2020 Kia Seltos PH debut is in November and here are the prices

If you’re looking to buy a subcompact crossover, you might want to wait until newer cars enter the market. Kia Philippines releases the pricing for the all-new 2020 Seltos ahead of its slated November launch.

So, first things first what is a Kia Seltos? The Seltos is a small subcompact crossover, slotted right under the Sportage in the South Korean carmaker’s lineup. Thanks to its pricing, it competes with the likes of the Honda HR-V and Hyundai Kona. The latter is its platform twin.

The subcompact crossover will be launching with three variants, all coming in with introductory prices as announced by Kia Philippines on their official Facebook page. The entry-level LX variant will be priced at P1,098,000 while the next mid-tier variant EX is at P1,198,000. Finally, the top-tier variant is the SX coming in at P1,498,000. 

Not much else is known about what the Philippine-spec Seltos will have. But, here are some of the speculations. 

Currently, the Seltos comes with three engines abroad, two gasoline options and one diesel option. While the diesel engine’s specifications are unknown, the two gas options come in either a 2.0-liter and a 1.6-liter turbo. The 1.6-liter turbo engine will most likely be similar to that found in the Hyundai Kona and Tucson in Korea, while the 2.0-liter is the same Atkinson-cycle engine found inside the locally-available Kona, rated at 147 hp and 179 Nm torque. Transmission options will be either a 7-speed DCT or Kia’s version of CVT, the Intelligent Variable Transmission (IVT). 

The interior of the Seltos comes with the option of leatherette and a choice of two infotainment system screen sizes. The first and likely option to be in the Philippine-spec Seltos is the 8-inch touchscreen head unit. The other option is a 10.25-inch touchscreen head unit – both with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

For suspension, the subcompact crossover is likely to come in with MacPherson struts at the front and torsion beam at the rear. It will probably come in with a front-wheel drivetrain layout. For the gauges, it should come with a 7-inch instrument readout found in the Korean-spec model. 

Vehicle apps have made a recent entry into the country with the likes of Mitsubishi giving users the option to lock and lock their vehicle with their phone. It's still up in the air if Kia will bring its very own app into the market. Kia’s proprietary app UVO helps users understand their vehicle by displaying the car’s mileage since the app was last paired. The app also has access to the vehicle’s sensors so it can serve as a diagnostics system.

But of course, all of these are just speculations for now. The 2020 Kia Seltos is scheduled to officially enter the Philippine market by the first week of November. Until then, all we need to do is wait for the official specs to come in.

Introductory pricing for the Kia Seltos are as follows:

LX – P1,048,000

EX – P1,148,000

SX – P1,448,000