Juke

Make
Nissan
Segment
SUV

With each vehicle sale that gets tallied up on Hyundai's chalkboard, Toyota and Honda get madder over the fact that they lost one more (potential) customer. Meanwhile, the South Korean automaker gains confidence and grows bolder. It starts doing things like launching a luxury line and establishing an in-house tuning arm. This time around Hyundai's boldness has led it to shoot for the small SUV segment, one that happens to be doing fairly well at the moment. In the crosshairs of its new SUV our spies caught testing is none other than the Nissan Juke.

Aimed squarely at young buyers who want utility and city compatibility, the Juke set the bar for small, jacked-up SUVs that nobody thought would sell. Well, everybody was wrong, so now it's only right that Hyundai takes a crack at the segment. Based off of the i20, this bite-sized SUV will slot under the Tucson to offer a sweet spot between hatchback and mid-sized crossover. From what we can tell the look does little to mimic the Juke's odd appearance, instead sticking to traditional Hyundai design elements. From some angles it even looks like a Mercedes GLA. As tame and lame as it seems to be, we're hoping the automaker's sense of fun kicks in during the planning phases for this unnamed SUV.

It has the potential for greatness, this thanks to the RN30 concept we saw at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. Wishing for the same body kit as the RN30 may be asking for too much, but if its 2.0-liter turbocharged four-banger makes it over to the States packing all the good stuff (aka 250 horsepower), then it's only right to share it with this mysterious crossover, right? Haters can go ahead and hate, but we can't help but admit that we harbor some love for the utterly senseless yet awesome Juke NISMO RS. Hyundai would certainly be in our good graces, and likely those of Nissan and Toyota buyers, if it commits to a car as fun as that. That's how we'll know that you're serious about this whole big leagues thing, Hyundai.

Check out Hyundai's small cars.