The past couple of years have witnessed the emergence of some new manufacturers in our market. Kia Motors, in particular, has managed to thwart its competition and has already proven to be a very tough competition for its parent company as well. Kia debuted here with the Seltos and the compact-SUV has managed to become a runaway success. Thanks to its sharp looks, a plethora of engine-gearbox combinations and not to forget, an extensive feature list.
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Kia is soon going to roll out an update for the Seltos on April 27th and if reports are to be believed, Kia plans to offer customers an additional gearbox option – its “clutchless manual” iMT unit.
Kia is expected to offer the 6-speed iMT unit with just the 1.5-litre, the four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine that makes 115hp and 144Nm of torque. This means this petrol unit will be available with three gearbox options – a 6-speed manual, a CVT auto and the iMT. Hyundai’s iMT technology made its Indian debut with the Venue and has garnered a positive response so far.
What was iMT again?
The iMT is the first in the industry gearbox technology to incorporate a clutchless-drive experience combined with Fun-to-Drive elements of a manual transmission. Hyundai’s iMT technology is essentially a revolutionary 2-pedal system that eliminates the need for drivers to constantly use the clutch pedal as in a conventional manual transmission.
What else can we expect?
Later on, Kia is also likely to offer the iMT option with the 1.4L turbo-petrol engine. The 1.4L four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine produces 140PS of power 242Nm of peak torque. Currently, this engine is offered with a 7-speed DCT gearbox. The iMT option will likely be offered on the mid-spec HTX+ trim with the 1.5L engine. Meanwhile, it could be offered on the top-spec GTX+ trim with the 1.4L turbo-petrol engine. On the other hand, the 1.5-litre diesel engine will likely see no change.
Kia recently dropped a teaser which suggests that apart from the standard variants, Kia could also bring in Seltos’ Gravity edition to India. Apart from an iMT gearbox and Gravity edition, Kia could also throw in a sunroof to make things even more desirable. With the new update, it is expected that the prices will be revised and the Seltos might get a little costlier than before.