Hyundai: Is This Venue Big Enough for You?

Hyundai hopes the answer to that question, for a good number of young or otherwise cash-strapped buyers, is “yes.”

As it performs a slow leak of its upcoming small Venue crossover ahead of the New York Auto Show, the Korean automaker wants would-be buyers to know the subcompact Kona won’t be the cheapest Hyundai crossover for long. Nor the smallest.

But how small is too small for America?

When he told you about the upcoming sub-subcompact mini-ute, Matthew Guy had trouble imagining a smaller crossover than the Kona. Dimensionally, the Venue might not undercut the Kona in size by all that much. This isn’t Japan.

No official specs are available for the perusing, but the Venue’s severely truncated rear, seen here in these artist sketches, points to a compromise on cargo capacity (especially if that rear glass is as steeply raked as the images suggest). After being burned on U.S. sales volume due to its limited crossover lineup, Hyundai’s not taking any chances, preferring to stuff any white space in its lineup with new crossovers. The new Santa Fe and recent Kona were the first salvos in that effort, with the 2020 Palisade serving as a larger, more brawny range-topper.

One the bottom of the size scale, Hyundai feels there’s room for something with an MSRP below that of the $19,990 (before destination) Kona. That’s the space where Nissan’s Kicks plays. The front-drive-only Nissan starts at $18,540 for 2019.

Certainly, Hyundai wants to get across that the new model is indeed smaller and cheaper than Kona. In a brief bit of copy targeted at Millennials, the automaker touted the Venue’s “abundance of playful and practical features including seamless safety, versatility and connectivity,” without mentioning engine size or availability of all-wheel drive.

All will become clear on April 17th, when the Venue accepts out-of-shape journalists into its cozy cabin.

[Images: Hyundai]