Hyundai Venue: New teaser of the compact SUV surfaces before launch today at the New York Motor Show

Hyundai India will unveil the Venue compact SUV on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast later today. At about the same time, the sub-4 meter SUV will be revealed to the world on a global scale at the New York Motor Show. Ahead of the actual unveil, Hyundai USA has put out yet another teaser of the Venue. Check it out.

As the render indicates, the Hyundai Venue will have a squarish profile from the front, highlighted mainly by the LED  DRLs, but will also get a bunch of curves that add an element of Hyundai’s new design philosophy: Sensuous  Sportiness. The SUV will also get the waterfall front grille, which is a standard element across most if not all new  Hyundai cars. The Venue will be positioned under the Creta in terms of pricing and positioning. It is expected to be  at least a couple of lakhs cheaper than the Creta, with a starting price of Rs. 7.5 lakhs. The top-end trim of the  Hyundai Venue could be priced at between Rs. 10.5-11 lakhs.

We have already seen the interiors of the Hyundai Venue – particularly the dashboard of the SUV – through a bunch of spyshots that surfaced a couple of weeks ago. From the spyshots, it’s clear that the new compact SUV will have  premium interiors, with many components such as the steering wheels, switches and control stalks shared with the i20 Elite premium hatchback. It remains to be seen if the Hyundai Venue shares its platform with the Elite i20. What  it’ll certainly share are the mechanicals.

The Hyundai Venue is likely to get three engines – two of them shared with the Hyundai i20 Elite. The base petrol  motor is a 1.4 liter-4 cylinder naturally aspirated unit that puts out 99 Bhp-132 Nm. A 5 speed manual gearbox will  be standard with this motor. The other petrol engine will be a brand new 1 liter-3 cylinder turbocharged unit with  about 110 Bhp-170 Nm on tap. The turbo petrol motor will be paired with a 7 speed twin clutch automatic gearbox. The diesel motor – again shared with the i20 – will be a 1.4 liter turbocharged unit with 89 Bhp-220 Nm. A 6 speed manual gearbox will be offered with the diesel motor as standard.

In typical Hyundai fashion, the Venue will be feature-rich. It’ll be India’s first truly ‘connected SUV’ with a range  of connectivity and entertainment options on board. From sunroof to remote start and air conditioner operation, the  Venue promises to offer quite a lot, stuff that even the Creta does not offer. The Venue will get a front wheel drive  layout as standard. Hyundai is not likely to offer an all wheel drive version of the Venue, even as an option.  However, the sub-4 meter compact SUV will get a high ground clearance that will allow it to easily pass across various urban obstacles on Indian roads such as potholes and speed breakers. The Hyundai Venue – in that sense is a  raised hatchback with an SUV form factor. It’ll compete with similar vehicles such as the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, the Mahindra XUV300, the Honda WR-V, the Tata Nexon and the Ford EcoSport.