Hyundai has a new small SUV in the making, early prototypes of which has already been caught undergoing test runs.
As reported by Auto Express, Hyundai is eyeing the slot currently dominated by the Nissan Juke with its new SUV. The Korean manufacturer is looking to launch the baby SUV within the next 18 months, which means it is going to be 2018 for the vehicle to enter service or around the last quarter of 2017 at the earliest.
If that is the case, then chances are that we might get to have an early look at it during the Geneva Motor Show in March next year. Hyundai had also showcased the Intrado concept back in 2014, design cues from which might be adopted on the new SUV as well.
The Renault Captur and Peugeot 2008 will be its other competitors.
Underpinning the new SUV could the i20 chassis which has been in existence for just two years now. Powertrain options could be drawn from the i30 which should prove to be enough to power the small SUV that in any case will have almost the same dimension as the i30.
That point to the use of the 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder and 1.4-liter four cylinder gasoline engines or the 1.6-liter diesel powerplant with a different state of tune to suit the driving dynamics of an SUV.
Hyundai had earlier launched the ix20 as a small crossover though demand for the same has gone down sharply of late. Chances are that the ix20 might be phased out completely, even though it has just a facelift last year. The new small SUV should make a nice fit in its place, more so considering that consumer preference has shifted more towards SUVs than crossovers.
Hyundai already has a winner in the form of the Tuscon in the full-sized SUV segment. The Tuscon has emerged to be the company biggest-selling model in Europe in just a year since its launch.
Meanwhile, in another related development, the Korean automakers has said it is recalling about 41,000 Tuscon SUVs sold in the US to sort out a software issue that prevented the car from accelerating even when the engine is revved hard. It applies to the model year 2016 Tucson that comes with a seven-speed dual clutch automatic transmission. Hyundai hasn't revealed if the European spec SUV too can be prone to the software bug given that the 7-speed DCT is also on offer in the region.
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