And it’ll be here in H2 this year.
After a long line of teasers and previews, Hyundai has finally pulled the veil off of its compact SUV contender, dubbed the Venue. Making its world debut at the New York International Auto Show, the Venue promises to offer the very best of Hyundai’s innovations in terms of design, safety, and technology in what’ll otherwise be their most affordable SUV in history.
“The all-new Venue might be small in size, but it’s big on practicality and personality. Its bold and unique character sets it apart from other SUVs on the market, offering a unique, entry-level vehicle for those consumers seeking a savvy design with an abundance of standard safety technology, and connectivity features.” – Mike O’Brien, Vice President (Product, Corporate, Digital Planning), Hyundai Motor America
The Venue is very much an of-the-moment machine and, among the competition, the it ticks all the right boxes (albeit in a totally objective manner). There are a variety of alloy wheel options (ranging from 15- to 17-inches in size), there’s a two-tier light setup on the face, a ‘cascading’ grille with lots of chrome, and a comprehensive suite of advanced driver assistance systems (like lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and AEB).
There’s all the usual smattering of connectivity options too, like an 8-inch infotainment display featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The inclusion of smartphone mirroring is important as the Venue on its own doesn’t offer satellite navigation (which is fair, considering the budget-friendly appeal it pushes).
We’re struggling to find anything interesting to say about the Venue because, aside from the two-tone paint options and the possibility of having denim as a cabin fabric, it fails to offer anything more than you would have gotten in an Accent 5-door anyway. Perhaps the Venue serves to remind people that while SUVs are more desirable, they’re not actually any better than the hatchbacks everyone’s desperate to ditch.
Shame though. They could have had a moment with this and run with it, like how Volkswagen’s done with the T-Cross.
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