A Tiny Tucson Lookalike Is the Venue Replacement America Isn’t Getting

Hyundai’s second-generation Bayon, a subcompact SUV styled like a shrunken new Tucson, would slot almost exactly between the Venue and the Kona in the U.S. lineup. It is a European model, though, and Hyundai has no plan to sell it here.

The Bayon is about 8 inches longer than the Venue, about 4 inches shorter than the Kona and roughly as wide as the Kona, and it comes with a hybrid powertrain that Hyundai already sells in America. The Venue, meanwhile, is carrying into the 2027 model year as the same first-generation car that launched for 2020, with the same 121-horsepower 1.6-liter engine and front-wheel drive only.

The Bayon broke cover at the Paris Motor Show, and CarBuzz made the case on October 14 that it is the Venue replacement Americans should want. The outlet acknowledged that the car "will not be arriving on American shores" and likely was not engineered for U.S. safety rules, so the idea is unconfirmed and, for now, hypothetical. In Europe the Bayon sits between the Inster city car and the Kona.

The powertrain is the interesting part. Alongside a carried-over 1.0-liter turbo three-cylinder with 89 or 113 horsepower and a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch, the Bayon adds a hybrid that pairs a non-turbo four-cylinder with an electric motor for 136 horsepower and 195 lb-ft, driving through a six-speed dual-clutch, which CarBuzz described as effectively the Kia Niro hybrid’s setup. That version reaches 62 mph in 10.8 seconds against as long as 14.1 seconds for the base engine. Inside, two 12.3-inch screens sit in a single housing, with vertical vents and a keypad of climate buttons below, and options run to a Bose stereo, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats and a panoramic roof.

Hyundai’s official line on the Venue is that it continues. The company’s 2027 Venue page describes it as Hyundai’s smallest and most affordable SUV, lists SE, SEL and Limited trims, 159.1 inches of length and 18.7 cubic feet of cargo space, and shows no mechanical changes. For 2026 Hyundai dropped the Limited and added an SEL with a two-tone roof, and the company has not announced a second-generation Venue for North America. The little SUV is still selling, with 3,164 sold in September, up 12 percent, and 24,307 for the year, up 2 percent.

For now the closest thing to a Bayon on a U.S. lot is the Kona, and CarBuzz listed 2027 Kona pricing at $25,500 for the SE, $26,825 for the SEL, $28,425 for the SEL Premium and $32,535 for the Limited before destination, with a 147-horsepower 2.0-liter in the lower two trims and a 190-horsepower 1.6-liter turbo in the upper two.

The HyundaiHQ Take

The Venue is the cheapest new SUV at a Hyundai dealer, and that is the only reason it is still here in its seventh model year with a 121-horsepower engine and no hybrid. A Bayon-sized car with the Niro’s hybrid would sell in the U.S., because the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid has shown that small, cheap and 40-plus mpg is a combination buyers will wait for. Hyundai does not need to federalize the Bayon to get there, though. It needs a next Venue with that hybrid, built with U.S. rules in mind, and the longer the current one soldiers on, the more that gap belongs to Toyota.