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Hyundai Creta Baby Crossover Officially Announced

Hyundai Motors has officially announced the name of a brand new subcompact crossover it plans to launch later in 2015. They call it the Creta, and we have a pretty good idea of what to expect.
Hyundai ix25 1 photo
Photo: Hyundai
Small crossovers represent one of the fastest-growing segments in the auto industry at the moment, so it's not surprising that Hyundai wants to have a rival for the Juke or Captur. The Korean company's new naming strategy seems to focus on dropping the old alphanumeric scheme. That's why the replacement for the ix35 is only being called a Tucson.

The Creta is probably going to be a production version of the ix25 Concept they showed at Auto China 2014 and a few other venues. It's been seen testing at the Nurburgring on a few occasions and will also have a Kia sister, the Niro.

Hyundai chose to name its small soft-roader Creta as an obvious derivative from the Greek island of Crete. However, they also claim that "Creta deliberately evokes welcome similarities with the term ‘creative’, and draws on positive associations with the Mediterranean island of Crete, which is famed for combining a relaxed and tranquil environment with a vibrant, energetic approach to outdoor activities."

The ix25 is already on sale in China, being assembled locally since last fall. There, it's equipped with a 1.6-liter engine making 125 hp with front-wheel drive and a 2-liter rated at 161 hp on all-wheel drive versions.

However, Hyundai says the Creta will be a global product, to be released in the second half of 2015 starting with India. We think that means production will take place there, and exports models will be sent primarily to Europe.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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