The next big phase in the crossover craze appears to be happening at the compact side of the segment, where stalwarts like the Kia Soul and Nissan Juke have recently been joined by newer contenders like the Ford Ecosport, Peugeot 2008 and Chevrolet Trax.
According to a report by Edmunds, Hyundai is exploring the idea of adding a smaller crossover to its range.
The website reports that Hyundai's US CEO John Krafcik has admitted that the company is "very under-represented" in the crossover market.
"We lead the industry in sedans, we have a bunch of them, but if you look at our crossover line, we (only) have two nameplates, the Tucson and the Santa Fe."
Krafcik added that the company doesn't have any immediate plans to introduce such a product, but acknowledged that there is a lot of action below the RAV4 and Tuscon-sized crossovers and that "a new segment is emerging."
Hyundai has already hinted at such a vehicle with its Curb concept shown at the 2011 Detroit Motor Show but it remains to be seen whether such a vehicle would mimic the radical design language seen on the concept.
As far as underpinnings go, Hyundai could easily base its compact SUV on the Kia Soul and the most likely power sources would be the group's 95kW/157Nm 1.6- and 122kW/200Nm 2-litre petrol engines.
Hyundai could even up the hot-cross game and trump the Juke 1.6T with its own 1.6-litre turbopetrol engine that's rated at 150kW and 264Nm in the latest Kia Koup. Just saying…