Kia's latest crossover has just made its debut in Canada ahead of the Montreal Auto Show. The little crossover slots between the Soul and Sportage in Kia's lineup, and offers front or all-wheel drive as well as a pair of powertrains, starting from $22,295.
The Seltos arrives in an increasingly crowded segment with styling that's a bit more upscale-looking than competitors that can tend too far toward youthful and funky or staid and traditional. Size-wise, at 4,370 mm long and 1,615 mm tall, the 2021 Seltos is on the larger side of the class. Kia refers to the interior space as "Herculean," though that's just a clever reference to the vehicle's name, where the brand eschewed the usual geographical names and picked one that's more of myth: It comes from Celtos, the son of Hercules.
A pair of engine choices will be available, a 146-hp 2.0L four-cylinder as the base motor and a 1.6L turbo-four with 175 hp on tap in SX trim. The 2.0-litre comes with a CVT and the 1.6L engine gets a seven-speed dual-clutch, and while LX can be had with front-drive, AWD is optional there and standard on the rest of the lineup.
Kia has given the Seltos lots of standard kit, including 16-inch alloys and LED marker lamps, but also blind-spot warnings, rear cross-traffic alert, rear-seat occupant alert, and safe exit assist. EX trim adds forward collision avoidance, lane-keeping, lane guidance, and rear cross-traffic avoidance assist, while EX Premium gets highway driving assist. LX also has an 8.0-inch infotainment screen that comes with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, with EX Premium and up getting a larger 10.25-inch screen. Heated front seats are standard, with heated rears and still-unusual in this class ventilated front seats on offer.
Expect the 2021 Kia Seltos to arrive at dealers later this year.
2021 Kia Seltos Canadian pricing:
LX FWD $22,995
LX AWD $24,995
EX AWD $27,595
EX Premium AWD $30,595
SX AWD $32,595
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