SPY PICS: Kia planning chunky, small SUV

This is the road-going reality previewed by Kia's funky Provo concept SUV, which was revealed as long ago as the 2013 Geneva motor show.

And the extensively disguised mini SUV spotted recently while undertaking hot-weather testing in the US is likely to show up in Australia in the not-too-distant future.

Sliding a smaller SUV beneath existing mid-size models is a worthwhile manoeuvre; Mazda's CX-3 has added more than merely-incremental sales to its super-successful CX-5, while Honda's little HR-V is already comfortably outselling the CR-V. Ford and Holden are experiencing significant interest in their smaller SUVs too: Ford's EcoSport is approaching 50 per cent of recorded – and admittedly miniscule – Kuga sales, while the Holden Trax is well over that mark when compared with the highly-popular Captiva.

With the Sportage currently on the ascendancy, the addition of a smaller SUV could only be a benefit to Kia.

Although it's expected the new B-segment Kia will inherit some design cues from the three-door Provo concept, it's clear that the fundamental body design will be quite different, particularly in the turret area. Where the Provo concept took on board some of the design principles used in the quirky Kia Soul, the test mule spotted here looks more visually related to the Sportage. Related to, but not the same, because the as-yet unnamed SUV is expected to be based on Kia's next-generation Rio light-class hatch.

Expectations are that the new mini-Sportage should make its Australian debut some time during the third quarter of 2017.