Hyundai ix25 mini SUV spotted – design adopted from ‘Curb’ concept, Ford Eco Sport and Renault Duster in trouble
Hyundai is planning to launch a brand new compact Sports Utility Vehicle in order to tackle head on with Ford’s Eco Sport. The manufacturer has already started testing the new compact SUV which has been named as ix25 and it has been spotted several times in the past. No clear picture of this upcoming model has been captured so far as the manufacturer has covered test mules with heavy black coloured camouflage every time. Finally, an enthusiast has managed to explore some more by capturing few snaps that show interior of the test mule.
The upcoming ix25 compact SUV would be a tough competitor for Ford Eco Sport for sure as Hyundai has decided to develop the model slightly better relatively in each and every aspect. Ford’s Eco Sport was a revolutionary launch in the Indian market with a larger wheel base of around 2520 mm. As per the information, the upcoming ix25 is going to have 50mm longer wheel base than Eco Sport. As we can observe from the respective spy images, ix25 also looks much spacious than Eco Sport and there is no doubt about the comfort Hyundai’s mini SUV would offer.
Hyundai has worked hard with a team of most skilled engineers at their Design Studio located at California for launching the spectacular ‘Curb’ Concept at Beijing Auto Show 2011. The new ix25 SUV seems to be inspired from the same and the front fascia and external styling of the test mule spotted looks similar to the concept as well. We could expect the model to be made available for sale in the Chinese market by the end of this year most probably and Hyundai is likely to produce the model in China by tying up with BAIC.
It is also informed that there might be a lot of similarities between the upcoming i20 and the ix25 SUV in India. We could expect both these models to get powered with a 1.2 litre petrol engine and a 1.4 litre diesel engine mostly. There is no information about the Indian specs and launch schedule of the ix25 SUV so far. We must wait for few more months to find out more.
[Source: Rush Lane]