New Kia MPV will be a rival to the likes of Maruti Ertiga and XL6 – It will be offered as 6 seater and 7 seater
Ahead of its launch, New Kia MPV codenamed KY has been spied again on road tests. Latest spy shots are credit to automotive enthusiast Rahul Bhaskar, who caught the test mule on the roads of Bangalore. India will be among the primary markets for Kia new MPV. The South Korean company has plans to achieve 50k sales of KY MPV in India every year.
Overseas markets will also be targeted, with plans to export 26k units per annum. Kia KY MPV will be manufactured at the company’s facility in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh. This plant currently has production capacity of 3 lakh units per annum.
Kia KY MPV styling and features
Based on Seltos platform, Kia new MPV will borrow some of the styling bits such as tiger-nose grille. A prominent bumper can be seen at front that houses a large air dam. Not much can be said about finer design details, as all test mules spotted till date have been heavily camouflaged.
What’s evident is the large size of the MPV, which is expected to measure around 4.5 meters in length. In comparison, Seltos measures 4,315 mm in length. Kia new MPV is expected to be taller and wider as well.
Kia KY has thick body cladding all around. Fenders have a circular design, as compared to the squared design seen with Seltos. The MPV has sharp-cut machined alloy wheels, which enhance the vehicle’s road presence. It is expected to have a dominating front fascia. Roof rails and a large sunroof can be seen. At the rear, the silhouette seems familiar to that of Seltos. To differentiate itself, the MPV could get a new rear bumper and tail lamps.
New Kia MPV Sunroof, Other Features
Being larger and probably wider and taller as well, Kia new MPV will have ample space for all passengers. The windows appear significantly larger, something that should make the MPV a preferred choice for sightseeing. The three-row MPV will be offered in 6-seat and 7-seat configurations. In the 6-seat version, the middle row will have captain seats.
Top-spec variants of Kia KY MPV will be equipped with sunroof. Just like Seltos and Sonet, it will be single pane electric sunroof, and not a panoramic sunroof as seen on Creta. It will also get UVO connectivity platform. More than 50 features could be on offer spread across safety and security, remote access, convenience, navigation, AI voice commands, and vehicle management. Some key features include stolen vehicle notification and tracking, stolen vehicle immobilization, geofence alert, SOS emergency and road side assistance.
Kia KY engine options
It is likely that Kia new MPV will be offered with both petrol and diesel engine options. It could borrow the 1.5 litre petrol motor and the 1.5 litre diesel motor from Seltos. The former makes 115 ps / 144 Nm whereas the diesel unit churns out 115 ps / 250 Nm.
A 2.0-litre petrol engine could also be on offer. This unit is currently offered with cars like Hyundai Elantra, Tucson and Alcazar. It makes 159 ps / 191 Nm. Both manual and automatic transmission options will be available.