Cool fact: It’s called after a well-known skating move.
We’ve known for quite some time that Hyundai is working on a new compact SUV to replace the Venue. The Casper, as rumored, is Hyundai’s smallest SUV, and we can now confirm that this is correct.
Hyundai has unveiled the first photographs and specs of the Casper, revealing the new tiny SUV will go on sale later this year, following teasers given earlier this year. No, the cutesy name isn’t inspired by Casper the Friendly Ghost; instead, it’s named after the renowned Casper skateboard flip move.
The Hyundai Casper is a compact city SUV that, as seen in teasers and spy images, is supposed to suit the “taste and lifestyle of clients who desire practicality, safety, and individual design.”
The Casper’s boxy design, which includes retro-style circular headlights, sharp daytime running lights, beautiful dual-tone alloy wheels, and taillights that blend into the rear windshield, is revealed in photos supplied by Hyundai.
Roof rails, skid plates, and excessive quantities of plastic covering further add to Casper’s tough appearance. Its unique design sets it apart from the rest of Hyundai’s current lineup.
The active variant has a black grille with additional air intake, while the entry-level model has a silver parametric grille. The Casper is supposedly 141.7 inches long, making it even smaller than the 159.1-inch-long Venue, Hyundai’s smallest SUV sold in the United States.
Under the hood, the Hyundai i10 shares the same K1 architecture as the compact SUV. A naturally aspirated 1.0-liter MPI engine and a turbocharged 1.0-liter T-GDI engine will be offered in the South Korean version.
For the time being, technical details are being kept under wraps, although these engines produce 75 horsepower and 99 horsepower, respectively, in the i10, which comes with a five-speed manual or five-speed automatic transmission.
The Casper will apparently be marketed in India with a 1.2-liter Kappa MPI four-cylinder engine that produces 83 horsepower. The Hyundai Casper is set to go into production on September 15 in South Korea, so we should learn more about Hyundai’s compact SUV shortly. However, we’ll be shocked if the Casper is sold in the United States, as it’ll be too little to appeal to the American market.
