Kia Wants A Slice Of The Compact Crossover Segment

The compact SUV class is in full swing and the Korean car manufacturer wants to take advantage of this perk, especially as it has the means to do it.

According to Motoring, Kia could unveil such a vehicle at the Los Angeles or Detroit motor shows in November or January, respectively.

The B-Segment SUV should be based on the Rio, and its production variant will arrive (in Australia) in the third quarter of 2017 – as opposed to the car it’s based on and the with the new Picanto, which will be launched at the beginning of the year – as Kia Australia COO Damien Meredith cautiously explained:

“It’s not a full SUV, that’s why it’s called a CUV. We’ve got to be very strident about what effect it will have on Rio. It needs to fit into the market and do what it needs to do in the CX-3 and HR-V segment. As long as the aggregate is more than we lose it’s OK.”

In terms of design, Meredith suggested something that will closely resemble the Provo concept car – revealed at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.

Kia Provo pictured