By the end of the year, Hyundai is expected to have swiped the covers off two very important models for the company's future - the 2011 Sonata mid-size sedan, pictures of which we showed you earlier today, and the second generation Tucson SUV that could be revealed as early as this September at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Even though Hyundai has tried its best to hide the Tucson's styling with a plastic "body armor", these latest scoop photos imply that the exterior design of the crossover will be less radical than this year's Geneva show ix-onic concept model.

Moving on to interior, our spy shots suggest that Hyundai's new contender in the key compact SUV segment will boast a more upscale interior with a more attractive design for the dashboard. Better materials should also be in the mix.

Sharing the same platform architecture with the new Kia Sportage that is currently under development, the 2010 Tucson will be offered in both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive layouts.

According to our sources, Hyundai plans to offer the Tucson with two newly developed 1.6-liter direct injection petrol engines including a naturally aspirated version with an output of 140HP that will also power the Veloster Coupe, and a turbocharged variant with around 175 horsepower that was previewed on the concept model. However, our people did not confirm if these powerplants would be available upon launch or at a later date.

Diesel lovers won't be let down either as the Tucson's engine line-up will also include a couple of oil burners such as the 2.0-liter 'R' unit that makes 184 horsepower and 400Nm of torque.

Hyundai's new Toyota RAV-4 rival that is rumored to be renamed to iX35 in many markets, should arrive in Europe by year's end, followed by North America in early 2010.