Skip to main content

Kia’s 2020 Seltos has a nightclub mode that turns your commute into a party

Automakers aren’t abandoning the small, budget-friendly car segment; they’re simply putting their cheapest models on stilts and consequently making them a little bit more expensive. Kia followed the path blazed by sister company Hyundai when it unveiled a model named Seltos that slots at the very bottom of its crossover and SUV lineup. The model made its official debut in India, and it’s due out globally by the end of 2019.

Kia explained it designed the Seltos for young, tech-savvy buyers. It wears a rugged-looking front end characterized by a tall, upright grille flanked by thin lights that stretch into the hood. It shares a handful of key styling cues with existing members of the Kia portfolio without completely copying another car. It’s not a bigger Soul, or a Telluride that shrank in the wash.

The Seltos is relatively small and cheap, but it’s not spartan. Because it’s openly aimed at Millennials, it offers a long list of standard and optional tech features including a 10.25-inch touchscreen with a split-screen function for the infotainment system, a head-up display, as well as a feature Kia calls Sound Mood lighting. It’s an ambient lighting system that turns the cabin into a nightclub on wheels — minus the burly security guards and the overpriced drinks– by pulsing to the beat of the music playing from the stereo. The passengers have eight lighting colors and six themes to choose from.

When the party is over, the UVO app lets users remotely access information about the Seltos (like diagnostic data), and about the trips they’ve taken recently. It’s compatible with Apple and Android devices.

Drivers will likely need an internet-connected infotainment system to explain the name Seltos to their passengers. It traces its roots to Greece — Celtos is the son of Hercules in Greek mythology. Kia replaced the c with an s to underline the crossover’s speed and sportiness, though there’s little indication the Seltos will be a true high-performance machine — it’s not going to go head-to-head with a Porsche Cayenne Coupe, but we’re hoping it will be more dynamic to drive than other cars in its competitive set.

Kia hasn’t published information about the American-spec Seltos; we don’t even know if the model is coming to the United States. Globally, it will be available with a turbocharged, 1.6-liter four-cylinder rated at 177 horsepower, a naturally aspirated, 2.0-liter with 149 hp on tap, and a 136-hp, 1.6-liter turbodiesel. All three engines will shift through an automatic transmission, but Kia hasn’t revealed whether the Seltos will be front-wheel drive-only, or if some variants will be available with all-wheel drive.

Kia will manufacture the Seltos in India and in its home country of South Korea. The company clearly called the Seltos a global model, but it hasn’t confirmed plans to sell it in the United States yet. There is “nothing to confirm for the U.S. market at this time,” a company representative told Digital Trends.

Updated June 20, 2019: Added statement from Kia.

Editors' Recommendations

Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
Mercedes to trial humanoid robots for ‘low-skill, repetitive, demanding’ jobs
Apptronik's Apollo robot at work in an auto plant.

Humanoid robots have been coming on leaps and bounds in recent years, and some major companies are starting to take note.

Mercedes-Benz, for example, has just entered into an agreement with Texas-based robotics specialist Apptronik to collaborate on identifying applications for highly advanced robots that the auto giant could deploy. The deal will involve a trial that will see Apptronik's Apollo humanoid robot work alongside Mercedes' human workers on the factory floor.

Read more
Hyundai Ioniq 9: price, release date, range, and more
Hyundai Ioniq 9 Front

Hyundai has been at the forefront of EV development for a while now, largely thanks to the success of the crossover-sized Hyundai Ioniq 5. But the company is readying another new EV that could be even more popular than the Ioniq 5 -- or at least more desirable in the U.S., the land of big cars.

The upcoming Ioniq 9, previously set to be called the Ioniq 7, will be Hyundai's take on an electric SUV. It will be to Hyundai what the Kia EV9 is to Kia. It will have three rows and carry over design elements from the Ioniq 5.

Read more
Audi Q6 e-tron ushers in the automaker’s next EV phase
2025 Audi Q6 e-tron front three quarter view.

Audi doesn’t get enough credit for getting luxury car buyers comfortable with EVs. While Tesla took care of the image-conscious types, the German brand unveiled its e-tron electric SUV in 2018 with the tagline “electric has gone Audi” in hopes of getting loyal customers excited about (or, at least, acclimated to) electric cars by pitching the e-tron as an Audi first and an EV second.

The e-tron wasn’t a one-off, either. It’s since evolved into the Q8 e-tron and has been joined by the sporty e-tron GT and entry-level Q4 e-tron. So, while some car brands are only just introducing their first electric models, Audi is ready for round two.

Read more