[Arjun Reddy]

We have been debating on the length of the Indian Seltos and the Korean/ Australian Seltos.

Not sure if it has anything to do with the length but features like AEB and adaptive cruise control?

Look where the bonnet shut lines are.

Korean Seltos



Indian Seltos.



Does this have anything to do with the length of the Seltos ?

4395 mm vs 4315 mm?

[momsonlydriver]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

We have been debating on the length of the Indian Seltos and the Korean/ Australian Seltos.

Does this have anything to do with the length of the Seltos ?

4395 mm vs 4315 mm?

I'm sure that the Korean Seltos houses a bigger 2.0L engine and a 4WD system. Definitely the front is longer than 80mm. The adaptive cruise control is just integrated in the grill that is not the cause of the increase in length.

Well that you have pointed out. It needs to be checked if the rear is compromised or the front to make the car smaller.

The aesthetic downside to this in our version is that when you pop up the hood, the Kia logo too goes up. But on the other hand, the Indian Seltos has a much neater engine bay.

Indian version:



Korean version

[Guna]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

We have been debating on the length of the Indian Seltos and the Korean/ Australian Seltos.



Look where the bonnet shut lines are.

Just that by making the bonnet in single piece, they may be able to save some cost in the Indian version.

[momsonlydriver]

I'm no expert but this following advertisement popped up in my Instagram.



That symbol on the instrument cluster is actually an indication to this system:



The GT line has a rather hideous panel attached next to the rear view mirror:



Whereas the HT line misses out on this feature:



All the information is not provided regarding the car. The car is also fixed with an inbuilt perfume. Propably it is similar to the ones seen in Mercedes where the perfume bottles are kept in the glove box. Have a look:



I want somebody to confirm if that plastic trim next to the mirror houses some kind of radar. I personally have no clue how this system works.

[sreejinair]

The more pics that come out, clears my thought "what a nice hatch back on steroids"

[Rigid Rotor]

Originally Posted by Arjun Reddy

We have been debating on the length of the Indian Seltos and the Korean/ Australian Seltos….Look where the bonnet shut lines are...4395 mm vs 4315 mm?

Originally Posted by momsonlydriver

... Definitely the front is longer than 80mm. ...Well that you have pointed out. It needs to be checked if the rear is compromised or the front to make the car smaller....in our version is that when you pop up the hood, the Kia logo too goes up...

Well pointed out! Its like spot the six / seven differences in a picture - we will need to unravel this mystery! In the meantime, few more apparent differences:

- The Korean version with a shorter hood gets a gas spring to hold it up. Our version has a simple foldable strut. Cost savings there. That's clearly another difference.

- Is it anything to do with stricter cash testing norms in Korea / Australia? Accommodate a beefier bumper and frontal impact structure?

[Abhinav_2502]

Originally Posted by momsonlydriver

I'm no expert but this following advertisement popped up in my Instagram.
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Attachment 1899416

The GT line has a rather hideous panel attached next to the rear view mirror:

Attachment 1899414

Whereas the HT line misses out on this feature:

Attachment 1899415
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I want somebody to confirm if that plastic trim next to the mirror houses some kind of radar. I personally have no clue how this system works.

I think that plastic housing contains the sensor for the rain sensing wipers. Have seen other Hyundai cars having a similar housing for the same purpose.
Also the revealed variant list also supports the fact, as it doesn't mention rain sensing wipers for the tech line variants. One more reason why we should all worry whether the revealed variant list is actually quite true, although there is still hope until the launch.

[Prodigy07]

Most of the interior pics that's being circulated on this thread seems to be from Kia Chennai Ekkatuthangal showroom.

In one of the pics where the ICE is being operated, the maps location proves that.

I could see a lot of people thronging the showroom in the morning yesterday.

[simeonovitch]

Originally Posted by sreejinair

The more pics that come out, clears my thought "what a nice hatch back on steroids"

I somewhat agree.
Having briefly considered the base 1.5 Petrol for a strictly 2 person usage, I was disappointed to find that it is 45 mm lower than the already not very tall creta.
That coupled with the underpowered 1.5 NA petrol just kills any interest from me.

Looks like the 1.5 Ecosport it is. (hate automatics and turbo petrols)

EDIT: For 8.99 ex-showroom for the base petrol, Kia can still have my money, any more, and I'll have to walk away.

[dadu]

Recent announcement from KIA indicate that the so called price lists circulating are not KIA official pricelist, the same will be announced only on 22nd Aug.

So all those discussing prices and anything related to it, pls hold your horses.

[jailbird_fynix]

KIA Motors to launch 'Made in India' car on Aug 8

"Kia is preparing to launch its car on August 8 and has invited Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy for the event" - said in a release from the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's Office. Kia Motors first plant in India has been built on a 536-acre site at Penukonda in Anantapuramu district.

ET Auto

[realactivex]

Just saw the Kia Seltos, at Epitome Kia near Hoodi circle, Bangalore. The car was parked in the basement of the adjacent family mart shop. Good number of families were around, checking out the car. The SA refused to comment on the pricing, but was pretty certain that the list floating on internet was likely correct, in terms of features.

He said there were around 11k pre bookings across india. Personally for me, I am kind of backing out, unless the pricing is irresistible. Also, there UVA licence renewal after 3 years remains a concern to me.

[PYSO]

Originally Posted by realactivex

He said there were around 11k pre bookings across india.

11k pre-bookings is very low.

Kia is entering india at a very wrong time - right in the middle of a massive slowdown.

Considering that the indian customer is extremely risk averse and afflicted by massive herd mentality - meaning everyone flocks to buy maruti and Hyundai , because they are most commonly seen on the roads - the only way to success in the indian auto market is to push maximum volumes and ensure that Kia cars are seen often on the roads.

If I were Kia management, i would price seltos at barely breakeven prices for the first 12 months - even if that means pricing the base petrol variant at 8 lakhs or 8.5 lakhs. Once massive volumes have been sold in the first 12 months, and seltos is perceived as a success by the market, then I would increase prices and start making profits.

The other option of pricing seltos at a profit from day 1 would be too risky, especially in the context of a massive auto slowdown. Because at a Creta level pricing , seltos is unlikely to garner large volumes in today's market, considering its a totally new and untested brand. Also, if Seltos fails, Kia is unlikely to succeed in the indian market.

So kia management has to choose between

1) Pricing seltos at breakeven, and start making profits after 12 months. This will hugely improve the chances of Kia succeeding in the indian market

2) Pricing seltos at par with Creta, and start making profits from day 1. Though this is very likely to risk their entire future in the indian market , and the few thousand crores they have spent to set up a factory with 3 lakh annual capacity.

I think option 1) will be the prudent one, in the context of a massive slowdown in the indian auto market.

[momsonlydriver]

There is another upload on Youtube where the person seems to be recording (recording is not allowed). Content is poor but anyways posting the link here.

https://youtu.be/hebbcPzpmkI

[MukundanMK]

Originally Posted by PYSO

11k pre-bookings is very low.
I think option 1) will be the prudent one, in the context of a massive slowdown in the indian auto market.

Bang on! Kia needs to price it aggressively (period). They can compete with Creta on the car features and performance, but not on the pricing. I don’t think anyone would be comparing the pricing of Seltos with Creta. Rather MG Hector would be the bench mark now and Kia needs to price lower than them. Agreed that Hector has a BS4 engine, while Seltos will have a BS6 engine. Apart from that it is missing on a lot of features like Fully Loaded Top end automatic, panoramic sunroof, electronic parking brake, electric tailgate etc. Kia would be better off to keep a very low or zero margin price to start off. They can see profits definitely over a longer run and for that to happen, they need sales volume first. Hector became a hit, not just for all its gimmicky bells and whistles, but mainly also for its prices. Kia have checked the gimmicks part for sure. Over to them for the pricing.