South Korean carmaker Hyundai has stated that their upcoming sub-4-meter compact SUV will be officially known as Venue in India. The upcoming sub-4 meter compact SUV will lock horns with the likes of Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport, and recently launched Mahindra XUV300 in India. Hyundai already has a compact SUV named Creta in the Indian market and it has been a very strong seller, however with this new sub-4meter compact SUV, the South Korean giant will officially enter the segment and challenge rivals directly. The concept version of upcoming Hyundai Venue was first revealed at the 2016 Auto Expo in India as the Carlino Concept. The company has been testing the same since then.
Hyundai will officially present the production version of their sub-4 meter offering at the New York Motor Show next month. The company teased the name of the upcoming Venue through a video released by the brand. As far as the launch of the sub compact SUV is concerned, it could be launched in India sometime in May 2019. The new upcoming Venue will be positioned below the brand’s smash hit Hyundai Creta in the market.
The company has so far refrained from disclosing any engine details and there have been no leaks on that front as well. However, the rumor mill has it that Hyundai may equip the Venue with the newly developed 1L turbo petrol engine rated for 110 Bhp-170 Nm. Whereas, the diesel mill could be the 1.4L engine borrowed from Elite i20 and Creta likely to be in the state of tune of around 89 Bhp and 220 Nm. As far as the transmission is concerned, like all popular rivals, Styx will be paired with both a manual and an automatic gearbox. In order to keep the costs low, the brand can go for an AMT unit on the gearbox front. Just like the rivals in the segment, Hyundai Venue too will be a front wheel drive car and there will be no other variant of the car.
Hyundai has an image of pushing the envelope in the segments and stuffing their cars with a plethora of features such as rear AC vents, wireless charging points to name a few. With the Mahindra XUV300 being loaded with features, Hyundai too maybe bound the same way as far as their sub compact SUV Venue is concerned. The recently released teaser hinted at the availability of a sunroof as well. The upcoming Hyundai Venue will obviously offer the minimum safety equipment as standard but the pricier trims may go ahead to offer features such as cruise control, hill hold, additional airbags and ESP among others. One can also expect the upcoming sub compact SUV to be full of comfort features such as keyless entry, automatic dual zone climate control, push button start, auto-headlamps, and rain sensing wipers etc.
There is no news about the pricing of the car as of now, but the upcoming Venue will of course be priced way lower than Creta. The South Korean could go with a value for money offering in the segment and price the Venue accordingly. Also, the brand could well may go the Mahindra XUV300 way and present the Venue as a more premium option in the segment. As to how the upcoming Hyundai Venue will be placed in the market remains to be seen, but the new entry in the segment will definitely give more options to the customer and make the rivalry in the segment more intense.