What You Need to Know About Kia Clavis: A Quick Guide

The new Kia Clavis was recently spotted in India and the rumours suggest that it might even get a diesel engine. Kia recently became the fastest carmaker to achieve 1 million (10 lakh) domestic sales in just 59 months of entering our market. That speaks volumes about the success, demand and popularity of its products. These have primarily been driven by the Sonet and Seltos. The subsequent products like the Carens, Carnival and EV6 have also done their part. With the Clavis, the Korean auto giant wants to expand its footprint even further. Let us get into the details of this latest spotting.

New Kia Clavis Might Get Diesel Engine

As per the latest information about the spy images by cars24newcars on Instagram, the Clavis will most likely be placed between the Sonet and Seltos. Now, this is quite interesting since there is already a huge price overlap between these two. To stuff this segment with yet another car seems superfluous to me. The demarcations between compact and mid-size SUVs are already blurring.

Hence, I wonder how the potential carmakers will accept the Clavis. In any case, the spy images indicate a boxy silhouette with EV9-like vertical LED DRLs on the extreme edges of the bumper and a large radiator grille section. I believe even the main headlamp cluster is placed adjacent to the DRLs. Moving down the sides, the sheer SUV stance comes to light.

There are handy roof rails, squared window frames, a relatively compact bonnet, modern aero-style alloy wheels and black ORVMs. At the rear, I again see the vertical LED taillamp cluster on the edges of the bumper, an upright stance and a relatively flat bootlid. Apart from that, we also get a glimpse of the inside. It gets a two-spoke flat-bottom steering wheel with multimedia control buttons. I also see HVAC controls with physical toggle switches in the back.

Our View

I am curious to see how Kia clavis positions the SUV in our price-sensitive market. It will borrow the powertrains from the Sonet. This means that there will be a 1.2-litre petrol, a 1.0-litre turbo petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel engine on offer along with the options of manual and automatic transmissions. Since the testing has begun, we are likely to witness more instances of the upcoming new Kia Clavis on our roads. With time, we will get to know more information.

Overview about Kia clavis

Kia is expected to launch a new B-segment SUV in India. It is known to be working on such a product for global markets. The name ‘ Clavis’ was recently trademarked, adding to suspicions. The vehicle is yet to make its debut. However, it remains to be seen if the manufacturer will bring the global product to India, or will go with a different India-spec version. A different set of documents reveals the name ‘Syros’ to be trademarked as well. This could also be for the India-spec. A new set of spy images has revealed key details of the upcoming SUV.

Kia Clavis : What Is To Be Expected?

We have no confirmed information on its actual dimensions, but spy shots suggest the upcoming Clavis SUV to be longer and slightly wider than the Sonet, but smaller than the Seltos. It could thus be placed between the two familiar SUVs in Kia’s domestic portfolio. Sources suggest that it could have the same length (4196 mm) as the global Kia Soul.

The test mules seem to be well camouflaged. However, a few details are obvious. Previously, it was anticipated that the SUV would have 17-inch wheels with funky triple-slotted geometric patterns. The new pictures, however, show the wheels to have four-slotted patterns.

According to spy pictures, the vehicle will likely have vertically positioned LED headlamps and DRLs, clamshell bonnet, front door-mounted ORVMs and rounded wheel arches with prominent cladding. There could even be flush-type door handles. Like most modern-day Kia clavis, the Clavis will also have full-width light bar and L-shaped LED lights at the rear. There could also be dual-tone roof rails and shark fin antenna. The production-spec is expected to have visual resemblances to the EV9, scheduled to debut on October 3rd.

The Clavis / Syros is expected to be packed with features. It could get a panoramic sunroof. Other features could be ventilated front seats, dual-tone upholstery, two 10.25-inch screens, wireless charging, mobile connectivity, a 360-degree camera, and an ADAS suite- shared with the Sonet. The vehicle will also come with six airbags and various other safety features.

Details regarding the powertrain options are limited. It is expected to borrow these from the Sonet, and will be underpinned by a new platform. In that case, 1.2 NA petrol, 1.5 diesel and 1.0 turbocharged petrol engines are to be expected. Manual, iMT and automatic transmissions will be available. Later in time, Kia clavis could also launch an EV based on the Clavis. It could offer ranges of up to 450 km. Some reports also say that Kia clavis could bring a hybrid form of this SUV as well.

If Reports are to be believed, Kia clavis will unveil the production form of this SUV by the end of 2024, and prices will follow in 2025.  Like the Sonet and Seltos, the upcoming SUV will also have a wide range of variants on offer, likely priced between Rs 14 lakh and Rs 26 lakh.

Kia Launches Gravity Editions In India

Making a more even spread among variants, Kia recently launched ‘Gravity Edition’ on the Sonet. Priced from 10.49 lakh, ex-showroom, the new variant adds more value to the product. It is available with NA petrol, turbo petrol and diesel engines. These will help generate room for the new SUV to slot in comfortably. Besides the Sonet, the Seltos and Carens also offer similar variants.

 Also Read: Kia EV9.