SsangYong Tivoli facelifted

Just five months after the 2019 SsangYong Tivoli compact SUV went on sale in Australia, an upgraded new-look version of the car has popped up in Korea.

The facelifted SUV has been dubbed the 'Very New Tivoli' by virtue of a slightly redesigned front and rear bumpers and some interior updates.

A challenger for vehicles like the Hyundai Kona, Mazda CX-3 and Mitsubishi ASX, the Tivoli's fascia has a modified lower air dam, reworked fog lights and a less busy overall look.

The headlights and grille appear largely unchanged and at the rear the very new Tivoli the changes are limited to a subtle rear bumper redesign and new vertically aligned LEDs inside the unchanged brake light bezel.

The changes are more significant inside the compact Korean SUV with lots of the goodies borrowed from the promising SsangYong Korando, the Tivoli's bigger, more sophisticated sibling.

Things like the 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster can be seen in the promotional images, as can a bigger 9.0-inch centrally-mounted infotainment display.

The seats appear unchanged but there are a few changes to the dashboard design, with new-look air vents in evidence.

Priced from $23,990 (drive away) for the six-speed manual in Australia, the SsangYong Tivoli is powered by 1.6-litre petrol (94kW/160Nm) or turbo-diesel engines (85kW/300Nm). A six-speed auto is available for an extra $2000.

It's not yet clear if the updated Tivoli will continue running these engines exclusively or if the more advanced 1.5-litre turbo-petrol (120kW/280Nm) will make the cut.

The SsangYong Tivoli is currently available in front- and all-wheel drive guises and there are also different suspension setups, with torsion beam and more sophisticated multi-link independent rear suspension rigs available.

It's not clear whether the longer, stretched Tivoli XLV (with its giant 720 litre boot) will benefit from the upgrades.

SsangYong Australia is yet to comment on the timing of the facelifted Tivoli for Australia.