NEW DELHI: Korean carmaker Kia has been in the Indian car market for just under 2 years and in that short time has hit many important milestones while being in some of the most competitive car segments. 2 of its 3 cars, the Seltos and Sonet have raked in huge numbers since they were launched in 2019 and 2020, respectively. That has ensured that Kia has become the fastest auto manufacturer in India to hit the sales milestone of 2.5 lakh cars. Recently a new identity of the brand was revealed to the world and just a few days ago the 2021 models of the Seltos and Sonet were launched which apart from the new company logo have come with many new features.
KIA SELTOS
The refreshed model of Seltos gets 17 new features. The most notable ones being paddle shifters for automatic variants and the introduction of Intelligent manual transmission or iMT which has been seen for the first time in the segment. This tech will be available on the 1.5 Petrol HTK+ variant of the car while thepaddle shifters will be offered in the GTX+ 1.5D 6AT and 1.4T-GDI 7DCT variants in the refreshed Seltos. Another segment first feature on the SUV is the smart pure air purifier with ‘virus and bacteria’ protectionwhich effectively cleans the air and kills bacteria and viruses to address the need of the hour.
The vehicle also hosts many class leading features including remote engine start in manual transmission which enables the customers to remotely start the engine with their smart keys, wireless phone projection to help the customers to project their phone screens on the car’s touchscreen andover the air (OTA) map updates. There is also an introduction of additional voice commands on the brand’s UVO connected car system including sunroof open & close and driver window control which adds to the overall convenience.
The new-age iMT technology seen earlier on the Sonet and Hyundai Venue offers fatigue-free driving thanks to the absence of a clutch pedal and still gives the same driver control as a manual transmission. The iMT variant of the refreshed Seltos comes with a sunroof, beige and black interiors and fully automatic air conditioner with silver garnish. Kia has also extended safety features like electronic stability control, vehicle stability management, brake assist and hill assist control features to lower variants of the Seltos.
The company has also introduced a new affordable turbo variant on the car – the 1.4T-GDI Petrol GTX (O).The car also gets are multiple new seat material and colour options to choose from. The company has introduced the refreshed Seltos at a starting price of Rs. 9.95 lakh which goes up to Rs. 17.65 lakh (ex-showroom, pan-India) for the top-of-the-line diesel automatic. The new iMT version is priced at Rs. 12.19 lakh.
KIA SONET
The refreshed edition of Sonet has been updated with 10 new enhancements incuding first-in-segment features like rear door sunshade curtains and voice command for sunroof open & close. Here too the paddle shifters have been introduced but unlike the Seltos, all the automatic variants of the car get the feature. So, you can now expect a sportier and more responsive driving experience on the SUV. For that the car also gets Multi drive and traction modes. Along with that an electric sunroof, smart key with push button start, remote engine start, chrome door handles and crystal cut alloys with silver wheel caps have now been extended to the lower variants of the car.
On refreshed Sonet, the most popular HTX trim will now be available with automatic options both with turbo petroland diesel. And just like the Seltos even the lower variants of the Sonet get safety features like Electronic Stability Contro, Vehicle Stability Management, Brake Assist and Hill Assist Control. The starting price of the Sonet remains the same atRs. 6.79 lakh while the most expensive Diesel automatic is priced at Rs. 13.25 lakh (all prices ex-showroom, pan-India).