Kia Seltos HTX Variant Explained: Should You Go For This Mid-spec Trim?
The HTX is where the Seltos truly starts to feel premium, offering a compelling blend of feel-good features at a sensible price point
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Interested in buying the new Kia Seltos? Here’s our Ultimate Buying Guide!
Kia recently launched the 2026 facelifted Seltos with a larger footprint, a newer design, a refreshed cabin with more features and a revised variant lineup. The 2026 Seltos is offered in 10 broad variants: HTE, HTE (O), HTK, HTK (O), HTX, HTX (A), GTX, GTX (A), X-Line, X-Line (A). Sitting right in the middle of the range, the HTX variant is the sweet spot where the Seltos begins to genuinely feel like a premium SUV.
If you're eyeing a variant that does feel fairly well-equipped without breaking your bank, then this mid-spec variant could be the one for you. Let’s take a closer look to help you know everything about the HTX:
Kia Seltos HTX: Exterior
The HTX variant brings a noticeable step up in road presence compared to the lower trims, introducing some new design elements over the lower-spec HTK (O).
At the front, it retains the LED headlamps and DRLs from the lower variants but adds LED front fog lamps, which enhance both the look and practicality of the SUV in conditions where there is low visibility. From this variant onwards, the front bumper gets a gloss finish for the grille, giving it a sharper, more upmarket appearance. You also get silver front skid plates that add a hint of ruggedness to the overall design.
In profile, the SUV sits on 17-inch alloy wheels, and it gets ORVM-mounted turn indicators. It comes with a gloss black finish for the roof rails that accentuates both the styling and stance of the SUV. The Seltos HTX features flush door handles that give the SUV a modern look.
At the rear, you get connected LED taillamps and a silver skid plate for contrast. Moreover, you also get features like a shark fin antenna and a roof-mounted spoiler, adding a hint of sportiness and more character to the design.
Higher variants come with larger alloy wheels, LED projector headlamps with a dynamic welcome function, side door garnish with dark accents, and gloss finish for the skid plates.
| Confused between the HTK (O) and the HTX of the Kia Seltos? If you're confused between the feature-rich HTK (O) and the more premium HTX variant, here's our detailed comparison |
Kia Seltos HTX: Interior
Step inside the HTX, and the cabin feels considerably different. This variant introduces a new brown-and-grey interior theme with green accents, giving it a more distinctive, premium character compared to the grey-and-black setups of the lower trims.
You get leatherette seats with soft-touch materials on the dashboard, which make the cabin feel noticeably more upmarket. The leather-wrapped steering wheel from the HTK (O) is also carried forward here. In case you also want to check out the HTK variant of the Seltos, you'll find all details here.
From the HTX onwards, you get a larger infotainment unit, which makes the cabin feel more premium and is also better to use than the smaller unit. Moreover, you also have multiple colours of ambient lighting to make the cabin feel more inviting. The panoramic sunroof makes the cabin feel airy and more spacious.
You also get convenience-enhancing bits like armrests with storage spaces, large cup holders, grab handles, and a rear parcel tray.
Kia has smartly given many necessary comfort features right from the base variant. Fancy taking a closer look? Check out this story. You can also take a look at the one-above-base variant in this report.
| Confused between the HTX and HTX (A) variants of the Kia Seltos? If you're confused between the HTX and the HTX (A), here's our detailed comparison for you |
Kia Seltos HTX: Features
The HTX is where the Seltos' feature list takes a proper leap forward, and it starts with the infotainment system.
The highlight upgrade here is the larger 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, replacing the 10.25-inch unit found in lower variants. This is paired with a dedicated 5-inch display for climate controls, keeping the main screen clutter-free. The audio experience also gets a significant boost with an 8-speaker Bose sound system, which is a notable addition for audiophiles.
The HTX also adds features like connected car tech, 64-colour ambient lighting, 8-way powered driver seat and ventilated front seats. Features carried over from lower variants include keyless entry, push-button start/stop, cruise control, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and a wireless phone charger.
| A few misses: Even though you get a well-equipped package, you still miss out on features like a 12.3-inch digital driver display, 10-way powered driver seat with memory function, driver side welcome retract function and auto reverse ORVM. |
Kia Seltos HTX: Safety
The HTX's safety kit is largely similar to the lower mid-spec variants and covers all the essentials well. You get 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control (ESC), and all-wheel disc brakes as standard.
The variant also includes a rear parking camera with guidelines, rear parking sensors, front parking sensors, ISOFIX child anchorages, electronic parking brake with auto-hold and a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS).
| The absence of a 360-degree camera is the only omission that will feel like a big miss. Higher variants also get a full suite of level-2 ADAS feature. |
Kia Seltos HTX: Powertrain
The HTX gets almost all powertrain options that are available with the Seltos lineup, except for the turbo-petrrol with iMT combination. Here’s a look at the specifications:
| Engine |
1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol |
1.5-litre turbo-petrol |
1.5-litre diesel |
| Transmission |
6-speed MT/ CVT |
7-speed DCT |
6-speed MT/ 6-speed AT |
| Power |
115 PS |
160 PS |
116 PS |
| Torque |
144 Nm |
253 Nm |
250 Nm |
Kia Seltos HTX: Price & Rivals
The HTX variant is priced between Rs 15.59 lakh and Rs 18.49 lakh (ex-showroom), depending on the engine and gearbox combination chosen. The Seltos competes with the Hyundai Creta, Maruti Grand Vitara, Tata Sierra, Maruti Suzuki Victoris, Renault Duster, Honda Elevate, Toyota Hyryder, Volkswagen Taigun, and Skoda Kushaq. Variant-wise prices can be checked in this report.
CarDekho Says
The HTX variant is arguably the most well-rounded variants of the 2026 Kia Seltos. It brings in the genuinely feel-good upgrade and even soft-touch materials, without pushing the price into territory that is difficult to justify.
However, buyers who frequently drive on highways or value advanced safety tech should consider stepping up to the HTX A, which adds Level-2 ADAS, a 360-degree camera, and the 12.3-inch digital driver display.
If these features don’t matter to you, then the HTX hits the sweet spot. It delivers the premium feel, covers all the essential features you would actually use daily, and does so at a price that still makes rational sense. Moreover, the availability of so many powertrain options means that you might just be able to get your ideal variant-powertrain combination with this variant.
If you want to take a look at how Kia has distributed the features across different variants, then head over to this story.
Let us know what you think about this mid-spec variant in the comments section below.
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