Kia SP SUV (Creta Based) To Launch In India Mid Next Year

Kia Tusker Rendering

The upcoming compact SUV from Kia will be the production version of SP Concept and it is expected to be launched by the middle of next year

Kia is going to officially commence its India sales by the middle of next year and the first product from the company will be a compact SUV to rival sister brand’s Creta, which is currently the market leader. The upcoming model will be the production version of SP Concept and the global debut took place at the 2018 Auto Expo.

The company conducted an online poll earlier this year to finalize the name of the production model and Tusker was the popular name in the poll, but the company didn’t announce the name as it will be revealed only at the launch. The compact SUV will be built at the upcoming plant in Andhra Pradesh and it is expected to start production by the middle of 2019.

The Tusker will be based on a revised platform of current generation Hyundai Creta and both models will share lots of components to keep cost down but the design is going to be completely different. Kia has earlier confirmed that the production model will look almost similar to the concept.

The Concept model comes with bigger alloy wheels and camera which will be replaced in the production version. The front gets signature grille of Kia along with split headlamp design similar to Tata Harrier in which the top portion is LED DRL and below is the projector or LED headlamps.

kia SP Tusker Creta Rival india-1

The compact SUV might come with 17-inch alloy wheel for top-end models and the rear gets LED tail lamps. The interior is expected to follow the same design theme as current Kia products and quality of materials will be par among with Creta. The Tusker will be packed with features like touchscreen infotainment system, leather seats, climate control, cruise control and more.

The upcoming model will offer lots of safety features like 6 airbags, ESP, ABS and EBD. The compact SUV will be powered by new BSVI 1.5 L diesel and petrol engines, which is expected to offer the same performance as current 1.6 L engine in Creta. The transmission options include both manual and automatic.