For the very first time and after a few sightings of crude test mules, Seat has rolled out an actual prototype of their upcoming SUV.

There are layers and layers of plastic camouflage and misleading moldings, but there’s an SUV hiding under those covers and you can tell that from the height of the body, even though this particular prototype is sitting closer to the ground than what’d you expect from a car in this segment.

The compact-sized tester pictured here will be Seat’s foray in the SUV segment rivaling the Nissan Qashqai as well as its VW Group sibling, the VW Tiguan. It will be based on the group’s modular MQB platform with power coming from a range of three-cylinder petrols and four-cylinder petrol and diesel units, all turbocharged.

Styling will be in tune with Seat’s most recent SUV concepts, the IBX from 2011 and the 20V20 from this year’s Geneva Motor Show.

Seat may be late to the SUV party that’s going on in Europe and elsewhere, but the unnamed compact model that will be introduced in 2016, will only be the beginning, as the Spanish brand plans to bring two more models to the market, a smaller, Nissan Juke competitor in 2017 and possibly a mid-size model with seating for seven before the end of the decade.

Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoops

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