2023 Kia Seltos, Sonet & Carens launched with BS6 Phase 2 compliance, new tech
Kia India has launched the 2023 Seltos, Sonet and Carens that now meet the latest BS6 Phase 2 emission norms. The three models get an updated powertrain and additional features that make the models more attractive than before. With the latest RDE compliance, the 2023 Kia Sonet is now priced from ₹7.79 lakh onwards, while the 2023 Kia Seltos starts at ₹10.89 lakh. Lastly, the 2023 Kia Carens is priced from ₹10.45 lakh onwards. All prices are ex-showroom. That said, the Kia Carnival MPV is yet to be updated.
The part of the upgrades, the 2023 Kia Sonet, Seltos and Carens now get updated petrol engines that are now E20 fuel ready. The petrol engine on the Sonet remains unchanged, while the Seltos and Carens get a brand-new 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine that replaces the 1.4-litre T-GDI motor. The new motor is part of the Hyundai Motor Group and develops 158 bhp and 253 Nm of peak torque between 1500-3500 rpm.
Also Read : Kia Carens launched with new turbo petrol engine and iMT gearbox. Check prices
Commenting on the development, Tae-Jin Park, MD & CEO, Kia India, said, "With the launch of the EV6 in India and committing a home-grown EV by 2025, we reflected our commitment to align our product strategy with the Indian government’s electric vision. Now with the RDE norms coming into effect, we are delighted to offer our contribution once again to the government’s efforts to keep the environment clean and green. With the enhanced powertrains and added features, our vehicles have become even more sophisticated, instating the feeling of pride in customers of owning a Kia. The upgrades in the powertrain, combined with advanced features like Kia Connect Skill for Alexa and ISG will ensure the utmost convenience and fun-to-drive experience to our customers. With these changes, we once again reiterate our commitment towards the Indian market and pledge to keep up to the government’s vision of sustainable mobility."
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On the Kia Sonet, the 1.5-litre WGT diesel engine has now been replaced with the updated 1.5-litre VGT diesel. The updated engine develops 114 bhp, a bump of 14 bhp over the older engine. The same 1.5 diesel engine also powers the 2023 Seltos and Carens and gets a power bump from 113 bhp to 114 bhp.
Furthermore, all diesel cars from Kia now get the 6-speed Intelligent Manual Transmission (IMT) as standard, replacing the 6-speed manual on the oil burner. The automaker says that the IMT tech received a “tremendous customer response," prompting the company to make it standard across the range. The 6-speed IMT will also be available with the turbo petrol options on Kia cars. Meanwhile, the manual transmission will now be available only on the 1.5-litre naturally aspirated engine powering the Seltos and Carens, while the Sonet will continue to get a manual gearbox with the 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol on the lower variants.
On the feature front, the 2023 Kia range now gets idle stop/start as standard. The models also get Kia Connect Skill for Amazon Alexa as a new feature, which brings home-to-car connectivity to customers.