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Kia teases ‘Tusker’ interior

Kia has issued another set of teaser images for its all-new small SUV, unofficially named the 'Tusker', this time giving us a first look at the interior.


Following the exterior sketches released earlier this month, the interior images show the new SUV's dashboard and control layout, which appears to draw a bit of inspiration from the Cerato small car – right down to the identical steering wheel.

A minimalistic approach to physical switchgear has been employed on the centre stack, with just a strip of buttons used for the climate controls, while another set of physical buttons reside under the floating tablet style infotainment display.

The display in question is a new 10.25-inch system that has begun to roll out across a number of Hyundai and Kia models overseas, while configurable ambient lighting will be available, too.

Kia says the interior is "trimmed in high-quality materials throughout", which should "appeal to young-at-heart, tech-savvy buyers".

"We have focused on designing a cabin unlike any other in the small SUV segment, with a greater sense of depth and richness to the design," said Byung Chul Juh, head of styling at Kia Motors Corporation.

"Our newest model will offer greater pleasure and satisfaction to our customers, with a premium-quality interior that benefits from sophisticated design details."

The new SUV will be Kia's global entrant into the compact SUV class, filling a gaping hole in the brand's line-up in regions like the Asia-Pacific and North America, where it currently lacks a competitor to the likes of the Hyundai Kona and Mazda CX-3.

In Europe, the pint-sized Stonic has been on sale for some time, and the crossover range in that region will soon be bolstered by the XCeed, which is a small SUV based on the Euro-market Ceed hatchback.

Kia says the new crossover will go on sale in its home market of Korea during the second half of 2019, with "sales in other regions to follow soon after".

The company's local division says we'll get the vehicle "late in 2019", with previous coverage pointing to an October/November launch.

Stay tuned to Drive for all the latest.

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