By : RACHNA TYAGI
HYDERABAD :
It seems like yesterday when Hyundai launched their brand-new compact SUV, the Venue, aboard the Angriya with much fanfare, except that the year was 2019, and yet, here we are, driving the refreshed Venue, in Hyderabad, in 2022. How time flies! With its launch, the Venue took on rivals such as Tata Nexon, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Mahindra XUV 300, and Ford Ecosport, back then. Now, it has a few more models to compete with such as Toyota Urban Cruiser, Kia Sonet, Nissan Magnite, as well as the Renault Kiger. However, this ‘Made in India,’ compact SUV’s USP has always been ‘Tech’ thanks to all those connectivity features that the Korean manufacturer has kitted it out with, making it a hot favourite with many, especially Gen Y and their Gen Alpha kids. What's new on this updated avatar? We tell you…
From the outside, there are a few noticeable changes on the Venue. The new dark chrome front grille is the first thing that will draw your attention which is different from the cascading chrome grille on its predecessor, and depending on your taste, it can be a hit or a miss. There will be many who will love it and others who may not think much of it, but one thing is for sure, if your car cleaner ends up leaving water marks on that grille, it will be instantly noticeable. The LED projector headlamps on the refreshed Venue look cool and the headlamp escort function serves its purpose well. Furthermore, the diamond cut alloys also add their share of flamboyance to this compact SUV. On the side, the door handles get the chrome treatment, which should make the chrome-loving Indians happy, and the puddle lights on the ORVMs is also a thoughtful touch. At the rear, the connecting LED taillamps is another new change which gives the Venue a refreshed look, and bellow, the faux skid plate in silver colour, adds to the Venue’s appeal. A sharkfin antennae and roof rails on the top complete the compact SUV’s look.
Inside, what you get are two-toned interiors – beige and black – which make the cabin look roomier than it actually is. There is also the smart electric sunroof which adds to the roomy effect. The driver ‘s seat is a 4-way powered seat, a first in segment feature, and an adjustable headrest. The rear passengers can also recline their seats with the 2-step rear recline function which gives occupants better comfort inside. The seats feel comfortable and with a 60:40 split, you can free up more space from its 350-litres boot, should you wish to carry bulkier things in its boot. Besides, there is also an air-cooled glovebox, for soda cans and maybe that cucumber sandwich, an air purifier to ensure that you breathe better and ambient lighting which you can set for that car party with friends. The wireless phone charger, front and rear USB chargers with Type C, another segment first, smart key and push button start/stop function, all add to the comfort of the driver and the occupants. The 8-inch touchscreen and the 8-inch coloured TFT MID (Multi Information Display) don’t just bring you a host of features such as sports and weather updates but also give you driver-related information at a glance. With 6 speakers (Front and rear) and front tweeters, the acoustic experience is a pretty good one too which means sayinng goodbye to boredom on those long drives, as long as you have your favourite music. Besides, with Embedded Voice Commands, yet another segment first, and with Alexa, Google Voice Assistant and Hyundai’s Bluelink with 60+ connected features, you can further simplify your life by getting the Venue to obey your commands even from your home or office to your car and dish out all the information that you may need and that too whenever you need it. The best part – Venue will support 12 languages which include 10 regional languages. How cool is that?
The Venue gets three engine options: the 1.2-Litre (1197cc) MPi Kappa petrol engine that belts out 83PS @ 6000rpm, 113.8Nm of torque @4000rpm is mated to a 5-Speed MT, the 1.0-Litre (998cc) Kappa Turbo GDi petrol engine which belts out 120PS @ 6000rpm, 172 Nm of torque @4000rpm is available with a 6-Speed iMT and 7-Speed DCT and the 1.5-Litre (1493cc) U2 CRDi diesel engine which belts out 100PS of power @ 4000rpm and 240Nm of torque @1500-2750 rpm gets a 6-Speed MT. The Venue also gets three driving modes, Eco, Sport and Normal and two transmission options, DCT Dual Clutch Transmission) and iMT (Intelligent Manual Transmission). We drove the 1.0-Litre Kappa Turbo GDi petrol engine which came with the 6-Speed iMT and felt that it did a reasonably good job on the highways at high speeds...even during fast cornering. However, at low speeds it required constant downshifting to get the most out of it. The gears were smooth and the iMT is something that many have gotten used to by now. Whether you care for it or not, is a matter of personal prefernce, but there sure are people out there who'd much rather the absence of the clutch and these are the people Hyundai wants to sell their Venue to.
In terms of safety, the Venue gets quite a few features such as six airbags, cornering lamps, Parking Assist Rear Camera with Dynamic Guidelines, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), Vehicle Stability Management (VSM), Hill Assist Control (HAC), Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Electronic Stability Control (ESC) to name a few.
The refreshed Venue comes with a wide choice of 47 accessories and buyers can choose from the Basic pack, the Advance Pack and the Supreme Pack and customize their Venue according to their personal preferences.
The refreshed Venue is available in seven colour options – Typhoon silver, Titan Grey, Denim Blue, Fiery Red, Polar White, Phantom Black and Firey Red with Phantom Black roof for those who are desirous of a dual tone colour.
With prices for the Venue starting at an attractive INR 7,53,100 for the Kappa 1.2 MPi petrol 5MT and going all the way up to INR 9,99,900 for the U2 CRDi Diesel 6MT, considering the Hyundai Venue comes with three engine options, a bunch of safety features and loads of Tech, not to mention sufficient space for the occupants, you can be sure that you’re getting good bang for the buck.
