Most new model scoops and spy shots usually only show some aspects of unreleased and upcoming new models, but in the case of these new images leaked out of the EU Registry, you get the full monty.
What you see here is the 2011 model Kia Sportage, the Korean car maker's latest compact SUV. With a front end design reminiscent of the Cerato, it represents a huge improvement over the current Sportage, which to put it kindly is a widely recognised as a dull design.
Kia's design department, led by ex-Audi man Peter Schreyer, continues to raise the bar for the Korean brand which until the last two years has struggled to capture the imagination with its new models.
With European influences now making their way into the designs, which can clearly be seen in the front end design and overall profile of the leaked 2010 Sportage, the Asian car maker is finally starting to turn heads.
The rear design appears to have a more colloquial style and the new Sportage will share much of its underpinnings with its sister model, the Hyundai ix35 Hyundai ix35, aka Tuscon.
Kia's all-new Sportage will compete with vehicles such as the Toyota RAV4 and Subaru Forester in the compact SUV genre and together with the Hyundai ix35 could really shake up the market segment.
Though no official date has been set for the Kia Sportage's official launch, it could be shown at one of the upcoming motor shows, either in Geneva or New York in March and April respectively.
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