2026 Kia Seltos Petrol, Diesel Variants Explained — Which One To Buy?

11 December 2025
By Mahesh Yadav
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In this variant explained article, you'll find out which variant of the Kia Seltos you should buy based on ex-showroom prices, variant-wise features and value for money for a balanced ownership experience. Here we compare and objectively analyse the 2026 Seltos’s petrol and diesel variants and their features. Then we will compare the engine specs, dimensions and mileage of the 2026 Kia Seltos with its competitors and other petrol- & diesel-powered crossovers and SUVs such as the Hyundai Creta, Tata Sierra, Maruti Vitara, Victoris, MG Astor and Honda Elevate.

Kia Seltos 2026 Variants Explained — Petrol & Diesel

Update (Dec 11, 2025): In this article, you will find variant wise features of the new Seltos 2026. Variant-wise buying recommendations will be available once we have the full price list from Kia.

2026 Kia Seltos Variant-Powertrain Combinations

The Kia Seltos is available with the following 6 powertrain options:

1.5L normal petrol-manual (6MT)
1.5L normal petrol-automatic (CVT)
1.5L turbo petrol-auto-clutch manual (6ACMT)
1.5L turbo petrol-automatic (7DCT)
1.5L turbo diesel-manual (6MT)
1.5L turbo diesel-automatic (6TC)

The following table presents the variant-engine-transmission combinations of the Kia Seltos 2026:

2026 KIA SELTOS VARIANT-WISE POWERTRAIN OPTIONS
Variant	1.5L Normal Petrol-MT	1.5L Normal-Petrol-AT	1.5L Turbo Petrol-ACMT	1.5L Turbo Petrol-AT	1.5L Diesel-MT	1.5L Diesel-AT
HTE	✔	❌	❌	❌	✔	❌
HTE (O)	✔	✔	✔	❌	✔	✔
HTK	✔	✔	✔	❌	✔	✔
HTK (O)	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
HTX	✔	✔	❌	✔	✔	✔
HTX (A)	✔	✔	❌	✔	❌	✔
GTX	❌	✔	❌	✔	❌	✔
GTX (A)	❌	✔	❌	✔	❌	✔
X Line	❌	✔	❌	✔	❌	✔
X Line (A)	❌	✔	❌	✔	❌	✔

Kia Seltos HTE — Base Model Standard Features

The base model of the Seltos is available with 1.5L normal petrol-manual and 1.5L turbo diesel manual powertrain options.

2026 KIA SELTOS HTE POWERTRAIN OPTIONS
Powertrain	Availability
1.5L Normal Petrol-MT	✔
1.5L Normal-Petrol-AT	❌
1.5L Turbo Petrol-ACMT	❌
1.5L Turbo Petrol-AT	❌
1.5L Turbo Diesel-MT	✔
1.5L Turbo Diesel-AT	❌

The base model of the Seltos gets the following notable features:

KIA SELTOS HTE BASE MODEL STANDARD FEATURES
Safety	Infotainment	Functional	Style
Std. safety features	10.25-inch high-res touchscreen	4.2-inch colour LCD MID	LED DRLs
LED headlamps	Wireless Android Auto	Cruise control	LED tail lamps
Day/night inside mirror	Wireless Apple Carplay	Remote central locking	16-inch steel wheels
Dual horn	4x speakers	Height-adjustable driver seat	Wheel covers
2x front side thorax airbags	2x tweeters	2x USB-C front	Front & rear silver skid plate
2x curtain airbags	Bluetooth, FM, USB	2x USB-C rear	Shark fin antenna
Tyre pressure sensors (TPMS)	Steering-mounted controls	All power windows	Rear spoiler
Electronic stability control (ESC)		Front armrest	Flush door handles
Hill start assist (HSA)		Sunglass holder	Black & grey dual-tone interiors
All disc brakes		Vanity mirror	Digital instrument cluster
5x 3-point seat belts		Manual AC	Flat-bottom steering w/ metallic inserts
Rear camera		Rear AC vents	LED cabin lamps
ISOFIX		Power mirrors	Body-coloured outside mirrors
		Auto-headlamps w/ follow me home	Body-coloured bumpers
			Body-coloured door handles

For a car expected to cost around Rs. 11.0 lakh ex-showroom, the Seltos base variant seems quite well loaded with only a few missing features such as:

Auto AC
Tilt steering
Rear armrest
Rear parcel tray
Rear window sunshades
Rear split-folding seat backs
Rear adjustable headrests
Rear defogger

Kia Seltos HTE vs HTE (O) Variant — Price, Feature Comparison

The HTE (O) variant of the Seltos is available with all powertrain options except for the turbo petrol-automatic.

2026 KIA SELTOS HTE (O) POWERTRAIN OPTIONS
Powertrain	Availability
1.5L Normal Petrol-MT	✔
1.5L Normal-Petrol-AT	✔
1.5L Turbo Petrol-ACMT	✔
1.5L Turbo Petrol-AT	❌
1.5L Turbo Diesel-MT	✔
1.5L Turbo Diesel-AT	✔

The 2026 Seltos HTE (O) variant offers the following additional notable features:

KIA SELTOS HTE (O) FEATURES OVER HTE
Safety & Style	Functional
Electronic parking brake w/ auto hold (w/ auto only)	60-40 split-folding rear seat backs
3x traction control modes (w/ auto only)	Driver window 1-touch up/down
Stylish wheel covers	3x rear adjustable headrests
Rear LED light bar	2x seatback pockets
Leather + fabric upholstery	+2x drive modes (w/ auto only)
Gloss black roof rails	Paddle shifters (w/ auto only)

* = Expected but not confirmed

This variant misses out on the following features:

Rear window sunshades
Front parking sensors
Rear parcel tray
Tilt steering
Auto AC
Power folding mirrors

Kia Seltos HTE (O) vs HTK Variant — Price, Feature Comparison

In the Seltos HTK variant also, you get the same powertrain options as the lower HTE (O) trim.

2026 KIA SELTOS HTK POWERTRAIN OPTIONS
Powertrain	Availability
1.5L Normal Petrol-MT	✔
1.5L Normal-Petrol-AT	✔
1.5L Turbo Petrol-ACMT	✔
1.5L Turbo Petrol-AT	❌
1.5L Turbo Diesel-MT	✔
1.5L Turbo Diesel-AT	✔

This variant adds the following features to the mix:

KIA SELTOS HTK FEATURES OVER HTE (O)
Safety & Style	Functional
Rear defogger	Auto-pop door handles
Rear wiper	Keyless entry w/ push-button start/stop
Larger, 17-inch wheels (w/ auto or turbo only)	Rear window sunshades
Machined alloy wheels (w/ auto or turbo only)	Tilt & telescopic steering
	Rear parcel tray
	Power folding outside mirrors w/ auto fold

You may miss the following features in the Seltos HTK variant:

Auto AC

Kia Seltos HTK vs HTK (O) Variant — Price, Feature Comparison

The HTK (O) variant of the Seltos is the only one in the entire lineup to get all powertrain options.

2026 KIA SELTOS HTK (O) POWERTRAIN OPTIONS
Powertrain	Availability
1.5L Normal Petrol-MT	✔
1.5L Normal-Petrol-AT	✔
1.5L Turbo Petrol-ACMT	✔
1.5L Turbo Petrol-AT	✔
1.5L Turbo Diesel-MT	✔
1.5L Turbo Diesel-AT	✔

The Seltos HTK (O) variant adds the following notable features over the HTK trim:

KIA SELTOS HTK (O) FEATURES OVER HTK
Safety & Functional	Style
LED reading lamps	Leather upholstery
Wireless phone charger	Panoramic sunroof
Ventilated front seats (w/ auto only)	Leather steering wheel
8-way power driver seat	Metallic pedals
Front parking sensors

You may miss the following features in the Seltos HTK (O) variant:

Auto AC

Kia Seltos HTK (O) vs HTX Variant — Price, Feature Comparison

The HTX variant misses out on the turbo petrol-ACMT powertrain but gets everything else.

2026 KIA SELTOS HTX POWERTRAIN OPTIONS
Powertrain	Availability
1.5L Normal Petrol-MT	✔
1.5L Normal-Petrol-AT	✔
1.5L Turbo Petrol-ACMT	❌
1.5L Turbo Petrol-AT	✔
1.5L Turbo Diesel-MT	✔
1.5L Turbo Diesel-AT	✔

It offers the following notable features over the lower HTX variant:

KIA SELTOS HTX FEATURES OVER HTK (O)
Infotainment	Functional	Style
Larger, 12.3-inch touchscreen	Auto-dimming inside mirror	Brown-grey dual-tone interiors & upholstery
Telematics	2-zone auto AC	Soft-touch dashboard
OTA software updates	Ventilated front seats (manual also)	Multi colour ambient lighting
Bose sound system		5-inch touchscreen for auto AC
+1x centre stage speaker		Gloss black outdoor mirrors
+1x subwoofer

This variant actually feels quite well loaded for its expected asking price.

Kia Seltos HTX vs HTX (A) Variant — Price, Feature Comparison

The Seltos HTX (A) variant doesn’t get turbo petrol-ACMT and diesel-manual powertrains, but gets the rest.

2026 KIA SELTOS HTX (A) POWERTRAIN OPTIONS
Powertrain	Availability
1.5L Normal Petrol-MT	✔
1.5L Normal-Petrol-AT	✔
1.5L Turbo Petrol-ACMT	❌
1.5L Turbo Petrol-AT	✔
1.5L Turbo Diesel-MT	❌
1.5L Turbo Diesel-AT	✔

The Seltos HTX (A) trim offers the following notable features over the lower HTX variant:

KIA SELTOS HTX (A) FEATURES OVER HTX
ADAS, Safety & Style
+4x parking sensors	360-degree camera
Front collision warning	Rear cross traffic alert
Front collision avoidance assist	Rear cross traffic collision avoidance assist
Lane departure warning	Reverse parking collision avoidance assist
Lane keep assist	Safe exit warning
Lane follow assist	Blind spot alert
Auto high beam	Blind spot collision avoidance assist
Driver attention alert	Blind view monitor
Adaptive cruise control w/ stop-&-go traffic assist	12.3-inch full colour LCD instrument cluster

In this variant, you may miss features like:

Power tail gate
Power passenger seat

Kia Seltos HTX vs GTX Variant — Price, Feature Comparison

The GTX variant of the Seltos gets only automatic transmission options.

2026 KIA SELTOS GTX POWERTRAIN OPTIONS
Powertrain	Availability
1.5L Normal Petrol-MT	❌
1.5L Normal-Petrol-AT	✔
1.5L Turbo Petrol-ACMT	❌
1.5L Turbo Petrol-AT	✔
1.5L Turbo Diesel-MT	❌
1.5L Turbo Diesel-AT	✔

It offers the following notable features over the HTX variant:

KIA SELTOS GTX FEATURES OVER HTX
Safety & Functional	Style
Mud flaps	Dark chrome accents
+2-way power driver seat (10-way)	Gloss black cladding
Driver seat welcome function	Larger, 18-inch machined alloy wheels
Memory function (seat + outside mirror)	Neon brake calipers
LED projector headlamps	Black & white dual-tone interior & upholstery
Outside mirror dip on reverse

In this variant, you may miss features like:

Power tail gate
Power passenger seat

Kia Seltos GTX vs X Line Variant — Price, Feature Comparison

The X Line variant of the Seltos also gets only 3 automatic transmission options with the 3 engines but no manual at all.

2026 KIA SELTOS X LINE POWERTRAIN OPTIONS
Powertrain	Availability
1.5L Normal Petrol-MT	❌
1.5L Normal-Petrol-AT	✔
1.5L Turbo Petrol-ACMT	❌
1.5L Turbo Petrol-AT	✔
1.5L Turbo Diesel-MT	❌
1.5L Turbo Diesel-AT	✔

It offers the following notable features over the lower X Line variant:

KIA SELTOS X LINE

FEATURES OVER GTX

Style

Black alloy wheels

Matte grey exterior

Black & green dual-tone interiors & upholstery

Black skid plates

In this variant, you may miss features like:

Power tail gate
Power passenger seat

Kia Seltos GTX & X Line vs GTX (A) X Line (A) Variant — Price, Feature Comparison

The X Line (A) and GTX (A) variants of the Seltos also get the same automatic transmission options as the lower GTX and X Line trims.

2026 KIA SELTOS GTX (A) & X LINE (A) POWERTRAIN OPTIONS
Powertrain	Availability
1.5L Normal Petrol-MT	❌
1.5L Normal-Petrol-AT	✔
1.5L Turbo Petrol-ACMT	❌
1.5L Turbo Petrol-AT	✔
1.5L Turbo Diesel-MT	❌
1.5L Turbo Diesel-AT	✔

It offers the following notable features over the lower GTX or X Line variant:

KIA SELTOS GTX (A) & X LINE (A) FEATURES OVER GTX & X LINE
ADAS, Safety & Style
+4x parking sensors	360-degree camera
Front collision warning	Rear cross traffic alert
Front collision avoidance assist	Rear cross traffic collision avoidance assist
Lane departure warning	Reverse parking collision avoidance assist
Lane keep assist	Safe exit warning
Lane follow assist	Blind spot alert
Auto high beam	Blind spot collision avoidance assist
Driver attention alert	Blind view monitor
Adaptive cruise control w/ stop-&-go traffic assist	12.3-inch full colour LCD instrument cluster