SPY PICS: Hyundai Creta compact SUV

Hyundai's party might have been pooped after the publication of these spy pics on Twitter recently, but the Korean car-maker is unlikely to shed any tears as the new model is expected to generate big bucks.

The drip-feed of information for the oddly-named Creta SUV began in early June, when only its name was revealed, before the first official Creta sketch was released a week later.

But now the cat's out of the bag as Twitter member Felix Jose has snapped what appears to be a pre-production version of the car.

He says the photos were taken in the car park of the Hyundai's Chennai factory in India and appear to showa top-shelf model featuring LED driving lights, alloy wheels and fog lights.

The interior also shows a decent-sized infotainment screen (likely a touch-screen) along with plenty of steering wheel buttons and a matching two-tone dashboard and seat upholstery. It's also equipped with a manual gearbox of indeterminate ratios.

The exterior shows a conservative but contemporary design whose angular motif mimics elements of the larger Tucson due on sale here next month. It also incorporates the latest iteration of Hyundai's corporate face via a premium-look three-bar grille.

These spy photos appear to confirm the design of the new model roughly four weeks ahead of its expected global premiere in late July.

Hyundai will commence manufacture of the new Creta compact SUV at its Indian operations in the second half of the year, but with this pre-production model looking showroom-ready, it's clear production will ramp up earlier rather than later in the second half.

Sales of the new model are expected to start in India later in 2015 and because Hyundai is calling the new vehicle a global model (as evidenced by the quality of the design inside and outside) it's likely to be sold in all mainstream markets – including Australia.

When the ix35 is replaced by the Tuscon in July, Hyundai Australia will be without a compact SUV -- a void that's likely to be filled by the Creta.

Although the local arm of the Korean company is keen to offer a new city-SUV to rival the popular Mazda CX-3, Hyundai's Australian PR boss, Bill Thomas, wouldn't be drawn on its Aussie suitability.

"Yes [the compact SUV] is a boom market and we very much want representation there. As for that particular vehicle [Creta], we can't say yet whether we would or wouldn't take it."