It was almost six in the evening of a Monday. The long day’s almost over when I came across a social media post that came out half an hour prior – an image of a human being at night, seems ready to party, with sunglasses on and with glow-in-the-dark dust illuminating on his neck. It came with the words “See you!”
Seems peculiar, yet intriguing, especially considering that the image came from Hyundai Philippines.
While the image, which you can see below, didn’t tell us a lot – and more importantly, didn’t connect with any actual Hyundai car at first glance – it sure piqued my interest.
Then, it hit me. Those squarish figures on the sunglasses? Those actually mimic the DRLs of one Hyundai crossover that aren’t sold locally – the Hyundai Venue.
I’ve had the honor of seeing the Venue in the metal at the Singapore Motor Show at the start of this year. I became an instant fan. So much so that its design has been ingrained at the back of my mind. Yes, including those quirky yet attention-grabbing DRLs.
For the uninitiated, the Venue is the smallest crossover in Hyundai’s global lineup. It’s smaller than the Kona in overall size while being shorter yet wider than the Reina. With its minute dimensions, the Venue would be a perfect fit for Philippine roads, especially in the city.
But beyond the diminutive size, what really caught my attention was the Venue’s retro and playful design.
While most of the Hyundai cars are going for a futuristic approach in design, most especially the new Tucson and Santa Fe that are yet to arrive here, the Venue begs to differ. Instead, it’s boxy and sports a grille with grids instead of the usual horizontal slats or machine-cut studs of its bigger brother. It’s a unique take on Hyundai styling, and that made it stand out in the Korean lineup, as with the rest of the cars on the road right now.
More importantly, the Venue slots below the Kona. If Hyundai Philippines plays its cards right, we might see the crossover go below the P1-million mark, further enticing buyers to choose this high-riding crossover over entry-level sedans or hatchbacks.
While the teaser above isn’t as conclusive as I imagine it right now, the uncanny resemblance of the DRLs with the figure on the sunglasses makes for a strong case – at least on my end. But as always, take this with a dash of salt – at least as soon as HARI confirms. I’ve tried getting their marketing team to squeal some information but to no avail, expectedly.
We’ll know more if Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) will truly bring the Venue here. If they will, well, guess I can say, “See you at the Venue!”