Significant styling changes inside and out.

IN motoring parlance it’s a facelift – yet the revisions to Kia’s smallest sports utility are realistically more of a bum tuck, since easily as much change has occurred at the rear as to the front. 

Revisions just revealed in South Korea are set to show in this part of the world later this year, assuming the schedule for Australia also applies here. The countries often share common stock, but there’s been no comment from Kia New Zealand. 

The styling alterations occur as the car wraps up its third year of sale since launch. The car features a new front bumper, grille, LED headlights with daytime running lights and, of course, it updates to the latest Kia emblem.

As said, the rear has altered more. It now delivers T-shaped tail-lights running horizontally across the boot lid, and the lower bumper has also been restyled to feature a more prominent silver 'bash plate' and fog lights.

Other exterior changes include a set of new-look 18-inch alloy wheels, similar to the design of those on other Kia SUVs.

The cabin has also been refreshed, with a significant equipment upgrade with the addition of a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, up from the seven-inch unit fitted to the outgoing range-topping GT-Line grade.

All upcoming Seltos grades appear set to feature a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen – angled towards the driver and adopt a rotary shift-by-wire dial as a gear selector, in place of the more traditional stick shift. Again, these revisions bring it in line with more recent product.

Kia produces Seltos with the choice of a 2.0-litre, naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol mated to a CVT automatic with front-wheel drive, and a 1.6-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder petrol, with all-wheel-drive and a seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic.