Slate Sets Official Reveal and Pricing Date for Its Affordable Electric Truck
The vehicles promise incredible customization options and a low base price.
The average new car transaction price is hovering above $49,000, making them exceedingly difficult for the average buyer to afford. That pricing has led to an increase in used shoppers, driving up those prices as demand grows. While that might sound all doom and gloom, the average new-vehicle transaction price is driven by sales in more popular segments with the most expensive models. Buyers willing to look at smaller vehicles can find some deals, especially in the Hyundai lineup, where the 2026 Venue is the most affordable new car in America.
Hyundai designed the venue for young urban professionals, and the crossover’s subcompact size lends itself to navigating tight city streets and parking lots. The Venue isn’t available with a hybrid powertrain or all-wheel drive, but its four-cylinder engine delivers strong fuel economy, and it comes with a snow driving mode to help in slippery conditions. We recently put the Venue through its paces and found a likable vehicle with few frills and an astounding price tag in today’s auto market. Here’s what you need to know.
Hyundai offers two trims for the 2026 model year, and the SEL model is available with a two-tone paint option.
2026 Hyundai Venue SE: $22,650
2026 Hyundai Venue SEL Two-Tone Roof: $24,200
2026 Hyundai Venue SEL: $24,425
All Venue models come with a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine making 121 horsepower and 113 pound-feet of torque. It’s paired with a continuously variable transmission, and the Venue comes exclusively with front-wheel drive. As you can imagine, that combination does not provide the most thrilling driving experience, but that’s not what Hyundai was going for here. The crossover is small, nimble, and easy to maneuver, making it much easier to drive and navigate on tight city streets.
While the Venue’s powertrain won’t deliver many thrills, it does offer strong fuel economy. The EPA rates it at 29/33/31 mpg city/highway/combined, giving it almost hybrid-like fuel consumption. The downside is that the crossover isn’t offered with all-wheel drive, though its front-drive setup performs well in snowy conditions with the right tires. Hyundai also offers a snow mode that mutes throttle inputs and improves traction on slippery surfaces.
Where Hyundai wins is with the Venue’s warranty, which extends to ten years or 100,000 miles of powertrain coverage. Only Kia and Mitsubishi match that warranty at the moment, giving the Venue an edge over more well-known competitors, like Toyota and Honda.
Cloth upholstery is standard, but the top SEL trim offers a combination of cloth and synthetic leather. It also comes with heated front seats, and both trims offer 60/40 folding rear seats. While small, the cabin is comfortable and usable, though there are few frills to be had at this price point. The interior materials are far from fancy, but the cloth upholstery feels nice, and the plastics aren’t so cheap that they feel like you’re riding in a bargain basement vehicle.
One downside to the utilitarian interior is that the Venue doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel or fancier materials in either configuration.
Interior space is also decent for the Venue’s size:
Hyundai equips an 8-inch touchscreen for both trims, with standard Bluetooth, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and six speakers. Hyundai’s infotainment system is less flashy than competing interfaces, making it surprisingly simple to interact with and use while driving. Most settings and features are easily accessed within a tap or two, reducing stress and distraction. Other standard features include USB-A and USB-C ports, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, and AM/FM radio. The top SEL trim also gets Qi wireless charging.
Standard safety tech includes forward collision warnings, lane keep assist, driver attention warnings, a rearview camera, automatic high beams, and rear seat alerts. The SEL trim adds blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alerts. The Venue missed out on a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), but it is surprisingly well equipped for the price, making it an even better value for buyers.
One of the most interesting things about the Venue is that its main competitors come from within the Hyundai/Kia family. The Hyundai Kona offers a comparable powertrain and unique styling. It drives similarly, with a continuously variable transmission and standard front-wheel drive, though the higher-performance Kona N is no longer available. The Kia Seltos is another great alternative, with a more spacious interior and more configuration options. Toyota also offers a solid competitor in the Corolla Cross, which is available with a hybrid powertrain and several trim options. The Honda HR-V is another option, though it’s not available with a hybrid.
All of those alternatives come in at a higher price, making the Venue the most affordable option in its segment. That said, there are trade-offs associated with choosing the Hyundai’s lower price point, mainly with interior features and quality. While it doesn’t give up much on comfort and usability, the Venue’s cabin is absolutely more barebones and less upscale than even the lowest trims of its more expensive rivals.
The 2026 Hyundai Venue can be a great choice if you’re shopping for a subcompact SUV and count busy urban streets as part of your daily commute. It’s not quick, but it offers enough power for daily tasks, and its ride quality remains mostly comfortable over some seriously bumpy city streets. It also can’t tackle large cargo, but again, there’s plenty of space for groceries, kids’ sports equipment, and pets. The Venue also makes a decent kid carrier, with enough space for car seats in the back, though taller adults in the front cut into that room very easily.
Of course, the conversation here is really about value, which the Hyundai delivers in droves. It’s the least expensive new vehicle on sale right now, which makes it a fantastic alternative to higher-mileage used vehicles. Hyundai’s warranty, the standard tech and safety features, and strong fuel economy should be enough to sell the Venue on their own, but the value proposition becomes even clearer when the crossover is viewed against used models.
