SUVs here to come with the option of an all-wheel drivetrain (AWD) with their top-spec manual variants. At Rs 18.29 lakh, the new Seltos has one of the costliest range-topping petrol-manual variants on offer thanks to the premium features such as a 10.25-inch digital driver display, 8-way powered driver seat and seat ventilation. MG Astor It is only the MG Astor and the Grand Vitara-Hyryder duo here that get a 5-speed manual transmission with the petrol engine unlike other SUVs that come with a 6-speed manual gearbox.
The facelifted Seltos’s automatic range now has the highest entry-point in its segment by up to Rs 3 lakh. It’s the automatic variants of the Maruti Grand Vitara, Toyota Hyryder and MG Astor that are most affordable, with their starting price falling under Rs 14 lakh. Among all the SUVs here, it’s only the Seltos, Creta and Astor that get a CVT option (an 8-step unit is offered with the MG SUV). Maruti Grand Vitara The two pairs of the Grand Vitara-Hyryder and Kushaq-Taigun come with a 6-speed torque converter automatic, although it’s limited to the smaller 1-litre turbo-petrol unit of the German SUVs. Kia, Skoda and Volkswagen are the only carmakers here to provide a 7-speed DCT gearbox with their 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engines. Although MG’s turbo-petrol engine is the smallest here (1.3-litre unit), it only comes with a 6-speed automatic gearbox option. The Seltos has the costliest automatic variants here in the form of the GTX+ and X-Line priced at Rs 19.79 lakh and Rs 19.99 lakh, respectively. But for that premium, you get advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), which is otherwise only available with the MG Astor’s Savvy variants which are more affordable by up to Rs 3 lakh. Hyundai Creta The Hyundai Creta, for now, doesn’t get a choice of the turbo unit seen on the facelifted Seltos but it will be on offer with the launch of the Creta facelift expected next year.
