Hyundai and Kia are likely to launch facelift model of Creta and Seltos respectively with more tech like ADAS and more
South Korean cousins Hyundai and Kia are No 1 players in the compact SUV segment. Together, these two SUVs have over 63% market share in the segment – with over 21k sales in Nov 2022. Carens too has been reporting good sales of about 6k units a month.
Together, Hyundai and Kia sell over 25k units of Seltos, Creta and Carens in a month. A good chunk of these sales come from the 1.4 liter turbo petrol engine. Now, sources reveal that Hyundai and Kia are getting ready to discontinue this engine option. But why?
New 1.5L Turbo Petrol – Creta, Seltos, Carens
It seems that Hyundai / Kia 1.4L turbo petrol engine won’t pass the new RDE norms under Phase II of BS6 transition set to happen before April 2023. Other engine options are not an issue, and they will continue to be on offer. But this 1.4 T unit, in its present condition, will not meet the upcoming norms.
That said, the 1.4L turbo petrol unit was the choice for enthusiasts and absence of turbo petrol would result in decline of sales. There is good news. Sources reveal that Hyundai / Kia are working on replacing this 1.4L unit with a new 1.5L turbo petrol unit in India. Hat tip to automotive enthusiast Sharman D’Souza for sharing this exclusive update.
Recently, we had shared spy shots of Creta, which was on test with emission testing equipment strapped on it. Earlier it was speculated that the company is considering offering CNG bi-fuel option on Creta and hence the emission testing equipment. Not that the company isn’t toying around with CNG launch plans.
But the Creta test mule spotted last month, seems to be testing this new 1.5L turbo petrol powertrain and not CNG fuel with its current powertrains. It even had the ‘On test by ARAI’ sticker on it. This new engine is found under the hood of various cars and SUVs under Hyundai and Kia brands overseas.
New Engine Specs – More Power, More Torque
This new 1.5L turbo petrol engine makes 160 PS of power and 26.5 kg-m (260 Nm) of torque. Our sources stated that this engine will be offered with both manual and DCT transmissions. In contrast, the 1.4L turbo petrol engine currently doing duty in Creta, Seltos and Carens makes 140 PS of power and 242 Nm of torque.
This engine is mated to either a 6-speed manual and 7-speed DCT gearbox option. Hyundai doesn’t offer a manual transmission on Creta with this engine combination, while Kia offers a manual transmission option with this engine on both Seltos and Carens.
Hyundai, Kia CNG Launch Plans
Hyundai and Kia were reportedly developing CNG powertrains for premium SUVs and MPVs with this 1.4L turbo petrol engine. Kia Carens test mule that was spotted with CNG equipment, was mated to the 1.4L turbo petrol engine. If this engine is taken off the shelf, their CNG endeavours with premium offerings might not see the light of the day.
It is not yet known if CNG is on the cards with this new upcoming 1.5L turbo petrol engine. That said, Alcazar was also spotted testing with emission testing equipment which was speculated to be testing on CNG fuel with the 2.0L petrol engine. It remains to be seen if this engine will make it on Alcazar or not. More info might be out soon.
