2026 Kia Seltos Launched In India At Rs 10.99 Lakh! Is This The New Segment Benchmark? All You Need To Know….

After its debut last month, Kia India has finally launched the second-generation Seltos  at Rs 10.99 lakh (ex-showroom). One of Kia’s best-selling SUVs, it now gets a refreshed design, a tech-laden cabin and a longer list of features. But will this new generation set the charts on fire? Let’s take a look:

2026 Kia Seltos: Variants And Pricing

 Kia is offering the new Seltos in a range of 10 variants with three engine options. Here is the detailed pricelist of the new Seltos

All prices ex-showroom

2026 Kia Seltos: Exterior

For the new generation, Kia has given the Seltos a more boxy and upright stance, compared to the cleaner and European-car like design of the outgoing car. At the front, it gets a new, larger ‘tiger-nose’ grille, along with square LED headlamp clusters and vertical DRL strips. Towards the side, one can see a flat bonnet along with 18-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, gloss black cladding and flush door handles for a sleeker look.

Move on towards the rear, and you get to see a connected ‘C-shaped’ LED taillamp cluster, along with swathes of gloss black cladding on the rear bumper.

Dimension-wise, the Seltos has grown a fair bit and is now longer, wider and has a longer wheelbase too:

Parameter	New Kia Seltos	Old Kia Seltos
Length	4460 mm (+95 mm)	4365 mm
Width	1830 mm (+30 mm)	1800 mm
Height	1635 mm (-10 mm)	1645 mm
Wheelbase	2690 mm (+80 mm)	2810 mm

2026 Kia Seltos: Interior

Just like the exterior, the new Seltos also gets a completely new interior layout, including a new ‘Trinity Panoramic Display’ consisting of two 12.3-inch screens for the infotainment system and digital instrument cluster, along with a 5-inch touchscreen in the middle for climate control settings. The dashboard also follows a more upright and boxy profile, while the new steering wheel also adds a touch of modernity to the cabin.

Notably, the Seltos’ wheelbase has grown by 80mm, which means the cabin is now larger, and rear occupants will face no issues with the amount of legroom offered.

2026 Kia Seltos: Features And Safety

In terms of the equipment list, the new Seltos gets a slew of features such as the aforementioned three-screen layout, wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, 10-way electrically adjustable driver seat with memory function, 8-speaker BOSE sound system, dual-zone climate control, a panoramic sunroof, ventilated front seats, wireless phone charger and 64-colour ambient lighting. 

Safety-wise it is equipped with a Level 2 ADAS suite, 6 airbags, electronic stability control, hill hold assist, 360 degree camera, electronic parking brake with auto-hold, front, rear and side parking sensors, all-wheel disc brakes and a tyre pressure monitoring system. 

While the new Seltos has not been crash tested yet, we hope Kia has improved the new Seltos in this area, compared to the outgoing car which scored 3-stars in the Global NCAP crash tests.

2026 Kia Seltos: Powertrains

Under the hood, the new Seltos continues to offer the same set of powertrains which include 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol, 1.5-litre turbo-petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engine options. Here are the detailed specifications of all these powertrains:

Engine	1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol	1.5-litre turbo petrol	1.5-litre diesel
Transmission	6-speed MT/ IVT	6-speed iMT/ 7-speed DCT	6-speed MT/ 6-speed AT
Power (PS)	115 PS	160 PS	116 PS
Torque (Nm)	144 Nm	253 Nm	250 Nm
Drivetrain	Front-wheel drive

You can read our review of the new Seltos, and how it drives here.

2026 Kia Seltos: Rivals

The new Seltos competes in the hotly-contested compact SUV segment, and goes up against players like the Hyundai Creta, Tata Sierra, Maruti Grand Vitara and Victoris, Honda Elevate, Skoda Kushaq, Volkswagen Taigun, MG Astor, Citroen Aircross and the Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder. It will also go up against the upcoming Renault Duster and Nissan Tekton as well, which will make their India debut in the next few months.

ZigSays…

Kia has undoubtedly upped its game. A fresher styling, spacious and feature-rich cabin, robust safety credentials and multiple engine/transmission options make the Seltos 2026 an even more rounded product than before.

But will it be able to set new benchmarks in the compact SUV segment? Let us know in the comments below!