Kia Seltos 2026 Drive Report: Who Should Buy This SUV?

The mid-size SUV segment is a popular choice among buyers, as there are feature-rich options, comfortable seating, and a stylish and rugged exterior design profile. These SUVs are equipped with a petrol or a diesel engine, or you can even opt for a 4x4 or an AWD setup. In 2019, Kia India, a South Korean auto manufacturer, launched the first generation of Seltos for the Indian market. It featured a bold exterior design, offered several features, and came with a variety of engine options.

In 2023, Kia gave the Seltos a facelift, wherein the exterior became more aggressive, some more features were added, and it came with a more powerful turbo petrol engine. In 2025, the automaker unveiled the second generation of the Seltos, with a new K3 platform, a new exterior and interior, and added some more features. However, the powertrain options in the Seltos 2026 are unchanged. Talking about its rivals, it competes with the Maruti Suzuki Victoris, Hyundai Creta, and others.

Recently, we drove the Kia Seltos GT Line variant equipped with a 1.5L diesel engine with a six-speed torque converter gearbox and took a short experience of the SUV. On our brief drive, we were able to highlight some key aspects of the Seltos 2026.

What’s Good:

Performance

The Kia Seltos continues to come with the 1.5L diesel engine, which produces 115 bhp and 250 Nm of peak torque. This engine is available with either a six-speed manual or a six-speed torque converter gearbox.

Since we drove the diesel automatic variant, there was a slight improvement in the power delivery from the engine. Kia continues to offer the Seltos with three driving modes, which alter the power output. The three driving modes are Eco, Normal, and Sport.

We mainly kept the Seltos in the Eco mode, and the power delivery was adequate for city traffic conditions. This mode made gearshifts around 2000-2,100 RPM; the shifts were pretty smooth. You get the torque at the low end, giving you a punchy feel. However, the mid-range was smooth, and it redlined around 4000 RPM.

However, if you wish for more power and a sudden torque boost, you can either use the paddle shifters can engage the Sports mode. In this mode, the engine was very peppy, and the Seltos felt quite engaging. Since the Seltos 2026 has an all-new platform, the weight of the vehicle has been increased, and that difference was quite evident compared to the previous generation of the Seltos.

Ride and Comfort

Kia has worked a lot on improving the ride quality and the comfort of the seats in the cabin. Talking about its ride quality, there is quite an upgrade over the previous generation, and now it has become more plush and compliant. The ride quality has been slightly stiffened out, and it helps in giving a more comfortable ride at triple-digit speeds, and absorbs bad roads and expansion joints very well. The body roll is well contained, but the feel and the feedback from the steering wheel could have been slightly improved.

Talking about the space and comfort, the seats of the new Seltos 2026 are pretty comfortable. The driver has 10-way adjustment, and with memory seats, it is a very convenient feature to store your settings. Since Kia has increased the length and the wheelbase of the Seltos, the rear seat space has been slightly improved. 

Now, there is an increased amount of kneeroom, legroom, and shoulder room, which improves the overall cabin experience. To improve the rear-seat comfort, you can further recline the seat, and there are sunshades on offer to cut the harsh sunlight.

Noise Vibrations and Harshness

Talking about NVH levels, Kia has worked a lot on improving the noise and cabin experience. Since we drove the diesel variant, the engine roar was only present during the ignition, while driving it at cruising speeds, it became smooth and refined.

The cabin insulation is also good, and there is hardly any wind noise or tyre noise that filters inside. However, when you take it at high speeds on the bumps and potholes or on the expansion joints, there is some suspension noise that filters inside. However, the overall experience in the new Seltos 2026 was a step up compared to the previous generation.

Design

The design of the second generation of the Kia Seltos has become more futuristic compared to the previous one. It has become bold and sporty, and Kia has increased the dimensions, which are quite evident in various portions.

The front of the new Seltos comes with an LED DRL and LED headlamps, integrated neatly in the gloss black grille. Since we could not test the throw at night, we expect it to have an improved, widespread throw compared to the previous generation. Further, Kia has added gas struts for the engine bay, and it is the first car in its segment to get them.

On the side, the Kia Seltos is longer by 95mm, and the wheelbase is longer by 80mm compared to the previous generation of the Seltos, hence giving it a more sportier stance and better interior space. It comes with flush door handles, which pop out on unlocking and locking the car. Moreover, the Seltos runs on 18-inch alloy wheels, and the design looks good; there are different options based on different variants.

At the rear, the design of the new LED tailamps and boot is slightly changed. Kia offers a subtle roof spoiler across its variants, and it enhances the sporty appearance. Talking about the boot space, since Kia has increased the dimensions, the boot space is now increased to 447L.

What’s Bad

Features

Though Kia has added some new features to the Seltos, like 64 colours for the ambient lighting, a wireless charger, driving modes, terrain modes, a more safety suite with the Level-2+ ADAS, there were some features that we thought could have been added to it at its price point.

Some of the features that we feel were missing in the new Kia Seltos were a powered tailgate, all-4 power windows with auto up/down function, rear seat ventilation, and others. Additionally, it misses out on an electric adjustment for the co-driver seat since you have a 10-way adjust for the driver seat, a boss mode function to adjust the co-driver seat so that there is better space for the rear seat passengers, no puddle lamps, no wireless charger for the rear seat passengers, and more.

However, to intensify the competition in the market, Kia could have offered a knee airbag for added safety for the driver, while some of its competitors do offer it in the segment.

Fuel Efficiency

We drove the Kia Seltos 1.5L diesel engine, paired with a six-speed torque converter automatic gearbox. However, since we drove the Seltos mainly in city traffic conditions, the instrument cluster showed a fuel efficiency of 11.8 km/L. Since the fuel efficiency depends on driving style as well, on highways, it may return about 16-18 km/L on driving sedately.

Boot Practicality

Though Kia has increased the boot space in the Seltos 2026 by 14L, with the new design language, the loading lip has become slightly higher. As a result, while stuffing our luggage or in day-to-day usage, you may face some difficulty, and lift your bags and luggage slightly higher to put them in the boot. It can easily fit in one large suitcase, and there is still some space left for cabin bags and medium-sized luggage. However, the high loading lip can be an issue for some buyers.

What is the price of the Kia Seltos 2026?

Kia India will announce the price of the Seltos 2026 on January 2. However, we expect the price to start from around ₹11 lakh to ₹12 lakh (ex-showroom). 

Since we drove the GT-Line variant, the diesel automatic variant will cost somewhere around ₹19.50 lakh to ₹20 lakh (ex-showroom) for this variant.

Republic Auto Says:

The Kia Seltos 2026 has good performance from the diesel engine, improved cabin space with a new interior theme, and it has more features. The exterior design has become more sporty and sharp, and it is a practical, comfortable offering in its segment. Though the stiffness in the suspension and lower fuel efficiency can be a bit issue, whether it will be a value-for-money option in its segment or not will depend on its price reveal.

Also Read: Maruti Suzuki Fronx Price Dips by up to ₹70,000 in December 2025: Here’s How You Can Save