olee Posted May 13, 2019 Posted May 13, 2019 (edited) OS ANGELES — One of the toughest decisions by product planners working on the Hyundai Venue was to engineer the subcompact crossover with front-wheel drive only — forgoing claims as an occasional off-road vehicle capable of spinning all four wheels in mud or snow. And Hyundai could have added all-wheel drive with little effort, given that the Venue is a new global product. "We could have very easily created all-wheel drive for this," said Michael O'Brien, vice president for product, corporate and digital planning at Hyundai Motor America. "We have all the parts. We know how to do it." But what the planners gave up in awd grip, they gained in carving out a niche of their own. The Venue is built from the ground up as a stylish urban crossover for the U.S. at the price of a ho-hum economy car — a play that could even convert some used-car shoppers into new-vehicle buyers and bring them into the Hyundai fold. At its size, it's the first of its kind, but not likely the last, O'Brien said. LThere'll be more automakers coming into this area of the market, I think," O'Brien said. "Our speculation is that the Venue is going to really take off. I think the idea is just right for the market now." Hyundai's rapidly growing variety of crossovers — the Venue will be its seventh — resembles the once-dizzying array of hatchbacks, sedans and coupes that automakers produced when those were what consumers wanted, said Stephanie Brinley, principal automotive analyst at IHS Markit. At its size, the Venue is an evolution of the entry hatch. Part of the buzz came from its looks: tall and square and 5 inches shorter than the Kona. It may be all car underneath, but the Venue looks like a crossover. "When people are walking around a parking lot and talking to their friends, and they see that SUV shape, they feel like they are getting a vehicle that's got more space and more versatility," O'Brien said. "Automatically, that shape provokes something that's going to be a longer-lasting, lower-cost ownership product." The Venue offers safety features such as standard forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking and rear cross-traffic alert, which are difficult to find at its price in a new or used vehicle. Buyers can add a sunroof, heated seats, two-tone paint and additional safety equipment that are not universally offered by rivals. O'Brien knows that the Venue, when it arrives in showrooms this fall, won't be the only entry-level kid on the block. Hyundai's sibling company, Kia, has long had a runaway hit with the Soul hatchback, now in its third generation, which is an inexpensive surrogate for a crossover. The Soul leads the subcompact car segment; it sold 104,709 units in 2018. The Venue is a natural rival. "What we do like is the role of [the Soul] in their lineup," O'Brien said. "They're getting those millennial buyers that want something very versatile." Nissan adapted its Kicks crossover from developing markets to be an entry-level utility vehicle in the U.S., as Ford did with the EcoSport. O'Brien sees them all, along with the Honda Fit hatchback and economy cars in general, as potential competitors for the Venue. The wild card is that automakers are still trying to figure out where the consumer will land, with subcompact crossovers coming in a wide range of sizes just like compact crossovers before them. "We really don't know 100 percent," O'Brien said, "how to make those trade-offs." Edited May 14, 2019 by - Dark.ito Closed
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