2021 Kia Seltos Arrives In Style At Los Angeles Auto Show

The 2021 Kia Seltos was rumored for a while and now it’s confirmed.

The new Kia Seltos debuted at the Los Angeles Auto Show
The Seltos is based on the Hyundai Kona EV and will offer two engines
Will arrive in North America in early 2020

We weren’t sure the Kia Seltos would be at the Los Angeles Auto Show… Until we arrived this morning. Emblazoned on the L.A. Convention Centre was a huge display of the 2021 Kia Seltos, a model that will compete in the subcompact SUV segment with the likes of the Honda HR-V, Nissan Qashqai and Mazda CX-3.

It will also compete with the Hyundai Kona, although it shares quite a few elements with its brother from Hyundai. That said, the new Seltos is more than a re-badged Kona.

It will offer the same 2.0-litre four-cylinder making 146 horsepower as the base powertrain while the optional 1.6-litre turbo with 175 horsepower will also be available. Both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive configurations will be available.

Differences with the Hyundai Kona include a higher ride height which should please buyers who want to feel high off the ground in an SUV, a more rugged exterior design and more upscale features. Examples of that include a 10.3-inch touchscreen which will be available in the top-of-the-line Kia Seltos. Expect a wide range of other tech features such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as active safety technologies.

The 2021 Kia Seltos will go on sale early in 2020. Kia hasn’t confirmed pricing, but did say the base model would be below $22,000. That’s US dollars which seems a bit high considering a Kona starts at less than $22,000 in Canada. We’re thinking the Canadian pricing for the new Seltos will start at $24,995 or something like that. Stay tuned.