SPY PICS: Hyundai's Trax beater

Indian motoring website rushlane.com has published pics of the Hyundai i20 Active, a high-riding i20 derivative that may come to Australia.

Hyundai Australia has told motoring.com.au previously that the Chinese-market ix25 is unsuitable and head office (HMC) has vetoed it for our local market and Europe. Not even a high-spec version would make the grade here, according to the big wigs in Seoul.

But that leaves the leadership team at HMCA (in Oz) casting around for an alternative – and one that can retake some market share from cars like the Holden Trax, Ford EcoSport, Renault Captur, Peugeot 2008 and Mitsubishi ASX – vehicles that are more gridlock-friendly than the current smallest SUV in the range, the ix35, which is soon to be replaced by the Tucson.

Designer of the Tucson, Nicola Danza, had told motoring.com.au to expect an all-new model based on the i20 platform. This vehicle, the i20 Active looks like it. In India, where the car was snapped by a rushlane.com reader, the i20 Active is but a month away from launch, and Hyundai has issued a sketch of the vehicle ahead of its debut.

HMCA sources the i20 from India, so shipping the i20 Active from India to Australia would not be unprecedented. There are a couple of flies in the ointment however. The i20 on which the i20 Active is based has not been confirmed for Australia yet. Furthermore, it's understood the i20 Active will be launched in India with either a 1.2-litre petrol engine or 1.4-litre diesel – but both coupled to manual transmissions. Unless Hyundai has something else up its sleeve, the i20 Active won't be a big seller here without a self-shifting transmission.