Kia has shown off the first heavily darkened, vaguely mysterious images of its new Sportage, and the big-selling crossover - a major favourite with Irish car buyers - is getting quite the dramatic new look.
Styling from the EV6 electric car
Just as with its platform-mate, the Hyundai Tucson, the new Sportage's style represents a dramatic departure from the current model. Out goes the slightly Porsche-esque styling and in comes a new needle-nosed look, with a distinctive LED daytime running light bar that seems to sweep from the top of the bumper over the front wing. At the back, there's a chopped-off, almost Kamm-like, tail which seems to bear some resemblance to the new EV6 all-electric car.
More importantly than mere styling, for the first time in its 28-year history, the Sportage will be specifically tuned for and aimed at European buyers (which we take to mean buyers here in Ireland too...). Quite what that means remains to be seen, but with models such as the big Telluride SUV (which is available only in the US and Canada), Kia has shown a recent taste for creating market-specific cars.
Giant screen
Inside, the changes are just as dramatic, with a big sweeping screen (two screens joined in the middle) that dominates the dash, and which once again takes clear inspiration from the EV6. It does look like Kia has - thankfully - kept a handful of physical buttons and a separate heating and air conditioning panel, though.
Assuming that the relationship with the Tucson remains close, we expect the Sportage to come with basic petrol and diesel models at the bottom of the range, along with hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions. The non-plug-in hybrid is likely to be the biggest seller in Ireland, if Hyundai's current Tucson sales are anything to go by.
Pioneering interior
"Taking inspiration from an ethos we created where nature meets modernity, the new Sportage challenges design norms with an adventurous yet contemporary exterior and a beautifully detailed and pioneering interior," said Karim Habib, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Design Center. "With new Sportage, we didn't simply want to take one step forward, but rather move to a completely different level within the SUV class."
Kia says that the full design and technical specs will be revealed in the coming weeks, so we'll keep you up to date.