With Venue, Hyundai has announced its entry in the hotly contested sub-4 meter SUV segment, which is dominated by rivals such as Maruti Brezza, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300 and Ford EcoSport. Venue comes across as a trendy name and it symbolizes a place where everybody wants to be i.e. inside the car. Hyundai’s micro SUV will be unveiled in India on April 17 and also at the New York Motor Show, on the same date. It will be launched sometime in mid-May in India.
Hyundai Venue will be positioned between i20 Active and Creta in the company’s line-up. It will get premium features such as wireless charging, ventilated front seats, and sunroof. Central console will feature a large touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple Car Play. Cruise control system and steering mounted media controls will be part of the package. Another of Venue’s USP is its ‘connected SUV’ tag, which hints at integrated internet connectivity, telematics technology and app-based remote access.
Hyundai Venue latest teaser video shows the SUV making its journey from Jim Corbett National Park to Nainital, in the winter season. Roads enroute to Nainital are laden with snow, and the video shows how easily the Venue SUV is making its way through on the ghat roads. Hyundai Venue will get 3 drive modes, these was confirmed via the leaked images. Next to the gear knob, is the drive mode selector.
From a design perspective, Venue derives inspiration from Creta and Tucson. Noticeable at the front is the rectangular grille, which is as per the new design philosophy being followed at Hyundai. Exterior features such as vertically stacked headlights and LED DRLs are derived from Kona and new Santa Fe. Venue will have dual-tone diamond cut alloy wheels that complement its snazzy profile.
Venue will be powered by an all new 1.0-litre turbo-petrol 3 cylinder unit mated to a 7-speed automatic transmission. This variant will be called Venue Turbo. Apart from this, there will be two more engine options. These are going to be 1.4 liter petrol and 1.4 liter diesel 4 cyl options. These are the same engine which power the Verna in India. Both engines will be mated to 6-speed manual gearboxes.
Safety features in top-spec Venue include 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, hill hold assist, reversing camera and rear parking sensors. With its premium features, Venue will be priced higher than Brezza and Nexon. It will have Mahindra XUV300 and Ford EcoSport as main rivals. Expected price is in the range of Rs 8-12 lakh. With the interesting list of features, Venue might eat into the sales of Creta as well.
