Hyundai Venue 2021 review: Auto

To refresh, the Venue hit the scene late in 2019 with an expectation of being a sub-$20K replacement for the Accent, but that low pricing didn’t pan out as planned.

Nonetheless, our $22,710 Venue with a 90kW/151Nm 1.6-litre auto is on the cheap side of the burgeoning light/small SUV brigade, though it is substantially undercut by China’s larger $23,490 D/A MG ZS with a listless 84kW/150 1.5 auto and soon-to-be-succeeded $22,990 D/A Haval H2 Premium and its zingy 110kW/210Nm 1.5-litre turbo/auto combo.

Our $22,710 Venue is on the cheap side of the burgeoning light/small SUV brigade.

The Hyundai does cost less than the other sub-$25K contenders, including the related, recently-released $22,990 Kia Stonic S with a breathless 74kW/133Nm 1.4-litre auto, enduring Mazda CX-3 Neo Sport from $24,890 with a gutsy 110kW/195Nm 2.0-litre auto and $24,990 Suzuki Vitara with a revvy 86kW/156Nm 1.6 auto. The rest – including the base Honda HR-V, Kia Seltos and bestselling Mitsubishi ASX autos – cost more.

On the safety front, the Venue includes six airbags, Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) as part of Hyundai’s Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist driver-assist suite of features that includes pedestrian detection, vehicle stability management (stability control and traction control), anti-lock brakes with Emergency Brake Distribution and Brake Assist, hill-start assist, lane-keep assist, driver-attention warning, auto on/off headlights and tyre pressure monitors.

The cheapest Venue also ushers in wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto tech, reverse camera, an eight-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth connectivity, cruise control, power windows, remote central locking, heated door mirrors, centre console box with sliding lid, cloth seats, 15-inch alloy wheels and a space-saver spare. Metallic or mica paint costs $495.

The cheapest Venue also ushers in wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto tech.

One omission is digital radio. For rear-parking sensors you’ll need to climb up to Active spec (from $24,640), while blind-spot warning and rear cross-traffic alert are found on the flagship Elite for another $2K extra. And the Hyundai’s warranty is five years compared to the Kia’s and Chinese brands’ seven-year items, while Mitsubishi offers a conditional 10/non-conditional five-year warranty.

So, yes, the entry-level Venue does provide much of what you need and a bit of what you want, in a truly compact, very square and practically designed light SUV, for less than most. And, frankly, it’d be our pick over the ageing ZS and H2.

Very.

Shaped for easy entry and egress, you don’t so much sit inside as swing-on into the Venue, before sat on seats that are wide if a bit flat and so lacking in side/lateral support. As with the tilt/telescopic steering, there’s plenty of adjustment available for the right driving position to be found.

The Venue’s dash is a solid if plasticky item, but with contemporary and inviting elements to its design, like the sizeable stand-alone touchscreen, pleasing symmetrical layout of the heater and vents, attractive three-spoke steering wheel and elegant analogue instrumentation dials, complete with digital speedo and detailed audio/multimedia and vehicle info screen in between. Quite grown up, in fact.

Shaped for easy entry and egress, you don’t so much sit inside as swing-on into the Venue.

More strong points include ample ventilation, lots of storage, pleasant striped seat trim and confidence-boosting vision out. Most controls are within easy reach, a USB-A and 12V socket are located where they're most easy to access and there’s a solid, quality look and feel to the way this thing is put together. The squared-off door edges are reminiscent of some ‘80s designs such as the first Ford Laser.

On the flipside, even for front-seat occupants. the cabin can be noisy and even boomy at speed, a bit like a hollow box.

The same thoughtfulness has been applied out back, with the 60/40 backrest providing a handy reclining function, though the (high-set) bench cushion remains as flat at the items up front, so is also lacking in support. Still, feet can tuck in underneath the front cushions, there’s more room than the diminutive dimensions suggest for a pair of broader passengers, and it doesn’t seem cramped or claustrophobic back there.

In the back, the 60/40 backrest provides a handy reclining function.

Among the amenities are overhead grab handles, phone storage in the door armrests, a single map pocket and small bottle holders in the back doors, but there are no air vents, cupholders, central armrest or USB charge ports - an odd omission considering the youth Hyundai is attempting to appeal to.

One of the Venue’s best features is its big, square boot, measuring in at a generous 355 litres (VDA). With a low loading lip, deep flat floor with two height options and interior access via the folding backrests, there’s enough utility here for the Hyundai to make a handy little hauler. One unique feature is the way the parcel shelf can be slotted easily behind the rear backrests if larger items need to be carried. Clever. A space-saver spare is located underneath the load area.

You wouldn’t call the Venue a Tardis as you would a Honda HR-V, but it’s plenty big and spacious inside, as well as practical, for an SUV this small. We’d wish it were quieter, though.

Under the snubby bonnet is a 1591cc 1.6-litre twin-cam 16-valve naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine with variable valve timing, delivering a healthy 90kW of power at a heady 6300rpm and 151Nm of torque at 4850rpm.

This Gamma II family of engines is certified as Euro 5-rated for emissions.

Under the snubby bonnet is a 1591cc 1.6-litre twin-cam 16-valve naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine.

With a kerb weight of 1225kg, the Venue offers a power-to-weight ratio of 75.1kW per tonne – an efficient result.

With just 827km, our Venue was barely run-in, but some 400km later we saw 9.0-litres per 100km in a mix of urban, suburban, freeway and country-road driving. The latter also included performance testing. This isn’t a great figure for a supermini-based crossover, revealing how hard that little engine has to work.

Hyundai’s claims are a combined average of 7.2L/100km, for a carbon dioxide emissions average of 165 grams/km. Urban and Extra Urban figures are published as 9.5L/100km and 5.9L/100km respectively. We were some ways off the brochure figures.

Note that the Venue requires just 91 RON unleaded petrol, though 94 RON E10 ethanol petrol can also be used – and that’s often the cheapest.

Fitted with a 45-litre tank, some 625km between refills is possible.

Hyundai offers a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty as well as 12 months of roadside assistance, with scheduled servicing at every 12-month or 15,000km intervals.

Published online, the servicing prices for the Venue vary between $259 and $459 annually over the first five years, with the first 1500km check a freebie.