Hyundai Venue N Line to be launched in India as a more premium and sporty variant?

Aditya Chatterjee Updated: July 09, 2019, 05:20 PM IST

Hyundai India will be launching the Venue SUV in the country on May 21. What makes it an important offering is the fact that the Venue marks Hyundai's foray in the sub-four-metre compact SUV segment. A space that has strong players in the form of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Ford EcoSport, Tata Nexon and the Mahindra XUV300. Hyundai has already confirmed that the Venue will be sold in India in four variants that will be available with an option between two petrol and one diesel engine paired with a manual transmission or a DCT. However, Hyundai North America COO, Brian Smith had confirmed, at the 2019 New York International Motor show, that an N-Line version of the Venue SUV is in works. We believe that Hyundai India could launch the same in the country as a more premium and sportier variant that will be positioned on top of the SX(O) trim.

The Hyundai N-Line, rendered by our team, is expected to get a sportier kit along with N Line detailing and features that will be offered on the top-spec variant

Hyundai Venue N Line or N performance ?

Hyundai's enthusiastic range of cars sold internationally are offered in two categories, the N Line and the N Performance. The N in the naming denotes the Namyang R&D Centre in South Korea which is the brain behind the company's global research and development network, and was responsible for the development of the new i30 N, the first-ever N production car. Additionally, the N also symbolises the race track design of the famous Nurburgring race track.

The N Performance cars are offered with higher state of tune engines while the N-Line gets a design kit inspired by the N to make it look aesthetically more appealing than the regular. Presently, the Hyundai N Performance range consists of i30 N, Veloster N and the i30 Fastback N while the N Line of cars include the i30 N Line, i30 Fastback N Line and the Tuscon N Line. Hyundai has already started working on a full-blown Kona N SUV as well as a Sonata N.

Coming to the Hyundai Venue, the compact SUV is expected to get a turbo-petrol four-cylinder version of the 1.6-litre engine that could make 200PS similar to the one offered in the GT-Line of the 2020 Kia Soul. However, this will be sold in international markets. We believe it is the Hyundai Venue N Line that will make it to India and will be offered with the 120PS turbo-petrol 1-litre engine paired with the DCT.

Hyundai Venue N Line design and features

The Venue N Line could get a sporty body kit with blackened grille and alloys, side skirts and N Line badges. The cabin could sport the contrasting double-red stitching on the dashboard, steering wheel and also on the leather around the gear level. The N logos will also be seen on the gear knob, door sills and also on the leather seats inside the cabin. Since this one will be the top-of-the-line offering, it will come equipped with features such as sunroof, wireless charging, cruise control, eight-inch touchscreen with Car Play and Android Auto, speed sensing door locks, air purifier, keyless entry and other array of functions with the BlueLink that includes roadside and emergency assistance along with the crash alert notification along with remote access of climate control and lights.

Hyundai Venue N Line positioning in India

While we are aware that the Hyundai Venue SUV will be sold in four main variants - E, S, SX and SX (O), the N Line model, if launched in India, will be the most premium variant of the compact SUV. It has been already seen that the premium variants are the ones that contribute to the overall sales in India so a Hyundai Venue N Line should make sense for the company. Also, we expect with this variant, the Venue will cater to a wide set of audiences. While the regular base and mid variants will rival the likes of the EcoSport, Vitara Brezza and the Nexon, the more premium N Line version of the Venue could offer a value for money offering to someone looking for an SUV in the higher segment.

The Hyundai Venue compact SUV has garnered over 2,000 bookings within a day of bookings opening (May 2). Buyers can register for their Hyundai Venue by paying a Rs 21,000 booking amount on the Hyundai website and dealerships. The Venue SUV will get two petrol and one diesel engine which will be mated to two manual and one dual-clutch automatic transmission in various permutations. One of the petrols, and of most interest to us, is the new Kappa T-GDI 1.0-litre turbo. This three-cylinder motor will make 120PS and 172Nm. This will be paired with two gearboxes, a new seven-speed dual-clutch automatic and a six-speed manual. The other petrol motor, for lower-spec cars, will be the 1.2-litre petrol with 83PS and 116Nm, as seen on various Hyundai cars in India. The single diesel option will be the 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel motor which puts out 90PS and 220Nm, paired with a six-speed manual. In terms of safety, the Hyundai Venue gets upto six airbags, speed sensing auto door lock, ABS, ESC/ESP, hill assist, brake assist and ISOFIX seats. Hyundai will offer the Venue with a three year/unlimited kilometres warranty package.