Kia has seen some unprecedented success in our tough price-conscious market. It became the fastest brand to reach the 2,50,000 sales milestone in India. This success is simply enabled by two SUVs almost entirely, namely the Seltos and the Sonet. In 2019, Kia entered our market with the Creta-rival, Seltos. The mid-size SUV was extremely well received by the customers, primarily because of the fresh design language and a ton of new comfort and convenience features. People went in for something new, as opposed to the relatively predictable Hyundai Creta at the time, although the Creta was still the best-selling SUV back then. Thereafter, of course, Hyundai also updated the Creta. But now the game in the mid-size SUV is simply between the two Korean carmakers in Hyundai and Kia. There will be the introduction of the Skoda Kushaq and VW Taigun to the race later in 2021.
Also read: 2021 Kia Sonet spotted with the new logo!
On the other hand, the Kia introduced the Sonet in the already crowded compact SUV segment after the Seltos. By this time, however, Kia was an established brand with the Seltos and people realized that there will be a prime focus on new features and striking looks to enhance the road presence. Having this in mind, the customers welcomed the Kia Sonet with open arms as well and it became an instant success. Now, having completed 2.5 lakh sales in a record time, Kia is ready to move on to the next step in our market. While the Seltos and the Sonet will receive some upgrades, there will be an entirely new product in a new segment come 2022, as announced by Kia through a press release. Let us see what to expect from the updates of Seltos and Sonet.
Also read: Kia Seltos vs VW Taigun – Engines, Features, Specs Comparison!
Kia Seltos Updates
One can’t really argue that there were too many shortcomings in the Seltos, to begin with, but still, to keep the product fresh, Kia has decided to shake up the variants list a little and introduce a new iMT transmission to the lineup. There will be a reshuffling of some variants and some new features will be introduced in the Seltos. This might include the introduction of Paddle Shifters in the automatic gearbox powertrains to enable a sporty and better control of the driving dynamics of the SUV. Then there will also be the inclusion of an iMT transmission which combines the best of both worlds (manual and automatic) with a gear lever to change gears without having the need to press the clutch because there is none. These are significant updates geared at customers’ convenience enhancement. There there will also be some features introduced in the lower trims of the Seltos to increase the appeal of the SUV.
Also read: Kia Sonet vs Nissan Magnite – Engines, Features, Specs Comparison!
Kia Sonet Updates
Similar to the Seltos, we might finally see the incorporation of Paddle Shifters in the automatic gearbox variants of the Sonet as well. Also, there will be trickling down of some convenience and comfort features from the higher trims to the mid-spec trims as well. Not to mention, the new Seltos and Sonet will feature the brand new logo of Kia, signifying its new phase of the journey in the Indian, as well as, international market.
Also read: Kia Sonet vs Renault Kiger – Engines, Specs, Features Comparison!
Kia – New Product in 2022
While there has been no official announcement, there are rumours that Kia is working on a brand new MPV to rival the segment leader in Maruti Suzuki Ertiga in our market. This will be a bold step to challenge the extremely popular and the go-to MPV in India, considering the fact that, Mahindra failed with its Ertiga-rival, the Marazzo earlier. But Kia is confident that it has realized the Indian sensibilities and will offer what the customers demand at a relatively similar or slightly higher price point than the Ertiga. Either way, we will know more about the details of the upcoming Kia product in the times to come.
Also read: Mahindra XUV700 spied testing – Launch after July 2021!
