Kia's answer to the Mazda CX-3, Hyundai Kona, and Toyota C-HR — the Seltos — is heading to New Zealand's shores. And now the brand has confirmed what engines are going to be offered locally.
As expected, Kia skipped over the 1.6-litre 100kW diesel engine that some other markets are getting. Instead, two petrol engines will kick things off; a naturally aspirated 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine making 110kW of power and 180Nm of torque, and a gutsier turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder making 130kW/265Nm.
The former will be paired with a CVT, while the latter gets the same seven-speed dual-clutch as what's fitted to the Cerato GT.
While the dual-clutch is the winner of the pair on paper, Kia's CVTs are also considered to be among the best in the business at mimicking the traits of a torque-converted automatic.
“These are two absolutely ideal power plants for the all new Seltos and we expect them to perform extremely well, the turbo option in particular,” says Kia Motors New Zealand Managing Director Todd McDonald.
Suspension that's been tailored specifically for Kiwi roads will compliment the aforementioned powertrain options. Although, it's also worth mentioning that we found the supposedly 'locally tuned' suspension in the Kia Stinger GT to be on the firm side.
Along with its engine options, Kia also expects the Seltos' size to be a big factor in its local success. At 4,270mm in length, it's 200mm longer than a Kona and 100mm longer than a CX-3. Kia claims that these metrics help give it the largest cabin and boot space in the 'B-segment SUV' class.
Local pricing and availability hasn't been confirmed yet, however Kia has said that they expect the Seltos to potentially land here by the end of 2019.