Kia Seltos News

A first look at what the next Kia Seltos will look like - and what you can expect from the next-gen Korean small SUV.

As Kia’s much-anticipated next-gen Seltos approaches, so do estimations of what the small SUV might look like.

Chinese carmaker Jaecoo has confirmed its J5 small SUV will go on sale in the United Kingdom paving the way for the small SUV’s entrance to Australia.The J5 looks very much like the J7 mid-sized SUV only smaller, measuring 4.3m in length, and rivalling the Kia Seltos, Mitsubishi ASX and Mazda CX-30.The J5 will debut in the UK with a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.In the UK the five-seater SUV will go on sale in two trim levels: the Pure and the Luxury.Coming standard on the Pure will be a six-speaker stereo, power adjustable front seats and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Stepping up to the Luxury will add a panoramic sunroof, heated and ventilated front seats and wireless phone charging.Jaecoo is the luxury-focussed sub-brand of Chery and currently has two SUVs on sale in Australia - the mid-sized J7 and the J8 large SUV.The J5 will definitely be making its way to Australia as well, but as to when this will happen is unknown. Recently Jaecoo Australia’s Chief Commercial Officer, Roy Munoz, confirmed the J5 is headed to Australia to CarsGuide, but didn't reveal timing.Pricing for the J5 hasn't been announced in the UK nor Australia, but buyers can be certain it will be less than the J7 and the J8.As a guide the J7 starts at $34,990 drive-away and the entry grade J8 is $49,990.Jaecoo doesn't have any electric vehicles on sale currently in Australia with both the J7 and J8 using petrol engines, but the J7 is also available with plug-in hybrid power.Jaecoo is a very new brand to Australia having only arrived in May this year and follows its parent company Chery, which launched its vehicles here in 2023.Currently Chery has several models on sale in Australia including the petrol powered C5 small SUV and its E5 electric twin, while there’s three hybrid SUVs also available: the small Tiggo 4, the mid-sized Tiggo 7 and the large Tiggo 8. 

Another popular compact SUV is about to join the hybrid party.

Geely is considering introducing a cheaper SUV to Australia, in the shape of the Cityray.

Kia has announced modest price increases for some of its most popular cars, ranging from $100 to $200 depending on the model.For 2025, the Kia Picanto will remain Australia’s most affordable car, despite a $100 price rise lifting the model’s entry price to $18,390, before on-road costs.With an estimated national drive-away price of $21,340, that still puts the small hatch $2650 clear of Australia’s next cheapest vehicle, the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro, which is a small SUV.A further $100 rise across the range sees the top-spec GT-Line with an automatic transmission now headline the range at $21,790, before on-road costs, or $24,140, drive-away.The price adjustments are slightly more substantial for the Kia Stonic crossover, the brand’s second-most-affordable model in Australia.It now starts at $25,660, before on-road costs, for the entry-level S, $200 more than it did last year. Prices peak at $31,980 for the GT-Line.Kia has enacted the same price changes for the Seltos small SUV, which now starts at $30,050, before on-roads, for the S FWD, rising to $45,470 for the top-spec GT-Line AWD.Finally, the upper-mid-sized Sorento, Kia’s most popular model of the bunch, now starts at $53,500, before on-roads, for the petrol S 2WD. Prices for variants with an internal combustion engine now peak at $68,790 for the diesel GT-Line AWD.The price rise follows a seasonal $150 range-wide price rise for the segment-dominating Kia Carnival people mover in January.No model updates or additional spec inclusions have been made across the Kia range in return.

The first spy pictures of the second generation Kia Seltos have been shared after a prototype was snapped testing in South Korea. The images, snapped by HealerTV on YouTube, show a heavily camouflaged small SUV that looks to follow Kia’s current design direction. Earlier reports from Korean newspaper ETNews along with online outlet TheKoreanCarBlog confirm that the next-gen Seltos will launch with a petrol electric hybrid to help it fend off the Toyota Corolla Cross and Nissan Qashai. Labeled 'SP3 Proto', according to TheKoreanCarBlog, the next Seltos will be unveiled in the second half of 2025 before going into production in August at Kia’s factory in Gwangju.It is expected to use petrol power alone along with a hybrid system, likely lifted straight from the latest Hyundai Kona and i30 Sedan. That means a 1.6-litre petrol four-cylinder combined with a gearbox mounted motor for 106kW and 3.9L/100km efficiency rating is on the cards. It is not clear whether the Seltos’ arrival will affect Kia’s strategy with the Niro, which is around the same size as the Seltos and currently sold in both hybrid and pure electric configurations. Kia is reportedly looking to develop an electric all-wheel drive system to help the Seltos thrive in Europe. It sounds initially like a similar set-up to the Corolla Cross with a separate electric motor driving the rear axle but no details are available yet. Visually, it’s hard to tell what the Seltos will look like in such deep camouflage. The proportions look to remain faithful to the current boxy Seltos, rather than a sleek fastback design. Additionally, we can see some of the headlight details which look very similar to those adopted by the facelifted Kia Sorento along with the upcoming EV3 electric car. The Seltos arrived in Australia in October 2019 and scored a deep facelift in November 2022. It is currently Kia’s fifth best-selling model behind Sportage, Cerato, Carnival and Sorento.Seltos sales have slipped this year, down 22 per cent on the same period last year, while hybrid rivals such as the GWM Haval Jolion, Hyundai Kona, Corolla Cross have surged in popularity. 

There have been rumours since the Kia Seltos small SUV’s launch about a hybrid powertrain.  At the facelift’s release in November 2022, we were told to expect a hybrid in the next-generation car, which could be approaching quite quickly.

If you’ve been bothered by a ‘new’ feature in a car that’s supposed to make life easier but doesn’t - at least not for you - then don’t worry, you’re not the only one.

New reports from South Korea suggest the next-generation Kia Seltos small SUV will be offered with a hybrid powertrain.