Q. Explain Kia Seltos variants.

HTE (base variant) is recommended for those looking for a diesel SUV on a tight budget. The Kia Seltos’ base variant is equipped with all the necessities. It doesn’t feel lacking in any department and the fact that it undercuts the Creta petrol and is closely priced to the Nissan Kicks makes it a sensible option. HTK, mid-variant of the Seltos Tech-Line is a brilliant value offering for petrol buyers. It gets a host of additional equipment at just a fraction of the premium that diesel buyers will have to pay. For the diesel variant, the premium might sound a bit steep, but it will help improve your ownership experience in the long run. Thus, for the sake of modernity without loosening your purse strings by much, you can get the Seltos HTK. But for a loaded Seltos that delivers value as well, you’d need to stretch a bit more. HTK makes sense for diesel buyers. The add-ons that one gets on the HTK don’t justify the premium over the HTK variant. Most of these features are either cosmetic or feel-good in nature. And most of these features don’t hold much relevance in day-to-day usage either. However, the HTK is the most affordable variant with a diesel-auto powertrain option. HTX is expensive but worth at its price. This is the variant to go for for those looking to get a premium iteration of the Seltos. While this variant is the most affordable one that offers the 1.5-litre petrol with an automatic gearbox, the diesel engine is only available with a manual transmission. That aside, this variant gets most of the Seltos’ segment-first features and asks for a healthy but rather acceptable premium. The Kia Seltos HTX is a diesel-only offering and gets a whole lot of kit over the HTX variant at an acceptable premium. If you had already stretched your budget till the HTX, then consider getting this as it will not have much effect on your monthly EMIs either. However, all’s not rosy here as despite being a top-spec offering in the Tech-Line trim, it misses out on side and curtain airbags, which is available on the GTX but comes at a premium of Rs around 85,000. If we talk about GTX, the premium is quite steep, but given the extra safety and feel-good features, the GTX is our variant of choice. Apart from a striking looking exterior it also has the safety suite of side and curtain airbags which makes it a great pick in our books. GTX (The top-spec Seltos GT-Line) is available with a bit more premium goodies and safety features but if we were you, we’d skip this unless we were in the mood to splurge. Having said that, it offers some unique features such as a 360-degree parking camera with a blind spot monitoring system (displays feed from the ORVMs in the MID). You may compare all its variants accordingly.