THE EXCITING NEW Hyundai Venue small SUV is sure to attract plenty of value-conscious buyers with its headlining entry price under $20,000 (plus on roads, of course).
Venue will become the new entry point to a broad Hyundai small vehicle range, offering the road presence and interior space of an SUV, combined with the parking ease, economy and manoeuvrability of a light car, a winning combination with over-50s and most other demographics.
Headlining an array of standard equipment in new Venue is an 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia unit featuring Bluetooth streaming, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as a reversing camera.
Hyundai’s SmartSense safety suite is also standard in every Venue, incorporating Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA), Lane Keeping Assist (LKA-L/R), Driver Attention Warning (DAW), High Beam Assist (HBA) and tyre-pressure monitoring.
Venue comes in Hyundai’s three-grade line-up (Go, Active and Elite) with a flexible and economical 1.6-litre MPi engine, front-wheel drive and a choice of six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmissions depending on the model grade.
Hyundai Venue: Range Overview
In addition to standard connectivity and safety equipment the range-opening Venue Go also features dusk-sensing headlights, hill-assist control system, cruise control and six airbags.
The Venue Active adds Rear Parking Distance Warning (PDW-R) system, LED daytime running lights, powered folding exterior mirrors with LED side repeaters, alloy wheels, and leather appointed steering wheel and gear knob.
Stepping up to the Venue Elite, customers also get Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW) and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning (RCCW) systems, an 8.0-inch satellite navigation system, climate control, LED taillights, 17-inch alloy wheels, and a distinctive two-tone roof.
“The new Venue is ahead of the curve, offering customers a high level of value in a practical and well-equipped compact SUV,” Hyundai Motor Company Australia Chief Executive Officer, JW Lee said.
“As our new range-entry model, the Venue combines the rugged looks and practical benefits of an SUV and a light car, with advanced safety technology at an attractive price point,” he said.
Building on 18 years of SUV experience
The Venue compact SUV draws on Hyundai’s experience in the sports utility vehicle market, which dates back to the launch of the popular Santa Fe in 2001.
Venue applies Hyundai’s cascading grille and stacked headlight design to convey a bold road presence within a compact package.
Exaggerated wheel-arches build on the frontal styling to create a squat and athletic stance that is enhanced in profile by strong character lines and standard roof rails.
An intuitive, practical and robust interior design complements Venue’s rugged exterior image.
Venue’s cabin, headlined by a large tablet-style 8.0-inch multimedia display, creates a sophisticated ambience through the use of black, grey and denim-coloured interior trim combinations.
Venue provides the high level of space and practicality that SUV buyers demand, with clever solutions such as a smartphone cubby, rear parcel shelf storage slot, and a 355 litres for luggage.
The vehicle benefits from a comprehensive Australian-specific chassis tune that delivers dynamics not always found in this category, together with ride sophistication more commonly associated with larger vehicles.
Power comes from a 90kW, 151Nm 1.6-litre MPi engine featuring dual continuously variable valve timing (D-CVVT) and a two-stage variable intake system designed to maximise low-end torque and drivability.
Customers can choose either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission in Venue Go and Active (Venue Elite features a six-speed automatic only).
A Drive Mode system in Venue automatic variants allows customers to choose a powertrain setting that best suits their driving style. In addition, on automatic variants an all-new Traction Mode system offers unique traction control calibrations suited to snow, mud or sand driving.
Tuned for Australian conditions
New Venue benefits from an Australian-tuned suspension and steering calibration to tackle our uniquely challenging (a polite way of saying “rubbish”) urban and country roads.
The comprehensive ride and handling tuning program started early in the concept stage of development. As we have experienced before with Hyundai, local tuning results in a much-improved driving experience.
“When we initially tested the early prototypes we enjoyed uncovering the strengths of this new model,” Hyundai Motor Company Australia Product Planning & Development Specialist, Tim Rodgers said.
“The fundamental dynamic characteristics played perfectly to the Venue’s role as a city SUV that’s at home on country roads, and we built on that foundation.
“What’s resulted is something we’re super-happy with. Venue is a charming little machine to point around the city and fun to drive in the country on weekends.
“Venue was one of our most involved suspension tunes ever. We really take this seriously and we want people to know that,” Rodgers said.
“When we’re tuning locally, we’re doing as many damper iterations as possible; trying to learn as much as we can in the time we have.”
“The tuning also benefited from spending more time in the early development stages at our Namyang proving grounds in Korea: the specialised test courses there allowed us to knock off a lot of our goals and targets in a matter of hours rather than days.”
“It gave us more time and freedom to fine-tune Venue locally, which contributed hugely to a high-quality result,” Rodgers said.
During the chassis development program, the HMCA Engineering division evaluated 33 front damper iterations and 41 rear damper iterations before arriving at Venue’s production settings.
Venue’s compact torsion beam rear suspension provides packaging advantages compared with a multi-link suspension, allowing for maximum rear occupant and luggage space.
The rear torsion beam was also the focus of particular suspension tuning attention.
“We put a lot of work in to make sure the torsion beam worked right,” Rodgers said.
“The torsion beam helps make Venue a responsive and sporty car to point around, because of the way the rear rotates as you put roll inputs into the car.”
Once we have tested and assessed the new Hyundai Venue, seniordriveraus will bring you a comprehensive review, including everything the over-50 driver needs to know.