The all-new Hyundai Venue is where you'll want to be

Hyundai has launched the Venue and believe me, it’s going to challenge the segment for which the Venue is aimed at.

Image by Naresh Maharaj

The Venue is a very good place to be in the small Sports Utility Vehicle segment. It’s practical and convenient and loaded with features. The drive, in the two models I tested, was gracefully satisfying.

Modern and Compact

With the all-new Venue, Hyundai makes its SUV debut in the A-segment. It conveys a fun, yet functional design in a versatile and modern compact vehicle.

The all-new Venue with its bold and unique character might be small in size, but it is big on practicality and personality. It offers a unique, entry-level vehicle for consumers seeking savvy design with an abundance of safety, convenience and connectivity features.

Image by Naresh Maharaj

As Hyundai’s most affordable SUV to date, Venue is aimed at urban adventurers with a taste for the savvy and trendy design that stands apart, as well as offering an outstanding driving experience.

“The Venue is an exceptional small SUV that offers a powerful and very efficient turbocharged engine, outstanding comfort and convenience levels and many safety features,” says Stanley Anderson, sales and operations director of Hyundai Automotive South Africa.

“We enter this very competitive market segment with great confidence in the Venue. Our Creta mid-sized SUV has proven how good design, quality build and practical features can draw new and existing Hyundai customers to our brand. The Venue, our new small SUV, is expected to repeat that outstanding performance.”

“We launch the Venue in South Africa with three specification levels: the Motion as an entry-level derivative, followed by the Fluid version which has more design and convenience features, and topped by the Glide with its impressive and comprehensive list of features.

Stylish exterior

The design of the Venue exhibits compact yet confident body lines, delivering a new interpretation of Hyundai’s signature design language.

The side profile exhibits full-volume wheel arches and strong character lines, while the bold and beautiful cascading grille incorporates Hyundai’s signature forward-looking stance found on both the Kona and Santa Fe SUVs.

Image by Naresh Maharaj

The unique front lamp layout separates the turn lamps and headlamps and features optional premium LED headlights with LED daylight running lights for the Glide version, as well as fog lamps. The unique Venue body character line carries through the profile to the tail lamps.

Its impressive aerodynamics visualised by the rear shark-fin spoiler and rear fascia asymmetric block help improve efficiency while maintaining its unique sense of style.

Comfortable and convenient interior

The Venue’s inviting interior offers intuitive controls and forward-thinking design, excellent use of dimensions to create ample space for driver and both front and rear passengers, and decent sized luggage area that adds to the practical nature of the car.

Image by Naresh Maharaj

The interior space and a comfortable cabin provide adequate roominess for both urban commuter and travellers on a long road trip. The Venue comes with a 60/40 split, flat-folding rear seatback for the Glide version to maximize utility for various trips. The Venue’s SUV styling cues and utility make it an ideal alternative to many subcompact cars. The cargo space features a rear cargo cover for added security and can be conveniently stowed when not in use.

Feel completely safe

The Venue includes an abundant list of standard safety features including six airbags – front (2), side-impact (2) and side air curtain (2) – for the Fluid and Glide options, seatbelt pre-tensioners with force limiters, Isofix child seat attachments, and an Advanced Braking System (ABS) to deliver safe car control in difficult road conditions.

The Motion derivative comes with two airbags – one each for the driver and front passenger. All Venues also come with Hill Start Assist Control.

Pricing

The prices (VAT inclusive) of the Hyundai Venue range are:

• Venue 1.0 Motion (manual): R274,900
  
• Venue 1.0 Motion (DCT [Dual Cluth Transmission])*: R304,900
  
• Venue 1.0 Fluid (manual): R309,900
  
• Venue 1.0 Fluid (DCT)*: R339,900
  
• Venue 1.0 Glide (DCT)*: R369,900

Included in the prices are Hyundai’s ground-breaking 7-year/200,000km warranty, 7-year/150,000 km roadside assistance, and a 3-year/45,000km service plan. Service intervals are at 15,000km, or annually when applicable.

Verdict

The Venue is certainly going to take the market on in a big way and compete vigorously with segment-like compact SUV’s. The drive with the Venue was pleasing. Press the accelerator and it goes. Braking was also very quick. Everything you need at an affordable price.