Hyundai Venue 2021 review: Elite long-term

The Hyundai Venue range has been tweaked for 2021, and the most popular model in the line-up – rather surprisingly – is the one we’ve got here: the Elite top-spec variant.

It’s the most expensive of Hyundai’s new cheapest model range, with the Elite model running a list price of $26,490 (MSRP – before on-road costs), but we know there are strong drive-away deals being done. That is $500 more than the 2020 model, because there are some changes compared to the previous version.

That two-tone paint finish could be enough to get some customers across the board and into a top-spec model.

The 2021 Hyundai Venue Elite, for instance, offers customers the choice of a solid roof colour matching the body and the inclusion of a sunroof, or a two-tone roof finish like you see on this car. Plus there’s newly added smart key entry with unlock buttons on the exterior door handles, and push-button start, which is certainly a nice convenience to have – you don’t get that on a Ford Puma unless you’re spending $35k!

Also new for the 2021 update of the Venue is a sliding type console box lid, which is nice. The lower grades have seen some changes, too – read our pricing and specs story for the 2021 Venue range here.  

That two-tone paint finish could be enough to get some customers across the board and into a top-spec model, because it isn’t offered on the newly renamed Venue (formerly Go) and mid-spec Active variants. And if my local area is anything to go by, that look is something a lot of customers desire.

The Elite model runs a list price of $26,490 (MSRP – before on-road costs).

We wanted to delve deep on which is the most appropriate spec of Venue for us to be testing, and we asked Hyundai to let us know - thinking that, you know, the Venue essentially plays the part of the old Accent in the range: it’s the new small hatch (with all the sell-ability of an SUV), and it starts at about $20,000.

But no, it’s not the base model people are flocking to. That new Venue entry-level grade does account for a fair share and so does the Active, but the Elite model is very popular with private buyers.

Don’t go thinking the Elite has leather seat trim - the brand calls it “cloth and premium finish”, so it’s vinyl-like. 

Aside from that two-tone paint or sunroof being available in this grade, there are some other interesting features that the Venue Elite has over its cheaper siblings. There are distinct interior finishes available for this paint finish (The Denim) or Typhoon Silver. Those two hues come with a denim interior trim which, as you can see from the interior images, is a very distinct finish. If you choose the Elite with any other colour option - two tone roof or not - the cabin scores a black cloth trim, which isn’t quite as exciting. 

The interior has a nice cream on blue finish.

The interior also has a nice cream on blue finish (with some silver highlights in this colourway), which really is something unique in this segment. And if you’ve sat in any modern Hyundai or Kia, you will know the brands are pretty reliant on black plastics as a norm. Like in my old long-term Kona Active, which was a boring black-plastic fest inside. But don’t go thinking the Elite has leather seat trim - the brand calls it “cloth and premium finish”, so it’s vinyl-like. 

And if you’re choosing the Venue Elite over the other grades, you also get rear privacy glass, LED rear combination lights, single zone climate control, a second USB port, smart key entry and push-button start, and single zone climate control (rather than just standard manual air-con).

There's LED rear combination lights.

That all makes it stand apart. But sadly, unlike some rivals like the Kia Stonic and even the Hyundai Kona, the powertrain is the same across the entire range. So you don’t get any better grunt if you spend the most money.

Nope, under the bonnet is a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine producing 90kW of power (at 6300rpm) and 151Nm of torque (at 4850rpm). If you know what those numbers mean, you will have already deduced that this engine needs revs to get the best out of it, and if you choose the Venue Elite, you have to have it with the brand’s six-speed automatic transmission - the other grades are available with a six-speed manual.

Under the bonnet is a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.

The official combined cycle fuel consumption for this front-wheel drive light SUV is 7.2L/100km, which is what the company reckons you should see across a mix of driving. That’s okay, but not nearly as eye-catching as some turbocharged rivals that offer official consumption in the 4s.

Over the coming months we will see how close I get to that claim, with my driving geared more towards highway commuting. I live 70km from the Sydney CBD, and will be heading in to work and meetings while also using the car as a grocery getter and all-round runabout. One of its first jobs was to deliver a large (32-inch) computer monitor to the office, which it did without me needing to adjust anything in the boot. The cargo volume is 355L.

The cargo volume is 355L.

My intent is to also rig up a dash cam for any unexpected moments, as within the first month of my ‘ownership’ the car has already been car-park christened with a door dent from a neighbouring vehicle while I was at the local pool.

There's an 8.0-inch touchscreen with sat nav and USB-connect Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Otherwise it has been so far, so good with the Venue Elite. I’ll share some driving thoughts in the next update, and also on the connectivity - an 8.0-inch touchscreen with sat nav and USB-connect Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (the other grades have wireless smartphone mirroring, but it doesn’t work with in-built navigation).

Stay tuned for more!

Acquired: 18 January 2021

Distance travelled this month: 1143km

Odometer: 2080km

Average fuel consumption for Feb: 7.54L/100km (measured at the pump)

A few months in, and we’re really starting to get to know the Venue a bit better.

I jump between a lot of cars for reviews and comparisons, so the Hyundai Venue has become a bit of a palette cleanser for me. A reset button, you might say.

That isn’t to say that it’s a reminder of how things could be, or how things shouldn’t be. But it does reinforce a few things that I already knew I’d find annoying early on.

Things like the lack of height adjustment for the seatbelts - I just wish I could pull the belt down a bit over my shoulder, instead of having it sit up high closer to my neck.

The halogen headlights yellowy beam isn’t nearly as effective during nighttime driving as other cars with LEDs.

Or the halogen headlights, which don’t just look dopey as part of this car’s appearance, but their yellowy beam isn’t nearly as effective during nighttime driving as other cars with LEDs. I have LEDs fitted to my 2007 Suzuki Jimny, and the difference is astounding. If fitting aftermarket LED lights didn’t potentially have warranty implications, it’d be my first upgrade if I bought a Venue.

Plus the engine and transmission - there’s adequate grunt in most situations, but up Lapstone Hill at the base of the Blue Mountains (which I traverse almost weekly in the Venue), it struggles to maintain momentum and shuffles between sixth, fifth and fourth gear to keep pace with traffic. A turbo engine would transform this car, just as it does in the Kia Stonic.

But all that aside, I also really like jumping back into the Venue every now and then.

I love that the seats are comfortable and supportive, and that it’s really easy to readjust the driver’s seat to what I want if my partner Gemma has taken the car to run an errand. 

Gemma’s early impressions were that Ron the Venue was a bit gutless, but she’s warmed to the car a lot, too. She likes that the Venue has zippy steering for urban driving, and that it feels comfortable and confident on the road.

She also likes that I fit that dash cam, which just gives her the confidence to hit the highway and know that she’s “got proof if any idiots do stupid stuff on the road”.

One of Ron’s jobs this month was to sit at Volkswagen Australia’s head office for the week.

One of Ron’s jobs this month was to sit at Volkswagen Australia’s head office for the week while I took a loan of their Octavia RS (don’t tell Ron, but that’s the car that’s replacing him as my next long-termer). And while sitting in industrial south-western Sydney, he got filthy.

So when we got home I gave him a wash and vacuum at home, after a trip to Cowra and back left him bug-splattered all over. And like any good new-car owner, I didn’t bother to wash it straight after that journey, and instead let the carcasses and bug juices roast into the plastic and paint work. The photos of the Venue against the lovely local autumn trees were taken just after I washed the car, because you know, you have to get some autumn shots! 

When we got home from a trip to Cowra, I gave Ron a wash and vacuum.

During urban errands I’ve noticed - after loading in some larger items - that the boot plastics mark very easily if you happen to have sharper-edged objects in there, but the fold-down rear seats have allowed me to load through longer things, like a melamine shelf for a redone built-in cupboard at home.

The boot plastics mark very easily if you happen to have sharper-edged objects in the cargo.

Oh, and I popped the bonnet on Ron (for the first time to do something other than take a photo of the engine), and topped up the windscreen washer bottle. It drained pretty quick with all the bug activity.

One thing the Venue remains is eye-catching. A recent visit from Sam the videographer pointed out that Ron the Venue actually looks like the lovechild of my 2001 Audi TT and Suzuki Jimny. It has similar colouring (blue and white), has a curvy but boxy design, is stoutly proportioned and is really interesting to look at.

Hyundai seemingly nailed the brief for appealing to young families with this car.

Yep, Ron’s a bit of a looker, but wow, there are so many Venues around my area now. When I first got this car, there were one or two others in the hood. Now it’s more like 10 or 12 others. Hyundai seemingly nailed the brief for appealing to young families with this car, and I just hope that any updated version that arrives brings a bit of additional safety kit (like radar-based adaptive cruise control and high-speed AEB). Oh, and a turbo engine. And thennnnn it might be a $30K proposition, rather than mid-20s.

Next month Ron is going to help us lug some baby stuff home - because like those other young families in the area, we’re expecting a child (this one won’t be furry). 

Acquired: 18 January 2021

Distance travelled this month: 1376km

Odometer: 4497km

Average fuel consumption for April: 6.81L/100km (measured at the pump)

I had a revelation in the Venue this month. 

No, it wasn't that I'm a bad parker, despite grazing the front passenger-side alloy wheel when parking it, though the evidence suggests I am not an amazing parker, after all.

I know I’ve banged on about how it feels a bit gutless in recent updates, and it does. That’s not untrue in a lot of different situations.

The evidence suggests I am not an amazing parker.

But if you drive it like you’re always in a hurry, it actually gets up and moving better than you’d think.

Yep, what I’m saying is that if you drive it like a leadfoot, the acceleration response isn’t as bad as you would otherwise be led to believe. That’s because it’s all to do with the throttle application and the transmission gearing, not so much the engine’s outputs, that make it feel sluggish.

In fact, my partner Gemma took the car down to Bunnings for one of about 20 runs to the hardware store to get stuff for our baby shower this month, and she said at times it felt almost “dangerously sluggish” when you don’t flatten the accelerator pedal. Like, at an intersection when you’re about to turn across a couple of lanes of oncoming traffic, and you don’t quite have the confidence it’ll make it.

But she also praised the boot space of the Venue, as I have multiple times, because it offers so much room for a car as small as this. Remember, the Venue is shorter nose to tail than a Kia Rio!

That’s one other thing - I am always referring to the Venue as a small SUV or light SUV, where Gemma just thinks of it as a hatchback. I guess that might be a perception versus reality situation, and me being more in-tune with the new car market and marketing terms than Gemma, who is a bit more “meh” about cars.

Gemma was genuinely excited to tell me that she was following another Venue home on another trip back from the shops. And the homemaker super centre near us seems to have a few resident Venue models owned by staff there, so it seems Penrith Hyundai is doing a good job shifting these small car/SUV models.

The price for the Venue has jumped to $26,740 (MSRP) since the start of this long-term test.

And being eight months pregnant, Gemma also reckons the seats are very comfortable, she loves that the driver’s seat has a lot of height adjustment to it, and as she put it recently: “The Venue would be a great car for oldies - it’s so easy to get in and out of!”

I would have thought the sales would skew that way, too, but the Penrith Hyundai Venue Owners Club (not a real thing) suggests most people buying these are young families, and the Venue is a second car for urban duties. Makes a lot of sense in that regard, especially given its price-tag. 

Oh, on that price - the MSRP for the car when I took possession of it was $26,490 plus on-road costs, including The Denim paint finish and the white roof look. Now, the price has jumped to $26,740 (MSRP), but nothing has been added.

The next update will be my final one with the Venue before I hand it back. It was never going to be quite right for our family once the baby arrives, but I’ll summarise my findings there. 

Acquired: 18 January 2021

Distance travelled this month: 467km

Odometer: 4964km

Average fuel consumption for May: 6.95L/100km (measured at the pump)

That’s it. Our time with the Hyundai Venue Elite is at an end. I’ll miss ‘Ron’, and so will my partner Gemma. 

We’ve come to really appreciate the size and space on offer in this small SUV, and I’ve really grown to love the styling of it, too. I often look at other small and light SUVs out there and think, “Yep, Ron, you’re not a bad looking little jigger!”

I’ve even gazed longingly at other Venues since handing it back. I really like the look of this car. Well, aside from those yucky halogen headlights, that is.

I will miss the usability on offer. It’s such a good urban runaround, the ideal city commuter for anyone who wants a crossover style car and needs it to be compact in its dimensions, I would say. It’s no high-rider, no off-roader, but so many of these sorts of vehicles are SUVs by definition, with no real driveability advantage over an equivalent hatchback.

The strengths of the Venue are clear. It is a great size, great price, has decent spec on its side, has a good warranty and great ownership promise on its side, and it has interesting design features, too. It’s nice to drive and easy to live with if you’re not asking too much of it.

The weaknesses are clear too, though. The engine has good grunt but feels robbed by the transmission, the lack of adjustable seatbelts is a negative for some drivers, and those headlights…

But you might also want to consider the safety question - is a four-star ANCAP rated (2019 score) good enough for you? I had no hesitation driving the car extensively, but during my loan I also drove other cars in this segment that appeal more on the safety front: the Kia Stonic, Kia Seltos, Mazda CX-3 and Mazda CX-30… those are just a few that have more advanced safety features than the Venue. Maybe a facelift will fix that. Hopefully, if you’re considering buying one, that will happen.

My advice? Test drive a Venue. You will be surprised by the packaging, the space and usability, and the ease of driving for urban duties. But make sure you take it on the highway and see if you can live with the performance at pace, if that’s something you’re likely to encounter on a regular basis.

Acquired: 18 January 2021

Distance travelled this month: 318km

Odometer: 5282km

Average fuel consumption for June: 8.07L/100km (measured at the pump)