The 2027 Kia Seltos brings the brand’s small SUV into a new era.
Love it or hate it, Kia is certainly taking a bold new styling direction with its latest cars and SUVs. The EV9 helped kick off the current “Opposites United” design philosophy with chunky, boxier styling and distinctive signatures both front and rear. The latest model to get that treatment is the 2027 Kia Seltos, which enters its second-generation as the new entry-level option after the brand jettisons the small Soul from the lineup at the end of this model year. To help bring in a wider range of customers (and not just in the US, but global markets as well), the new Seltos isn’t just getting a new look. It’s adopting a hybrid powertrain option down the line, though you can still get it with a gas engine too.
On the styling front, the 2027 Kia Seltos really isn’t just a lick of fresh paint on the old model. It’s physically larger than before, measuring out to 174.4 inches in overall length, while its wheelbase has also been stretched to 105.9 inches. It’s also an inch wider at 72 inches, though it’s actually about half an inch shorter in height than the outgoing SUV (63 inches, versus 63.4).
Along with the change in dimensions, the new Seltos also adopts an upright, Telluride-like grille with headlights integrated at the edges. The actual headlight assemblies get tiny little DRLs at the outside, while there’s also another set of running lights on the extreme edges of the front clip, pretty much out at the fenders. Kia’s been taking a more vertical approach with its lighting setup, and that applies to the rear as well, where you get slim and angular taillights with a lightbar almost connecting the two sides across the tailgate.
Engine broadly carry over, with one new option on the menu
The 2027 Kia Seltos rides on the automaker’s new K3 platform that also underpins the latest generation Hyundai Kona, once again bringing the two sister models onto the same architecture. The Seltos is also rocking a familiar range of ICE powertrains, in that you can either have a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder with 147 horsepower on tap, or a 1.6-liter turbo-four with 190 horsepower. The former gets a CVT, while the turbocharged mill gets an 8-speed automatic. Some markets can actually get that engine with a 6-speed manual (though slightly less power), but that’s not happening for the US market.
While some automakers are going all-wheel drive-only with their SUV lineups, Kia will continue to offer the Seltos with a front-wheel drive version.
With this second-gen Seltos’ debut, Kia announced a hybrid powertrain option would be coming in due time. We don’t have exact details on what that will look like yet, but it makes sense given the market’s pivot regarding electrified powertrains. It may well make it to the US, giving Kia’s small SUV a distinction over the Kona (which offers a full electric version, but not a hybrid, weirdly).
Looking inside the 2027 Kia Seltos
Much like Kia’s other revamps, the second-generation Seltos gets the new corporate look, complete with a new steering wheel design and screen-focused infotainment setup mounted atop the dashboard. The whole unit measures out to 30 inches, and comprises two 12.3-inch displays (one for the cluster and one for your media/navigation/etc.) with another 5-inch screen between the two for your climate controls. In my past experience, I’ve found it can be a bit of a pain to see and manage the climate controls since you have to go around the steering wheel, but you can also use Kia’s latest operating system which includes ChatGPT-powered voice assistant to change the settings for you.
Along with the extra space thanks to the larger exterior footprint, the driver’s seat in the 2027 Kia Seltos also adopt some party tricks from the larger models like the EV9. That is, you can set it up as more of a recliner, complete with an ottoman, while you also get a new mesh headrest. In higher-end models, at least, there’s also 64-color ambient lighting to help set the right atmosphere.
Pricing and availability
Going by the 2027 model year designation, you may have already worked out that the new Seltos isn’t coming for a little while longer. The automaker announced details for the 2026 Seltos over the summer, with that model mainly just being a carryover until this new one actually lands. Odds are, we’ll see it sometime in the second half of the year, though we’ll post an update with more specifics when we have them.
You’ll also have to wait a bit for pricing, since we are still awaiting the actual launch. Considering you can still get it with front-wheel drive, it’s likely the 2027 Kia Seltos will still hit the upper-$20,000s price point to start. The current 2026 Kia Seltos LX starts at $25,135, but I’d expect MSRPs to move at least a little bit from that, given the new styling and updated tech. At the top end, prices for the gas versions will probably hit the mid-$30Ks, then the hybrid may push that envelope to $40K or higher if and when it does arrive for the US market.
With the Selto’s larger stature and entry-level position in the lineup below the Sportage, Sorento and Telluride, I’m curious how the new Seltos will impact the similarly sized Niro. Especially with the hybrid option and available all-wheel drive, which the Niro doesn’t have, pricing and feature availability trim-for-trim may give some incentive to pick one over the other.
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