Kia compact SUV in works to rival Hyundai Venue and Maruti Vitara Brezza

- The Kia compact SUV will be launched in H2 2020, around August.

- It will use the Hyundai Venue's platform with a different top hat.

- It is expected to be priced between Rs 7-11 lakh (ex-showroom).

Kia Motors India is working on a compact SUV to rival the likes of Hyundai Venue, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and others. The compact SUV will be based on the same platform that underpins the Hyundai Venue. However, it will get a different top hat, with the signature Kia design philosophy.

The compact SUV will be Kia's third product for India after the Seltos and the upcoming Grand Carnival luxury MPV. It will be launched in India in the second half of 2020, around August. Kia Motors India wants to completely utilise its production capacity of 3,00,000 units by 2022, which the company says cannot be achieved by the Seltos and the Grand Carnival. And more mainstream products will be needed.

The Kia compact SUV will more or less get the same features as that of the Venue. Expect it to get the smart connectivity features via the UVO Connect suite and an eSIM for internet connectivity. Under the hood, the Kia compact SUV will feature the same engines/gearbox combinations as the Hyundai Venue. There will be two petrol engines - 1.2L Kappa and 1.0-litre TGDi. The latter will get an optional seven-speed DCT. It will also get a 1.4L CRDi diesel motor that will be paired with a six-speed manual gearbox.

Kia is looking at aggressive pricing for the compact SUV. So expect it to be priced in the bracket of Rs 7-11 lakh (ex-showroom). Besides the Hyundai Venue and Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, the Kia compact SUV will also compete against the Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport and the Mahindra XUV300.

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