Hyundai Venue: Compact SUV Unveiled

Hyundai leaves no stone unturned when it comes to shaking things up in stiff competition. To dominate the compact SUV segment and take on the likes of Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon, Ford Ecosport and the XUV 300, Hyundai will launch a compact SUV that not only looks upmarket and bold but comes with a host of new connected features. I'll walk you through the design and features later but first let's explore the heart of the SUV.

What's under the hood?

Under the hood Hyundai Venue comes with three engine options, the most affordable option here is a 1.2L petrol engine with a 5 speed manual transmission that churns out 83hp and 115nm of torque. Then there is an all new 1.0 L petrol engine with a 6 speed manual and 7 speed dual clutch option which is a three cylinder, direct injection turbo engine, it churns out 120hp and 172nm of torque. The third and the last would be the 1.4 L diesel engine option with a six speed manual option that churns out 90hp and 220 nm of torque.

Design

Inspired by Santa Fe and Creta, the Venue looks like a scaled down baby Creta. With split headlamps, general squared-off look and a large honeycomb grill, the design is elegant yet bold and looks like the SUV is ready to take on some ugly road challenges. The car has subtle cuts and creases along the body with quite a minimalist accentuated with the small squarish rear lamps. Further dimensions of the Venue would be 3,995 mm long, 1,770 mm wide, 1,590mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,500 mm. Moving on to the interiors the SUV has a few new eye catching bits never seen on a hyundai. New here is the centre console arrangement , layout of the infotainment system and climate control knobs with integrated displays, this definitely looks appealing and futuristic. The instrumentation and steering wheel seems of high quality however the colour patterns and overall theme reminded us of Creta and other Hyundai cars.

Features and the WOW Factor

Other than the standard boring features, the Venue includes a few signature features unseen in this segment before. They include a DCT gearbox, wireless charger, air purifier (say what?), projector fog lamps and eco coating. Other than this the Venue will also get a sunroof, cornering lamps, cruise control, cooled glove box and rear AC vents. The WOW factor includes the Blue Link suite of connected car features never seen in this segment before. Using the Blue Link smartphone application one can access various safety features like vehicle theft tracking, engine immobilizer for stolen car recovery, high speed alert, geofence alert, panic notification, location sharing and others. Additionally, one can remotely operate functions like engine Start/Stop, climate control, door lock/unlock, switching on/off headlights and locating the vehicle using Blue Link application. Hyundai is also going to offer three years of unlimited km warranty and roadside assistance. 

Moving on to safety, the Venue will have up to six airbags, speed sensing auto door lock, ABS, ESC/ESP, hill assist, brake assist and ISOFIX seats.

Price and launch date

The prices are estimated in the range of Rs 8-12 lakh (ex showroom), Venue would not be the cheapest compact SUV out there but it comes with a host of new connected features that justifies the price tag. The SUV will launch a month later on 21st May. Stay tuned for a full driving experience of the car after it's launch.