Car spotters tracked down a Hyundai minivan wearing a Custo badge in China in 2020, and now, the first patent images show the car with some added off-road trim.
Note the unpainted plastic body kit: the prototype from last year had none. This leads us to assume that the car will be positioned as a crosswagon, although it might come out in multiple versions, both off-road-focused and otherwise.
The newcomer sports a large radiator grille with chrome bars and LED headlights. Inside, the steering wheel is the same as in the latest Elantra and Sonata, the dashboard is digital, the gear selector is a button pad, and the center tunnel has two tiers. The cabin can take six or seven passengers, and the eight-inch portrait-oriented multimedia display looks the same as in the new ix25.
It has to be pointed out that the Korean automotive corporation already has a wagon/SUV crossover on the lineup: the Kia Carnival, which you can have a look at in the attached video. Kia itself calls it a Grand Utility Vehicle (GUV). It remains to be seen whether the upcoming Custo will be related to the Carnival in any way.
The pics also reveal a badge that reads â380Tâ. China-spec Santa Fe has the same badge, which in its case denotes a two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine rated at 240 PS (237 hp / 176 kW) and 353 Nm (260 lb-ft) of torque. The van will likely come with a FWD system and no other options beyond that.
The debut may take place at the Auto Shanghai show next month, and production will likely commence at the Beijing-Hyundai jointly owned factory in China. Availability in other countries remains unknown.