2020 Hyundai Venue

The 2020 Hyundai Venue is available in three trim levels, viz SE, SEL, and Denim. At $17,350, not much can be expected from a car. However, the Venue comes fairly loaded for that price. It has excellent convenience and infotainment features for the price. The breakup of features is explained in the table below:

Which trim should you buy?

So while the car is available in three trims i.e. SE, SEL, and Denim, if you ask us, we will definitely be choosing the Denim as it is the most feature-rich and value for money offering of the lot. Priced at $22,050 and we are pretty sure there will be dealer discounts over this as well, the car offers good value for what it is bringing to the table and is a decent pick of the bunch.

Though the 2020 Hyundai Venue has quite a fuel-efficient engine, its boxy design means it is not quite as aerodynamic as some of its own family sedans, which means it might just not be as good as those in numbers. The base manual transmission is not very efficient and has earned EPA ratings of 27 MPG city, 35 highway, and 30 combined. It will be quite a better idea to go for the CVT transmission as it is able to just add a few more miles to the gallon with the ratings standing at 30/34/32 MPG respectively for city, highway, and combined driving conditions.

The Venue is quite a fuel-efficient car, though not as much as the Kicks but the CVT drivetrain is just as good. With a relatively smaller fuel tank though, the range might be limited and fuel stops more often. However, the CVT transmission equipped Venue is the one to go for if you prioritize fuel efficiency.

While the interior dimensions look quite small, the interior of the 2020 Hyundai Venue is surprisingly spacious. The dashboard design is quite decent and though it is more of a conservative approach by Hyundai, we quite liked how they designed the overall cabin. There are no unnecessary cuts or creases on the dashboard and the whole layout is pretty clean. 

The infotainment display also looks like a part of the dashboard rather than a floating style one which we are used to seeing these days. The cabin is quite practical as well with quite enough storage to keep small items and water bottles. The choice of materials is also quite decent and though at this price point there is not much to expect still Hyundai managed to give the cabin an upmarket feeling.

This is marketed as a five-seater by Hyundai but we would say it is at best a four-seater because fitting three adults on that rear bench seat is just a lot to ask from this small car. The seats though are very comfortable and cushioning is also quite nice. The boxy dimensions help in having that additional headroom and shoulder room. 

It has pretty much the smallest cabin in the class and that was very well expected. Though it is slightly bigger than the more powerful C-HR because of the more conventional boxy shape. One thing though is that the Venue has the smallest boot at 18.7 cu-ft., and while it can be just enough for daily city driving, it is not something you can load with a lot of stuff for a small weekend trip. Some of the standout interior features are as follows:

• Proximity Key with push-button start
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob
• Steering-wheel-mounted audio controls
• Heated front seats
• 6-way adjustable driver seat and 4-way passenger seat

What’s there to keep you entertained in the 2020 Hyundai Venue?

On the dashboard of the 2020 Hyundai Venue is an 8.0-inch touchscreen display handling the infotainment duties. It comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard. Also, the Bluetooth connectivity along with a four-speaker sound system is what you can expect in the base trims. If you upgrade to the higher trims then they come with Hyundai’s BlueLink software which comes with a host of functionality like communication with your car via a smartphone app. 

Other feature upgrades you get are inbuilt navigation, satellite radio, voice recognition, and two additional speakers for your audio system.The display itself is quite a good one with nice graphics and fairly responsive touch. It is quite bright as well and is well lit, hence being easily readable under direct sunlight. One thing though is that it does freeze at times, especially while booting up. But other than that, it is quite an intuitive system. Hyundai’s user interface is also one of the best in the class. Some of the highlights of the infotainment system are as follows:

• Dual USB charging
• Auxiliary input jack
• Apple Carplay and Android Auto
• AM/FM/HD Radio
• SiriusXM satellite radio
• Bluetooth connectivity

Lately, Hyundai has started to design all of its cars in rather quirky ways and its new design language has quite divided opinions. The 2020 Venue is also designed along the lines of the bigger crossovers and SUVs from the Hyundai family and has a stark resemblance to them with those split headlamp and DRL design but one thing we are quite not a fan of in this design is the new odd-looking front grille which we feel will take quite some time to grow on us. 

The front is instantly recognizable as a Hyundai with that massive cascading front grille and split headlamps. The headlights are projector ones but seem to be not very effective in functionality. The side profile makes it look more like a big hatchback than a crossover SUV but the big rims do help in making the car feel big. The rear is maybe the profile from where the car looks the smallest and while we are not complaining, this is no SUV.

The Venue is pretty much the lightest car in comparison with the shortest length and height as well. This was very well expected as Hyundai is very clear in their mind that this is an urban car and this is supposed to be small. Even when compared to the tiny Ecosport, the Venue is incredibly smaller. Some of the standout exterior features are as follows:

• LED Daytime Running Lights
• LED taillights
• Heated outside mirrors
• Black/Chrome front grille
• Power tilt-and-slide sunroof
• Side-mounted Roof rails

The 2020 Hyundai Venue could be a cheap car but not at all an unsafe car. It is a stark reminder that cheap cars don’t require skipping on safety features. It has scored quite impressively in tests performed by the federal. Every Venue has standard automatic emergency braking, active lane control, driver-attention monitor, and high-beam assist. 

Blind-spot monitors and rear cross-traffic alerts are available on select trims. Other safety features include driver attention warning, brake assist, tire pressure monitoring system, ABS with EBD, TCS with ESP, and as many as 7 airbags including a knee airbag for the driver. Some of the standout safety features of the 2020 Venue are as follows:

• Forward collision-avoidance assist (FCA-Ped) with pedestrian detection
• Lane-keeping assist (LKA)
• Driver attention warning (DAW)
• 6 Airbags
• LATCH
• Brake assist (BA)
• Tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS)

2020 Hyundai Venue vs 2020 Nissan Kicks

Honestly, both the cars have their strong points. The Venue is cheaper, comes with a lot of handy features, is fuel-efficient, and has good ride quality but for some, it is just too small. On the other hand, the Nissan does cost a bit more but it scores well on practicality, is also quite frugal, and has quite a lot of space than the tiny Venue. So it is basically what you prefer and how much you can stretch your budget.

2020 Hyundai Venue vs 2020 Toyota CH-R

The Toyota CH-R is the most expensive of the bunch but is also quite a lot more powerful than the rest of the cars. And then the Toyota badge is quite enough to justify its pricing as they over-engineer all of their cars. The simple idea is if you can get yourself a CH-R then you shouldn’t be looking around as it is a better car than the Venue in pretty much all the aspects.

2020 Hyundai Venue vs 2020 Ford Ecosport

Ecosport is not quite an old car and in front of the all-new Venue, it does seem like Ford can do some minor tweaks to keep the design fresh. Also while the build quality of Ecosport is considerably better than the Venue, it lacks on the features list. And that is where the Venue comes into the picture and steals the crown from the Ecosport. 

The Hyundai Venue is one of the cheapest compact crossovers and is a very good value for money offering. It has quite a comfortable ride, the engine is very fuel-efficient and it is quite easy to drive around the city, that being the main purpose of the car. Though for some it might be a bit too small, the boot space is also not the very best, and the unavailability of all-wheel-drive might put some off. But still, despite all of that, it is a fun little car and can be just the right pick for your daily office commute.