Car India – August 2019

e’veseentheKiabrandtaKebabystepsinindiaand
theseltostransformingfromthestoryboardtothesp2 concept.and,
finally,wedrovethemid-sizedsUvinGoa.
beinga sister-brandofhyundai,theseltosisbasedonthenext-gen
Cretaplatformandboththecarsborrowsomepartsfromthecommon
basket.in fact,thenewpetrolanddieselengineoptionsthattheKia
seltoshasbroughtwithit willbeusedinthebs-viversionoftheCreta
whichwillbelaunchednextyear.
itsdesignistheseltos’strongestaspect.there’sanauraofconfidencewithboldcreasesand
sharplines,thehighlightbeingthesweepingheadlampswhichgetthe“crownjewel”-inspired
lightingandtheunmistakabletigernosegrille.
thefrontlooksratherbusywithchromehighlights,shinyblackgrille,brushmetalhighlights
onthebumper,andverticallystacked“ice-cube”fog-
lights.therearetwotrimlinestochoosefrom:the
standardtechLineandthemoreyouth-orientedGt
Line.theGtgetsredhighlightsonthesump-guards
andthesidecladding,17-inchcrystalcutalloywheels
withredbrakecalipers,andevensomeGtbadging.
personally,ipreferthesideprofilewithcleanlines
andplayofcolours.thecontrastingblackbodywork
andchromeaccentsbringoutthebodycolour,while
theblacka-pillarcreatesthefloatingroofimpression
verywell.sleekroof-rails,a shark-finantenna,andthe
spoilerlooksporty,alongwiththesharptail-lamp
designandthefauxtwin-exhaustontherearbumper.
Overall,it’sa refreshingtakeona crossoverdesignby
Kia,somethingforwhichthebrandiswellappreciated
worldwide.

thecabinhasa distinctKiaaurawhichisverydifferentfromwhatwe’ve

seenintheCreta.thesharprectangularconsoleonthedashboard,which

housesthedriver’sinformationdisplayandthelargetouchscreenofourtop-

of-the-linetrimtestcars,makesit standapart.premiumbeige-and-black

treatmentofthecabinlooksnice,whiletheGtLinebuyerscanoptforan

all-blackcabinwithredcontraststitchingandsportierseatupholstery.My

pickwouldbethehexagonalstitchingontheseatsofthetechLine.

thedoor-panelsgetaninterestingfractalpatternwhichcomeswithmood

lightingandthere’samplespacetostowwaterbottles.thenumerous

cubbyholesincludespacefortwophonesonthecentreconsoleanda coupleof

coffeecup-holders.thequalityofmaterialsandcraftsmanshipis hardtofault.

topvariantsalsogetsmart“d” cut(flatbottom)steeringwheel,eight-

inchheads-updisplayandeight-wayadjustabledriver’sseat.thelistof

featuresispracticallynever-ending.it alsogetsanLG-sourced10.25-inch

W

52 car india^ August 2019 http://www.carindia.in