Hyundai has been making a documentary. One installment of the new film series, called The Great Heritage: Car, gives us an inside look at Hyundai Group’s research and development center. A look that might have been a little too inside, because we think that we’ve just been shown something that wasn’t intentional: a look at what appears to be the second generation of the Kia Seltos.
The company’s small SUV is getting ready for prime time and is expected to show up early next year with hybrid and gas power.
A Design Documentary Shows More Than Intended
The video (embedded at the bottom of this article) is a short trailer for the Hyundai series. In the trailer, a number of Hyundai designers speak briefly about their insights into vehicle design and even a little bit about some of their previous experience.
Most of the cars in the clip are blurred out to make sure you can’t see them. It’s very jarring, but it makes this one crossover in the background jump out immediately.
Look to the right of the clay model you’re meant to be looking at. It’s way at the back, about halfway up the image. The Korean Car Blog spotted it first, lurking in the background.
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The site points out that you can see portions of the headlights of the new model. It also has a roof shape that looks like other Seltos prototypes that were spotted testing recently.
Up front, the multi-bar grille shares a resemblance to the upcoming Kia Tasman pickup that already launched in Australia and other markets. The transition from the roof to the tailgate recalls the Kia EV9 but also the Niro, with the rear quarter glass giving EV6 vibes.
According to the same site that spotted the SUV hiding in the back, the second-generation Seltos will arrive early next year with hybrid and gas powertrains. The hybrid will use a 141-horsepower 1.6-liter engine, similar to the system used in the Kia Niro. It will likely have an electric all-wheel drive system using a rear-mounted motor, which would help differentiate it from the Niro, which is also offered as a hybrid and is nearly the same size.
Seltos Replacement Expected January 2026
Kia’s quirky Seltos launched for 2021. It shares a platform with the Hyundai Kona as well as Kia’s Soul. Depending on the market, a wide range of four-cylinder gas and diesel engines is available. This includes a 147-hp 2.0-liter four for the U.S., and a 175-hp 1.6-liter turbo-four.
From what we’ve seen in pre-production photos and testing, the Seltos will get a more rugged look this time around. Moving to a flat-faced nose with a Jeep-like multi-slat grille will differentiate it significantly from the company’s electric crossovers as well as the latest Sportage and Sorento crossovers.
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The lineup kicks off at $24,590, with most trims receiving more standard features than before.
During Kia’s Q4 2024 earnings call last January, the automaker confirmed when it would reveal the all-new Seltos. We can expect to see it for the first time in January 2026. That will probably be the Korean-spec model, but it will give us a solid look at what to expect.
Source: Korean Car Blog
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