Kia Motors began selling its new compact sports utility vehicle Seltos on Thursday, which the automaker called it a “game changer” in the global small SUV market which has doubled in size over the last five years. 

The Seltos, which was unveiled in India last month, can be characterized by its spacious interior with 498 liters of trunk space and a relatively long car body at 4,375 millimeters -- the longest in the small SUV category, according to Kia. 

“Seltos has a strong design and high product quality, and will become a game changer in the competitive small SUV market,” said Kia Motors Vice President Kwon Hyuk-ho. 

Seltos is available in two engine lineups, a 1.6 turbo gasoline which runs on maximum of 177 horsepower and 27 kilogram-meters of torque, and a 1.6 diesel model that is equipped with maximum of 136 horsepower and 32.6 kilogram-meters of torque. 

The carmaker said it has increased the fuel economy of both engines by applying seven-speed dual clutch transmission, which enables strengthened responsiveness of the speed pedal. 

Kia has also applied its latest driving safety technologies as default to Seltos, putting the driving assist functions including forward collision-avoidance assist, lane following assist, lane keeping assist, driver attention warning and high beam assist to all trims. 

Customers can choose from six colors for the exterior paint, including white, blue, orange and red, as well as two-tone options, such as white for the body and black for the roof.

The Seltos offers three driving modes -- normal, sport and eco -- and there is an additional driving assist traction mode, which allows stable driving on roads with snow, mud or sand. 

The price of the 1.6 turbo gasoline model begins at 19.2 million won ($16,200) for the lowest trim, Trendy, 22.3 million won for the Prestige trim and 24.4 million won for the Noblesse trim. For diesel model, the price starts from 21.2 million to 24.3 million won and 26.3 million won. 

Kia said it has received 5,100 preorders from June 26 to Wednesday, and that the Seltos would go on sale in global markets including India and China. The company has set an annual sales target of 40,000 units for the car starting 2020, with a 20,000 target for this year.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)