Hyundai ix35 news - Hyundai flashes the Qash’ - 2009

This is the Hyundai's all-new SUV, the ix35.

Previewed by the ix-onic concept, the ix35 will be unveiled in Frankfurt next month before going on sale in the UK early next year as a rival to the Nissan Qashqai.

Yes, like Nissan's unpronounceable soft-roader, the ix35 is being pitched as a genre-busting crossover, offering a ‘stylish alternative to conventional cars' within a small footprint - it'll take up less road space, says Hyundai, than a Focus or Golf.

Also like the Qashqai, the ix35 will be offered in front- and four-wheel drive. Hyundai expects the cheaper, more economical front-drive cars to account for 95 per cent of sales.

Engines, though yet to be announced, should follow the lead of the i30 hatch, with 1.4- and 1.6-litre petrols, and 1.6- and 2.0-litre turbodiesels.

The ix35 may not be quite the genre-buster Hyundai believes it to be, but it's a decent looking thing, isn't it? The Koreans say the ix35 previews the future styling of the brand. Expect to see that six-point grille and, er, creasier styling rolling out across the range over the next few years.

When it reaches UK roads next spring, the ix35 will replace the outgoing Tucson. Who's going to miss the beloved little Tuc'? No one? Anyone?