Refreshed Kia Seltos shown in Korea before debut next month
Like many other cars, Kia staggers the launch of its Seltos depending on the global market. We got info on our 2023 Seltos last week, a mostly carryover model with a few extra features and price increases from $140 to $290 depending on trim. Meanwhile, in Kia’s home market of South Korea, the automaker loaded up a microsite showing the refreshed Seltos that will debut at next month’s Busan Motor Show. It’s thought that the coming model will roll out the same way the first model did in 2019, going on sale in Korea later this year then hitting the U.S. market at the beginning of next year as a 2023- or 2024-model-year offering.
The updated crossover wears a sharper new grille that appears slimmer vertically but wider, with a bolder mesh design. Below that, the large faux skid plate’s been replaced by an intake with a sensor housing for driver assistance systems. The hint of a skid plate remains with a finned decorative piece flanked by thinner fog lamps in reshaped housings. The headlights show a new DRL signature and a revamped look for the lower elements.
The sides are untouched save for a new wheel design, and mirrors with cameras; looks like an upgraded options sheet is on the way as well, as the current flagship Seltos SX AWD is not offering any kind of side- or around-view tech. In back, a light bar connects new-look taillamps instead of the current polished trim piece. The redrawn lines of the lower black bumper now incorporate the reflectors, and jettison the fake exhaust tips of the present model for a deeper, wider skid plate.
Inside, those side-mirror camera images will be displayed on an overhauled instrument panel that adopts the latest corporate look. That means two 10.25-inch screens stretching from digital gauge cluster to infotainment panel, as well as a heads-up display. The physical HVAC controls remain but look more flashy above a rotary shifter that replaces the current model’s chunky gear lever. And that patterned brown interior with perforated seats and ambient lighting looks delightful.
Kia will discuss tech specs for the Korean market at next month’s auto show, which could mean the reveal of a rumored hybrid mill joining or supplanting the 2.0-liter four-cylinder or 1.6-liter four-cylinder engines available now.
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