Kia has unveiled the name of its latest crossover that is due to be launched later in June. Moniker'd the Stelos, err, Stilletos, no! Seltos, yeah, Seltos, the baby crossover from Kia has been in works for quite some time now. Although not as funny as the Sylphy, the Seltos was not what we were expecting. But lately, Kia has been giving weird names to its vehicles. Remember Telluride? Why name a vehicle after a ski resort in Colorado? Anyhow, Kia has unveiled sketches of the crossover, and it sure looks quite impressive.

Did Kia Just Misspell a Mythological Character?

However, Kia decided to replace the C with an S that stands for Sportiness and Speed. I will touch base with this later because a cursory reading about 'Celtos' did not get me enough results. If anything, I found 'Celtus'; so, if you go by that logic, Kia should have named it Seltus. Anyway, that's for another day. Kia did not reveal much about the Seltos except telling us that it is a perfect all-rounder. Wait, what? The automaker said in its press release that it's also sophisticated, sporty, and spacious. We will not take Kia's word on this until we get to see it in person. There's no denying that Kia has some competent products in its line-up, but this is taking things too far. The compact SUV market is quite crowded already, and Kia is doing its best to hype the Seltos before the official launch.

Not A Bad-Looking SUV In The Sketches

Upfront, it features a fairly large but slim grille. The LED headlights are in line with the grille, but only get sleeker. The bumper houses vertically-mounted fog lamp clusters, along with an air dam in the middle. The hood features two creases to give the muscular feel. The rear looks quite smart in the sketches. The taillights are broad at the corner and only get slimmer and allows a strip with Kia branding to penetrate into it. I believe this strip will be made up of chrome in the production version. Reflectors are placed right below the taillights, and the bumper houses two exhaust pipes on either end. To break the monotony of the huge bumper, Kia has installed a faux skid plate.

The Cabin Will Intrigue The SUV's Target Market

The steering wheel comes with mounted controls on it, whereas the simple instrument cluster behind it is covered with a cowl. The center console follows a waterfall design. At the top is a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, followed by the slim HVAC vents. Even the engine start/stop button can be seen here. The controls and display for the HVAC unit is laced below the vents and are kind of tilted upwards to give the driver and passenger a better view. Finally, a stout little gear lever for the automatic transmission can be seen. It looks quite similar to the levers Audi uses in its entry-level offerings. Two cupholders and the electronic handbrake switch find their place in between the seats. Overall, it is a smart and practical layout.

Like I mentioned earlier, Kia is trying to hype the car as much as possible before its launch because you have to do something to make your vehicle stand out in perhaps the most crowded segment today. What are your thoughts about the Seltos? Share them with us in the comments section below.

Further reading

Read our full review on the 2020 Kia Telluride.

Read our full review on the 2019 Kia Niro.

Read our full review on the 2020 Kia SOUL.