SPY PICS: Mystery SUV revealed as Geely Emgrand NL-3

Update, July 9: The SUV that is the subject of this story has been identified as the Geely Emgrand NL-3, courtesy of reader 'smarta'.

Clearer pics were published last month by CarNewsChina.com, which reports the small SUV will be launched in its home market late this year. It's anticipated to be offered with a choice of three engines: naturally-aspirated 1.8 and 2.4-litre units, plus a 1.8-litre turbo. The disguise doesn't necessarily mean the NL-3 is set to be introduced to the Aussie market.

It's believed that the NL-3 is in Australia for development work by local firm Premcar, which consulted to Geely for the development of the GC9 (Borui) launched in China earlier this year. In the past, Geely vehicles have been seen in Australia for transmission calibration by local firm DSI.

These two images snapped yesterday by motoring.com.au show a small SUV prototype caught up in Melbourne traffic. In keeping with the standard protocol for pre-production cars, it has been clad in camo and de-badged. And we’ve got no idea what it is...

Based on its short overhang, and the scale lent by the N16 Pulsar sedan next to it, the SUV looks to be a five-seater – possibly in the same sort of league as a Nissan Qashqai. The tail lights, which wrap around the quarter panels but are shrouded at the corners on the body sides broadly resemble the Qashqai's, but are markedly different in detail, although one shouldn't draw too many conclusions from the clusters, which are blacked out with tape at the corners and on the tailgate.

Plenty about the SUV hints at Toyota too. The chrome garnish between the tail lights, the wrap-around glass in the tailgate and the rising beltline in the rear quarter panels all point to the new Fortuner, which is yet to be officially revealed. But the Fortuner’s detailing is more aggressive and the new Toyota is a larger car than this one. It will seat seven.

The concave tailgate is a parallel with Jeep's Cherokee and the Subaru Tribeca. There's a centre fog light in the rear bumper cover, which points to the SUV being designed for European markets. But the gap between tyres and wheel arches – plus the vehicle's ride height – indicates this is not a crossover SUV; its home market is one that demands a bit more off-road ability than something like a Honda CR-V can muster.

Furthermore, crossover SUVs that are popular in Europe and North America feature thick, raked D pillars in a hatchback style. This vehicle is proportioned more like a wagon. That and the Outlander-like sculpture lines along the flanks – and all the other styling cues besides – send a strong message to consumers that this vehicle can go off-road to some degree.

Given the grab-bag of styling details from different brands for this SUV, we reckon it's from China or India, but so far the usual suspects don't appear to have anything like this in the works.