It’s the new Kia K3, or the Forte as it’s known to us here – this disguised mule was spotted on the North-South highway by reader Sallehuddin, who sent us these photos.

The second-gen YD wears cladding, but gives away enough cues to offer its identity, like the foglamps and that unmistakable grille. The rear bumper’s lower cladding features a mask line to straighten the kinks, but the lines are evident upon closer inspection. Also, the K3’s unique character line – which starts low-set on the front door just above the rocker – can be partially seen in the rearward shot.

The K3 was launched in Korea a couple of months ago, so the car’s ‘arrival’ here is pretty fast. The evaluator is likely running trials, and it won’t be until sometime early 2013 that the actual market vehicle debuts.

The Korean market vehicle wears a 1.6 litre direct-injected four-cylinder delivering 138 hp and 167 Nm of torque – guess we’ll have to wait and see what our new Forte will have.