Hyundai's new compact SUV is really going to heat up the segment even though carmakers are pessimistic about growth prospects this year
As the Angriya cruise boat headed out to sea from Mumbai, past the Gateway of India, Hyundai India used the opportunity to unveil its new compact SUV, the Venue. While the standing joke among automotive journalists was about the unique ‘venue’, the car was itself quite interesting. This segment was birthed by the Indian government’s ridiculous excise rules that gave concessions to cars below four metres in length and with smaller engines, instead of a progressive level of taxation based on emissions. The Ford EcoSport was the first SUV to take advantage of this rule, but now carmakers are developing products specifically targeting this segment, and making adjustments for this market. You had the Maruti-Suzuki Vitara Brezza, developed for India by an Indian team and Mahindra’s engineers recently re-engineered the Ssangyong Tivoli, reducing length to adhere to Indian norms as the XUV300. And now the Hyundai Venue does that too. This model is a global product as India has been on the top of the mind for the Korean carmaker. Indeed, the Indian unveil took place an hour before the car was showcased at the New York auto show.
There is a global market for compact Sports Utility Vehicles, and the Indian market is no different. But Hyundai had no product in this segment other than the hastily put together i20 Active, which was an i20 that has a bit of extra plastic cladding and a raised suspension. And if you’re thinking that the Venue is similar to the i20, far from it. It looks unique and the headlights and front indicators look similar to those on the Tata Harrier, although both cars were developed concurrently. It is a very unique looking product and with stand-out front design and a very nice rear-end, it is possibly one of the smartest vehicles to enter the market now.
And all of this has been done without compromising on interior space. In fact, the interiors are where the Venue really shines. Hyundai India is actually launching its connectivity suite, Blue Link, with the Venue when it goes on sale from May 21. Connectivity and infotainment are huge selling points, or that is what carmakers think and the Venue has a Vodafone-Idea eSIM car that allows you to use Hyundai’s concierge services and Here Maps with live traffic data sources from Ola. Personally, I’m happy if a car has an Apple CarPlay system which gives me all that minus a concierge service. Or Android Auto, both of which offer me music-streaming services. But Hyundai is ensuring that both services will still work on the Venue.
The Venue’s unveiling was also an opportunity to meet Hyundai India’s new Managing Director, SS Kim, and his understanding of the Indian market. While he is still new to India, Kim did mention that Hyundai will be going all guns out with the Venue. However, with Hyundai about to launch the electric Kona in India in a couple of months, he did say that we still have to work on improving electric vehicle infrastructure as well as increasing Indian consumer acceptance of the higher prices of electric cars. Well on Angriya, things were pretty electric already.
