Kia SP2i SUV will go on sale in the second half of 2019 and will compete against Hyundai Creta, Tata Harrier, Nissan Kicks and the likes
Kia is one of the two new global car manufacturers debuting in India this year. Having made a strong impact by showcasing its entire lineup at the Auto Expo last year, Kia unveiled an exclusive concept called the SP, which pertains to the domestic market as well as abroad in its production form. Its inception is the first step towards Kia’s aim of becoming the fifth largest brand in the coming years locally.
The commonly known as SP2i for India could be named the Tusker or Trailster, and it has repeatedly been spied testing across the country. Here we have a new set of SP2i’s images as the camouflaged prototype does show some of the design details. Kia began the trial production of the SP2i back at the end of January 2019 and it will go up against Hyundai Creta, Nissan Kicks and Tata Harrier.
The South Korean automaker is targetting high localisation at its Anantapur plant in Andhra Pradesh and the SP2i will play a key role in utilising the installed capacity of three lakh units per annum. The SP2i is part of Kia’s strategy to launch one new vehicle every six months until 2022 and in fact, more than 2 billion USD investment has been made at the factory along with vendor partners.
The SP2i takes plenty of design inspiration from the SP concept but it resembles close to the more matured SP Signature concept displayed at the Seoul Motor Show less than a month ago. In the spy pictures, it is easy to see the prominent front fascia occupied by the signature Tiger Nose grille while below the sleek pair of headlamps on either side, the LED sequential turn blinkers can also be witnessed. It will make for an attractive addition to the premium SUV as it works in a sequence while turning direction.
The front bumper has a wide central air dam with horizontally positioned slender fog lamps in a well-defined housing. The swooping bonnet has character lines and the windshield is heavily raked with tall pillars supposedly ensuring a good interior room. It runs on machined wheels of 16- or 17-inch size while the rear end comprises of horizontal LED tail lamps with chrome boot applique likely to be offered in the top-end variants.
Other notable exterior features are shark fin antenna, roof rails, high mounted stop lamps along with skid plates up front and rear. The SP2i will more likely have plenty of commonalities with the segment-leading Hyundai Creta from its parental brand. It will be powered by 1.5-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel powertrains with manual and automatic transmission choices.
Kia will distinguish the SP2i by selling it with a number of first-in-class features such as an all-digital instrument cluster and a plethora of driver assistive, connectivity and safety equipment. The price range could hover around Rs. 9.5-14 lakh (ex-showroom) and the launch will take place in the early parts of H2 2019.
