NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A redesigned Mercury Mariner crossover SUV was revealed in Miami on Friday . The new Mariner retains the basic shape and style of the outgoing version but it has been completely redesigned and re-engineered, according to Ford Motor Co., which makes Mercury vehicles.

The redesigned version will go on sale early next year as a 2008 model.

2008 Mercury Mariner

Mercury is Ford's entry-level luxury brand. Its products, upgraded versions of Ford vehicles, are sold alongside Ford's luxury-level Lincoln cars and SUVs in Lincoln-Mercury dealerships.

In a recent interview with CNNMoney.com, Mercury brand manager Kim Irwin promised that Ford (Charts) would be making Mercury products more distinctive in the future.

As part of that drive, the Mariner was revealed by itself in Miami, amidst a large public relations campaign to drum up interest in the vehicle.

The Mariner is closely related to the Ford Escape. Ordinarily, related Ford and Mercury vehicles are revealed together. The Escape redesign will not be publicly revealed until the Los Angeles Auto Show in November.

"We've really upped the urban clean sophisticated look of the vehicle," said Irwin in an interview Friday.

The new Mariner retains the truck-like lines of the current version, but adds harder creases and sharper lines. Headlights and taillights have a more "technological" appearance.

"The 2008 Mariner is the first product to truly deliver 100 percent of the design DNA for Mercury as a brand," said Irwin in a corporate announcement.

Irwin pointed to the new Mariner's higher sides and narrower windows as well to the lack of plastic side cladding on the new version, in an interview with CNNMoney.com.

"Every surface was changed to make the vehicle look more substantial than the previous model," said Doyle Letson, chief designer for the Mariner, in a corporate statement. "We wanted the new Mariner to have a presence, sophistication and attention to detail that would be more appealing to the customer."

The new Mariner's interior features "satin pewter" finishes.

Temperature and stereo information is shown in a narrow display at the top of the dashboard. At night, gauges and knobs are lit in "ice blue" light.

The center console is large enough to hold a laptop computer. In back, the Mariner has a hidden lockable storage space. The cargo floor is reversible with a rubber surfacing on one side.

A redesigned Mercury Mariner Hybrid will go on sale at the same time as the non-hybrid Mariner.

The new Mariner Hybrid will be a "full hybrid," meaning that it can drive at speeds up to 30 miles per hour under electric power only. Where the current Mariner Hybrid is available only in four-wheel-drive only, the new Mariner Hybrid will be available in a front-wheel-drive version as well.

The Mariner Hybrid will have 1.6-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine combined with a 70 kilowatt electric motor. Combined, the two will produce the equivalent of 155 horsepower.

The new Mariner Hybrid will offer 75 percent fuel economy than the V6 Mariner, according to Ford, while offering similar zero-to-sixty acceleration.

The Mariner V6 will have a 3.0-liter 200-horsepower engine. The Mariner's standard engine willl be a 2.3-liter 4-cylinder engine capable of producing 153 horsepower

Photos: Ford's "Way Forward" cars