2020 Hyundai Venue first ride review: All technology for less
"The Hyundai Venue 2020 offers a lot of technology at an affordable price."
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Good technical value
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High quality interior
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Comfortable ride
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Gutless motor
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Driver aids work poorly
It is now a matter of course that American buyers prefer crossovers over normal cars. As a result, automakers are increasing the driving heights of small hatchbacks to develop new models that have the crossover look but not the utility or all-wheel drive. The trend started with the Toyota C-HR and Nissan Kicks, and now we have a new entry – the 2020 Hyundai Venue.
The venue follows the same recipe as the C-HR and Kicks. According to Hyundai, however, it is primarily aimed at used car buyers. Hyundai believes that a low base price combined with the latest technology and a new car guarantee will attract buyers of used car lots. Starting at $ 18,345, the venue offers a ton of technology for the money, including standard Apple CarPlay / Android Auto and a variety of driver aids.
But is the 2020 Hyundai Venue really cheap and cheerful or just cheap? At Hyundai's invitation, I drove a venue from Miami to the Florida Keys to find out.
Design and style
The venue differs from conventional small hatchback models in its design. It's a bit bigger, both because of an upright, boxy body shape and because of a higher ride height. The venue also carries the same grille as larger Hyundai crossovers to reaffirm the idea that it's not just a regular car.
Stephen Edelstein / Digital Trends
Like the Nissan Kicks, the Venue is available in a two-tone color scheme that gives the car a bit more personality. However, this option is only available in the upper denim trim. You have only one color combination to choose from – blue with a white roof.
Your mileage may vary depending on the design, but a box-shaped design should offer more passenger and cargo space than something leaner and more car-like. Despite its sloping roofline, the Toyota C-HR has more cargo space than the venue.
Meanwhile, the kicks has more cargo space and more passenger space than the Toyota or Hyundai. On paper, the venue has more headroom and legroom for the rear passengers than the kicks, but that's not much in the real world.
The venue differs from conventional small hatchback models in its design.
The back seats of the venue are narrow, especially if the front seats are designed for tall people. The hold is good for a small hatchback, but not impressive compared to real crossovers. Even the Hyundai Kona, a tiny vehicle, offers more.
When it comes to utility, the venue (and other similar vehicles) don't offer enough to justify the crossover label. If you buy the venue against used cars, as Hyundai believes, many buyers will likely find something with more space at the same price.
Stephen Edelstein / Digital Trends
The front seats are at least a nice place. They are comfortable for a vehicle in this price range, although we prefer the more supportive chairs in the Nissan Kicks. Hyundai also has nothing to do with Nissan's optional Bose audio system, which has speakers in the front headrests.
However, the interior and overall design of the venue look more sophisticated than that of the Nissan, and both the kicks and venue look more inviting than the Toyota C-HR, which appears to be outdated in comparison.
technology
Hyundai has saved on interior space, but not on technology. The affordable venue is equipped with numerous technical functions as standard.
The standard infotainment system includes an 8-inch touchscreen as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Toyota offers the same screen in the C-HR and adds Android Auto in addition to Apple CarPlay for the 2020 model year.
Nissan requires you to upgrade the basic equipment of the Kicks S to the SV to get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The largest touchscreen available is only 7 inches tall. Venue models equipped with navigation also receive real-time traffic information at no extra charge.
This is where Hyundai's strategy comes in to play the venue off against used cars. You are not guaranteed to find these connectivity features on every older vehicle.
The venue is an entry-level model, but it offers a lot of technology.
As with other Hyundai models, the infotainment system is simple but functional. The graphics on the screen are not complex, but are easy to read at a glance. Keyboard shortcuts for menus make it easier to use the system while driving.
Hyundai also offers several places, including a shelf on the passenger side of the dashboard, which looks like a good place to rest a phone. At least until you accelerate or brake hard and the phone flies.
The event location is equipped as standard with an autonomous emergency braking system, a lane departure warning system and an attention monitor for the driver. The SEL trim in the middle area offers monitoring of the blind spot and a warning of rear traffic.
As with infotainment technology, used cars with these features may not be available at the same price, so Hyundai's argument is correct. However, the event's new car competitors offer technologies similar to the standard equipment – as well as functions that the event location does not offer. The Toyota C-HR has adaptive cruise control, while the Nissan Kicks has autonomous reverse braking.
Stephen Edelstein / Digital Trends
The driver's aids at the venue are mixed. The lane departure warning system was too sensitive, since every slight deviation from a straight line was a possible off-road excursion. It was also confused by highway exits. The lane departure warning system is not only shy, but also pulls aggressively on the steering wheel to bring the venue back into line.
I was impressed with the ability to monitor the blind spot to see cars far behind the line of sight, but the loud warning sound sounded like a bad television special. Instead of being helpful, it was a joke.
Experience behind the wheel
According to Hyundai, the venue was designed for young city dwellers, and my test drive began and ended in downtown Miami, with sections of the highway in between. Here Hyundai's Penny Pinching began to show itself.
The venue is only available with a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that delivers 121 horsepower and 113 pound-feet of torque. If that doesn't sound enough to you, you're right. It's easy to assume that driving in the city is just about sitting in traffic, but that's not really the case. Maneuvers that would have been routine in most other cars became nerve-wracking.
This may be due in part to the transfer of the event location. Base SE models get a six-speed manual, but my two test cars (a SEL and a denim) had the optional continuously variable transmission (CVT), which Hyundai calls the IVT (for "intelligent variable transmission").
The manual would at least have given more control and helped keep the engine in its power range. The problem could also be poor coordination. Nissan's kicks also use a CVT and offer similar performance to the venue (122 hp and 114 lb-ft). But the kicks don't feel nearly as sluggish as the venue.
This little Hyundai was comfortable and quiet, but not fun.
Auto people like to say that driving a slow car fast is more fun than driving a fast car slowly, but the venue is the exception to this rule. This little Hyundai was comfortable and quiet, but not fun. It is small but not agile. The driving experience was so understated that we didn't mind being in Florida, a state notorious for its lack of good roads.
In order to keep the price of the venue low, Hyundai did not use all-wheel drive. The additional traction of the all-wheel drive is one of the reasons for choosing a crossover instead of a conventional car. However, the all-wheel drive would have increased $ 2,000 in manufacturing costs (which would have driven up the base price) and 200lbs in curb weight (which would have had an impact on fuel consumption), Derek Joyce, PR manager for Hyundai crossovers, told Digital Trends.
The venue is only front-wheel drive. Fortunately for Hyundai, it's the Nissan Kicks and the Toyota C-HR. The venue does have a "snow mode" for traction control that changes throttle response and CVT behavior for more grip, but I couldn't test that in sunny Florida.
Fuel consumption and security
The 2020 Hyundai Venue is rated at 32 mpg combined (30 mpg city, 34 mpg highway) with the CVT and 30 mpg combined (27 mpg city, 35 mpg highway) with the six-speed manual. This places the venue below the Nissan Kicks, which achieves a total of 33 mpg, and above the Toyota C-HR, which achieves a total of 29 mpg (both vehicles are only available with CVT).
Stephen Edelstein / Digital Trends
The venue is a new model, so it is difficult to predict future reliability. Overall, Hyundai has a reputation for reliability and offers one of the longest guarantees in the business. The Korean automaker's 10-year drivetrain warranty of 100,000 miles and the 5-year drivetrain warranty of 60,000 miles far exceed Nissan and Toyota.
The venue is new, so crash test assessments by the Road Safety Insurance Institute (IIHS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are not yet available.
How DT would configure this car
My ideal 2020 Hyundai Venue is a denim model. The denim has optional technical functions such as monitoring the blind spot, warning of cross traffic at the rear and navigation from the SEL trim level, giving it a portion of style. The two-tone blue and white exterior and the blue interior of the denim make the venue feel special. At $ 23,045, the denim is a big step up from the base Venue SE starting price of $ 18,345 and still a good value.
Conclusion
The 2020 Hyundai Venue is a solid car, but whether it's the right car for you depends on your priorities. If you are looking for a real crossover with more interior space than a normal car and all-wheel drive, look elsewhere. The venue is more like a high hatchback than a real crossover.
This also applies to the Nissan Kicks and the Toyota C-HR, the two logical rivals of the venue. The Nissan and Toyota also have no four-wheel drive and are similar in size to the Hyundai. We were impressed by the quality of the material and the general sophistication of the venue, but it's not a clear victory. The kicks don't have a standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but more interior space and a bolder motor. The C-HR has a higher base price, but is equipped with an adaptive cruise control as standard, which is not available at the event location at any price.
What about the used cars that Hyundai said were the real rivals of the venue? Priorities are also important here. The venue offers the latest technology and a new car guarantee, but at the expense of the interior and acceleration. Hyundai offers more technology and security for the money, but it is possible to bring more cars to the used market.
Should you get one?
Yes. The 2020 Hyundai Venue may not be a true crossover, but it is a good car.
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