Kia has definitely been pressing the right buttons in the design department. From the big surprise that the Cerato Forte gave all of us, and the new Sorento, here comes the first few images of Kia's new Sportage.

Unfortunately for Kias, they have always been labelled a cheaper, inferior, alternative to Japanese cars which had better quality control, better engines and more reliable engines. But recently, the Koreans have been doing some catching up. The Cerato Forte is a huge success, with its break-through design and an interior that you actually feel comfortable in rather than sitting there for the sake of travelling from point A to B. Kia has evolved and transformed into cars that people want to buy. I've sat in the old Cerato and that felt like sitting in a Little Tikes playhouse; plastic everywhere, and I might say that Little Tikes uses better quality plastics than the Kias of old..

Now this, this is different. The new Sportage will debut at the Geneva Motor Show and it may turn a few surprised heads over there. It looks bold, sporty (as it should be) and more low slung than before. The old one looked as if it was mashed up together with panels from different cars, a disoriented mess. But this looks much more fluid, even rather handsome. Its going to be more practical too, having a longer wheelbase giving passengers more legroom and boot space. As for the engines, details aren't concrete yet but Kia say that they will have the standard 2.0 litre diesel and petrol engines but may feature smaller, more efficient units as well.

I guess we'll have to wait till this new baby lands in Geneva to find out more