Bitauto Original At the Los Angeles Auto Show last month, the new Kia Seltos made its debut. This car is actually the exterior prototype of the domestic KX3 Pride. It has many upgrades in terms of exterior and interior design and configuration. In a sense, this car represents Kia’s future direction of redesigning the KX3 Proso. Let’s take a look.
Before I explain, I don’t know much about Kia Seltos. Let me give you a brief introduction. In China, Kia has a small SUV called the KX3 Protop. The debut of this car can be traced back to the 2014 Guangzhou Auto Show when small SUVs broke out. Then it was officially launched in China in March 2015. However, at that time, the KX3 Opto was a small SUV exclusively for the Chinese market and had nothing to do with the Kia Seltos. Subsequently, with the decline of the small SUV market, the KX3 Propao gradually lost its place in the mainstream field of vision.
However, in the summer of 2019, Kia followed the path of its sister company Hyundai and introduced a new model: Kia Seltos, which is a new small SUV targeted at millennials (post-85s and post-90s) , yes, this means that Kia is making a comeback in this segment. Subsequently, this car was officially introduced into the country in November 2019, inheriting the name of KX3 Proud. Subsequently, Kia also followed up with a minor facelift for this model both overseas and domestically.
The 2024 Kia Seltos unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show is a mid-term facelift of this generation of models. The main focus is on changes in appearance, interior, and configuration. According to experience, domestic models will also be followed soon after new models are released overseas. Okay, let's follow me and see what surprises this new car brings.
Appearance design: changes in details bring a new look
First of all, let’s take a look at the design of the front of the car. The front face of the new car still uses the old tiger-style air intake grille design. The area has not actually increased, but the old model uses matte silver trim to outline the tiger. The new model uses new daytime running lights and bright silver trim strips to form a tiger-style air intake grille.
I don’t know if you have noticed, but in fact, Korean cars are far less widely used in family design than German cars. Whether it is Hyundai or Kia, they are actually more inclined to be like Toyota, which is designed for products of different levels and attributes. For a more compartmentalized design, we can see that the existing domestic Jiahua, Sorento, Lion and K5 all have their own unique design elements.
The new model has released a new color scheme this time, which is the cyan-like "Pluton Blue" in the picture, which can be translated as Pluton Blue. There are also three two-color body colors and six single-color body colors available. This less saturated blueThe color gives it a more youthful and advanced temperament.
The LED light set is naturally not absent, but the shape of the light set has been slightly changed. The first thing that bears the brunt is the shape of the daytime running lights. The new Kia Seltos uses a folding line of daytime running lights similar to the K5, but it does not extend to the side as exaggeratedly as the K5. The internal high beam and low beam are similar to the old model and are stacked.
The inside of the air intake grille is treated with a blackened honeycomb grid. If the body color is dark gray, you can see that the various silver trim strips on the front face are also treated in dark gray, giving it an outstanding texture.
The side of the vehicle still has relatively standard SUV lines. The outline of the rear triangle window has been tightened, making the side look compact and powerful. The silver luggage rack + black roof + black engineering plastic wheel eyebrows give the overall visual a wild feeling of a traditional SUV.
The center of the through-type taillights is separated by Kia's silver LOGO. The taillights on both sides are shaped like fangs, and the rear looks much more fierce than the front. The silver lower fender and black rear surround also create an off-road feel. Generally speaking, Korean cars still maintain a high level of design, and the combination of various elements is relatively harmonious.
Interior Interpretation: The sense of technology/luxury has been significantly improved
The interior, overall design and layout are somewhat similar to the fifth-generation Sportage we have interpreted before, which is also the Shibo Tujie that was launched in China not long ago. It can be seen that some core design elements, such as the new steering wheel style and dual screens, such as the knob-type shift mechanism. Of course, in terms of details, this car is still somewhat different from the fifth-generation Sportage. I will pick some designs that I think are more interesting and explain them to you.
The first thing that bears the brunt is the car system, which young consumers are more concerned about. In terms of hardware, if it is a low-end model, it will use a 4.2-inch TFT instrument panel + 10.25-inch central control screen. If it is a high-end model, it will use two 10.25-inch dual screens. The system is the same as the fifth-generation Sportage. This system is relatively easy to use among overseas car brands. The interface is mainly trendy and fashionable, and it has a unique user experience with the exclusive Kia App and voice assistant.
The second part is the design of the air-conditioning area. The air-conditioning area of the new Kia Seltos uses a small LED display + full physical button design. Although this does not look as cool as the fifth-generation Sportage, it is The convenience of use will be better. Some functions of the car system are also integrated below the air-conditioning area. They are also all physical buttons, which is great.
The third design that I think is better is the ambient lighting of the vehicle.It can be seen that although the range of the light strip is not very large, the door panel sound cover is also equipped with diffraction ambient lighting, and according to the overseas official website, it has the function of changing colors with music, which is definitely rare among small SUVs. Yes, the high-end feel of the entire vehicle has also improved.
The last one is the small handle on the center console of the passenger seat. The appearance part mentioned that there are some off-road designs, and the same is true for the small handle in the interior part. In addition, this car has an AWD four-wheel drive system. , so the positioning of this car is not purely for city transportation. It needs to be able to support today's young people's interest in occasionally going wild in the wild.
Generally speaking, the interior is quite high-quality. It can also be seen from the configuration distribution on the Korean official website that high-end models have seat heating and ventilation functions, L2 level driving assistance systems, HUD heads-up display functions, panoramic images, and electric tailgates. , driver's seat memory and other configurations are available. Of course, the configuration distribution still depends on the product strategy in the region.
In terms of power, the new Kia Seltos has two powertrain options overseas, which are the combination of 1.6T+8AT and 2.0L+CVT. We are all familiar with these two power combinations. The 2.0L engine has a maximum power of 149Ps/6200rpm and a peak torque of 179N·m/4500rpm; the 1.6T engine has a maximum power of 198Ps/6000rpm and a peak torque of 264N·m/1600-4500rpm. .
Full text summary: As mentioned at the beginning, this car in a sense represents Kia’s future direction of revamping the KX3 Pride. It can be seen from the above interpretations of all aspects, both in terms of appearance and interior. Compared with the KX3 Propao currently on sale in China, the new Kia Seltos has undergone huge upgrades in terms of decoration changes. The new interior midnight green + color scheme and the exterior color scheme of the body are also eye-catching. If it is introduced into China in the future, let us also look forward to it.
