Hyundai i20 Active ruled out for Oz

Growing public interest and new entrants have spurred a 32 per cent sales volume increase in the small SUV segment for the first two months of this year, but Hyundai is left back at the starting gate without a viable competitor.

The company was believed to be assessing the Indian-built i20 Active (pictured), but an insider has hinted that safety concerns have effectively rendered the high-riding hatch a non-starter for Australia.

And despite confirmation from Hyundai India that within roughly six months it will begin selling the ix25 there in right-hand drive form, the Chinese-built SUV is also unlikely to get the go-ahead for Australia, as we reported just last month. The ix25 is considered by Hyundai's head office in South Korea to be unsuitable for developed markets like Europe and Australia. It is, however, closer to the sort of vehicle Hyundai Australia wants, to battle the Holden Trax and other similar rivals in the segment.

Hyundai is understood to be looking seriously at a third option for Australia, which will ride a little higher and project a wheel-in-each-corner stance, as does last year's Intrado concept car. The plan would call for the new model to keep the ride height and footprint of that car, and perhaps retain some of the styling cues – but not necessarily the elevated passenger-car silhouette. This third model is expected to share platform, underpinnings and presumably drivetrains and even some sheet metal with a Kia model – which is reportedly different again from the upcoming Niro and (Chinese-market only) KX-3 models currently in development.