KIA is expanding its presence in the booming crossover market with the arrival of the XCeed.

Due for release in September and priced from £20,795 the XCeed will join Kia's Stonic and Niro models in the increasingly popular segment of the UK car market.

Based on the latest Ceed platform the XCeed is the fourth member of the Ceed family and built in Europe at Kia's factory in Slovakia.

And while it may share its underpinnings with the Ceed hatchback, the XCeed looks totally different.

Not only is it wider, taller and longer than the hatch it also comes with a new-look nose, pronounced sills, body cladding around the wheel arches and a metal-effect diffuser at the rear.

Only the wheelbase and the door panels are carried over from the hatchback.

Inside, the XCeed marks the debut of Kia's first fully digital instrument panel alongside a central touchscreen display which can be as large as 10.25-inches with the brand's latest UVO Connect system.

There's also a new yellow paint job exclusively for the car and the colour theme can be carried over to the interior with inserts in the trim.

In total Kia will be offering the XCeed in a choice of a dozen paint finishes

The XCeed will be available powered by two of Kia's T-GDi turbo petrol engines - a 1.0-litre three cylinder with 120ps on tap or a more powerful 1.4 with 140ps - and two 1.6-litre diesels developing either 115 or 136ps.

Diesels will be priced from £22,095 and six-speed manual or seven-speed dual clutch transmissions will be available on all but the manual only 1.0-litre.

Performance figures are 11.3 seconds 0 to 60 for the 1.0-litre with a top speed of 116mph, 9.4 seconds and 125mph for the 1.4 and the diesels come in at 11.4 seconds for the lower powered version and 10.6 for the 136ps engine.

Maximum speeds for the diesels are 118mph and 122mph respectively. Kia says it will be announcing fuel figures once the XCeed has finished homologation.

The XCeed also features a revised suspension set up with new hydraulic rebound stoppers which Kia says improve ride quality.

Luggage capacity is increased as well with the XCeed having 426 litres of boot space - 31 litre more than the Ceed - which extends to a maximum of 1,378 litres putting it on par with many a SUV.

The XCeed was unveiled at an exclusive premiere in Germany where Emilio Herrera, Kia's European chief operating officer, said: "The sporty design and demeanour of the new Kia XCeed CUV makes it more innately desirable than many SUVs. Yet it offers this without compromising on versatility, with its intelligent packaging achieving impressive interior and luggage space."

At launch Kia will be offering the XCeed in a fully-kitted First Edition trim priced from £28,095 for 1.4-litre petrol models and £29,195 for a diesel as well as other versions in 2 and 3 trim levels.

As such, the XCeed is competitively pitched against the likes of the Nissan Juke and Toyota C-HR and Kia says its newcomer is an alternative to SUVs with its ride height increased by up to 184mm over the Ceed hatch.

Like all other models from the Korean car maker, it is covered by an industry leading seven year, 100,00-mile warranty and come next year Kia plans to introduce 48-volt mild-hybrid and plug-in versions of the XCeed in line with its plans for electrification of its vehicles.