[NGM]

Originally Posted by rapid_fire

I was trying to digest the KIA pricing strategy. I was initially thinking 15.99 for BS6 diesel Auto is VFM, but after anouncing the prices, the lower varients make the top end look like rip off. The difference between on road prices of HTK+ diesel Auto and HTX + auto is almost 4 lacks in Kochi ! Thats just too much of money for the gimmicks.

Exactly. This was my first question when I saw the pricing especially on diesel automatic. Lot of gimmicks which create a perception among customers that it provides value. There could be few features which adds value for a customer in HTX+ like Auto AC, ventilated seats if you prioritize comfort, better alloys or infotainment. But whether to spend 4 Lakh on that is the question.

[hydraulicsteer]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

For those considering base HTE Diesel, I feel the newly re-launched Kicks XE Diesel is a far better value for 10K less. Kicks XE Diesel is priced at 9.89 lakhs and offers a more mature ride/handling package and a gutsy engine

But what is concerning is the terrible sales number for Kicks and Nissan’s future in India. If kicks goes out of production or Nissan decides to quit Indian retail (both scenarios are almost inevitable now) living with a Kicks will be quiet a nightmare. Spare parts availability especially the body trims will be non existent, resale will be near to zero. All in all a very difficult exit for an owner.
Kia yes they are new, with an unknown service experience but that Hyundai link is a big relief to the mind. Hyundai has now rooted itself well in India, and understands the dynamics. Also the showroom experience(staff semblance, customer treatment etc)of a Kia is at present far richer than a Hyundai. All in all Kia is looking promising from all angles.

Also i believe the pricing is spot on when you look closely at what is available in the market at present.
My VFM picks will be

1. HTK+ 1.5 NA Petrol (only if the motor is reasonably punchy which only a TD will tell which is not available at present. I reved the motor in the showroom and it is very refined, silent and vibration less)

2. HTK+ 1.5 Diesel for that 250 nm, 0 turbo lag motor.

3 GTK 1.4 TGDI. It just shoots at around 1900 rpm. Has lots of lag in lower RPMs. Will be a very good Highway mill.

Wishing all the success to KIA. Cheers.

[Rigid Rotor]

I say chaps, the pricing and variants details appear to have come up on the Kia site.

It includes the diesel and turbo-petrol autos in GTX+ trim.

What appears funny is that the manual and the auto in GTX+ are all priced at 15.99 L.

I suppose its a typo and will get corrected soon.

Anyone has the technical explanation for differences in Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and Vehicle Stability Management (VSM)? To the layperson, it appears the same, however, its been listed as two different features.

[gsratta]

I just checked the Kia website, it appears that none of the diesel versions seem to have six airbags, I may be wrong, but if it is really that way, it is a real downer.. I would rather prefer safety over these gimmicks.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by gsratta

I just checked the Kia website, it appears that none of the diesel versions seem to have six airbags, I may be wrong, but if it is really that way, it is a real downer.. I would rather prefer safety over these gimmicks.

You are not wrong. The Diesel only gets 2 airbags across all variants and ranges.

There's no 6 airbag diesel Seltos.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

You are not wrong. The Diesel only gets 2 airbags across all variants and ranges.

There's no 6 airbag diesel Seltos.

The brochure mentions a 1.5 D AT variant for the GTX+ trim level. I believe this is the much talked about Diesel AT GTX+ model which KIA intentionally did not talk about at the launch in order to not sound over priced ( although it reflects poorly on the brand's ethics if you ask me). Would this variant probably be getting 6 airbags?

I really feel Ecosport offers such tremendous VFM. I picked mine at 11L OTR 2 years back. DCT, 1.5L engine, 6 airbags and solid built quality.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

The brochure mentions a 1.5 D AT variant for the GTX+ trim level. I believe this is the much talked about Diesel AT GTX+ model which KIA intentionally did not talk about at the launch in order to not sound over priced ( although it reflects poorly on the brand's ethics if you ask me). Would this variant probably be getting 6 airbags?

I really feel Ecosport offers such tremendous VFM. I picked mine at 11L OTR 2 years back. DCT, 1.5L engine, 6 airbags and solid built quality.

The brochure does mention GTX+ trim in Diesel but the 6 airbags are there in GTX 1.4 Automatic already.

Kia team during the media drive did also confirm that the diesel would not get 6 airbags though we didn't specifically ask on the GTX+ diesel AT.

True about the Ecosport. I paid 11.5L OTR in Bangalore when it was launched in 2013 for the diesel Titanium+. While it does have a few features missing vs the newer cars, the solid feel is something no car in this segment has.

As Jaggu mentioned, the Seltos is 2x teh price but didn't feel as solid as the Ford.

I was seriously looking at Seltos and even took dad to showroom. The need was for an automatic. The Seltos was impressive but 22L for the top end GTX+ 7DCT estimated on road Bangalore is difficult to justify.

The dynamics and the solid feel of the Ford are really holding me back.

[sharninder]

Same here. I paid 9.2 lakhs OTR for the titanium Diesel ecosport in 2013 and have been looking for a decent upgrade since the last year or more and haven't found any car that comes close. I'm *this* close to just getting the new Ecosport AT and be done with it but the lure of having a new car is stopping me. After the Seltos launch I'm even more confused now. I really don't think this car is worth anything more than 15 lakh OTR regardless of what the competition is selling for.

[swiftdiesel]

Originally Posted by JishD

Does anyone know whether the 1.5 diesel is a downsized version of the 1.6 crdi or an upsized version of the 1.4 ? The 1.4 is a weak engine for a car of this size/weight.

It's a downsized version of the 1.6. On the Seltos, this 1.5 engine will carry a VGT. Another version of this engine with a FGT will be launched soon which will replace the 1.4. So, basically the 1.5 will replace the 1.4 and 1.6.

[motorworks]

The more I look at prices of Cars in the recent times, i feel that for a customer upgrading from one segment to the other is now almost becoming impossible! And I think its the C- Segment SUV one that is almost astonishing to look at! How can a car start at as low as 11-12 lakhs on road and go all the way up to 20 for essentially the same one? Sure there are additional features and equipment, but I fail to understand such a wide price band, especially for cars that is supposed to be for the mass segments. And its not just the Seltos, its the Creta, the City and a lot of others as well.

In 2012, I bought a Rapid mid variant for 10.5 lakhs on road. And in 2018 I had to shell out 15.2 lakhs on road for a SX Diesel Creta with marginally better equipment. And the same Creta SX 1.6 costs 17.2 lakhs now!

What this means is that the next time I go out to buy a car in another 4 years, I would be looking at a 23-24 lakhs on road price for a car similar to the Creta and the Seltos.

So there is no upgrade, you just keep swapping in the same segments by paying more every year! I wish manufacturers bring down the cost they add on for safety equipment such as 6 airbags and the likes. If 2 airbags can be added in a budget hatchback at almost no cost differential these days, why cannot 4 more be added to a 15lakh plus car?

[coolkurt]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

The brochure mentions a 1.5 D AT variant for the GTX+ trim level. I believe this is the much talked about Diesel AT GTX+ model which KIA intentionally did not talk about at the launch in order to not sound over priced ( although it reflects poorly on the brand's ethics if you ask me). Would this variant probably be getting 6 airbags?
.

If I was to compare it with the hector, I'd say that MG has done a better job in offering a safer product with the base variant getting 2 airbags and the ones above getting 4 and 6 airbags respectively with the hill assist, traction control , rear disc brakes etc coming as standard across all variants. The Fiat 2.0 is a proven engine too. I'm really torn between the two and I had hoped pricing would be the deciding factor but Kia's mid and top level trims seem way overpriced especially if we take MG's pricing into consideration.

MG is also offering a 5 year warranty whereas Kia is giving just 3. Is Kia that confident?

[octane_100]

Does anybody have prices for models during the 90s and early 2000s? I don't have data but from memory, it feels like the car prices were far more stable during that period. You could upgrade to the next segment within 3-4 years by shelling out 50-60% more than what you had paid for your last purchase. But now, it looks like almost more than 100%. It may be crude figures, but the point I want to convey is prices are increasing at a much higher rate than before.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by octane_100

Does anybody have prices for models during the 90s and early 2000s? I don't have data but from memory, it feels like the car prices were far more stable during that period. You could upgrade to the next segment within 3-4 years by shelling out 50-60% more than what you had paid for your last purchase. But now, it looks like almost more than 100%. It may be crude figures, but the point I want to convey is prices are increasing at a much higher rate than before.

Yeah you are right. Although the quality & feature list of the products back then wasn't as rich as today as we moved up the segment so the pricing couldn't take to many long leaps across segments.

Also - this is a reflection of the buying power of the population & overall liquid money available in hands that people are willing to throw away into a constantly depreciating asset. The time you mentioned was when people considered car as a luxury and would rather invest the money in gold.

Perhaps thats why Mr. Donald Trump - POTUS - is saying India isn't a "developing country" anymore but is a developed one. He is partially right.

[AGwagon]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

You are not wrong. The Diesel only gets 2 airbags across all variants and ranges.

There's no 6 airbag diesel Seltos.

Originally Posted by gsratta

I just checked the Kia website, it appears that none of the diesel versions seem to have six airbags, I may be wrong, but if it is really that way, it is a real downer.. I would rather prefer safety over these gimmicks.

Not only does it only have only 2 airbags, but it misses out ESC/VSM also .

IMO anyone considering a car which has a high Centre of Gravity, having side/curtain airbags with ESC & VSM controls is a MUST!! Our highways in India are pottered with idiots, cows, dogs, cyclists, tractors/trucks charting their own path, etc. I have thanked these safety equipments on my XUV numerous times for coming to my rescue.

I wonder, why us Indians have been giving the 2 largest automakers (Suzuki & Hyundai/Kia) this feedback that we just do not care about the safety, when India has one of the worst roads & traffic in the world. Not to mention, that over the years these cars have also become tin-can light!

SUVs or Crossover, while giving other benefits also stands on a premise of giving some added safety on the roads (debatable in theory, but at least that's how our conscious perceives it), what good is having such a vehicle which is more likely to roll (or go out of control) on sudden manoeuvring and not even having the basic safety kit to keep its occupants safe!

While we are Petrol-heads and care deeply about our cars, our cars should also be able to care for us in case of mishaps and accidents, which in India happen all the time!

Our Indian brands - Tata & M&M has started to pay so much attention to it, but the rest are able to get a free ride. Just think about it!

[drjkonline]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

As Jaggu mentioned, the Seltos is 2x teh price but didn't feel as solid as the Ford.

The dynamics and the solid feel of the Ford are really holding me back.

You nailed it there. 2014 EcoSport diesel titanium owner here. There are no upgrade options if you want a bigger car with same solid feeling, driving dynamics, engine and 6 airbags. Ford's lack of presence in this segment is disappointing.