Hyundai Venue Active 2020 Review

Returning to some of the Korean car-maker’s original tenets of bang for bucks and affordability, the 2020 Hyundai Venue is not only the lowest-priced car on the Australian Hyundai fleet, it’s also a reflection of the company’s elevated brand status...

And what that reputation can mean for a fast start for a new product.

The Hyundai Venue is not very adventurous to look at, and there’s nothing outstanding about its technology, but it’s been very cleverly developed and packaged to satisfy specific constraints in the burgeoning light SUV class: an entry-level price around $20K and a top-spec model that is comfortably below $30,000.

A conventional if somewhat square-rigged mini SUV, the entry-level manual-gearbox Hyundai Venue Go is tagged at $20,190 plus on-road costs. It is therefore only undercut in its class by the microscopic Suzuki Ignis.

Other SUV competitors such as the Mazda CX-3, and newcomers including Volkswagen’s T-Cross and SsangYong’s Tivoli, are, by degrees, more expensive with top-end prices over the magic $30K mark. Similarly, Toyota’s incoming Yaris Cross only goes as low as $26,990 plus ORCs.

Not only that but the Hyundai Venue also undercuts most small hatches – which it just about matches in useable space.

Here we are reviewing the mid-spec Hyundai Venue Active (with auto gearbox) for which you’ll pay $24,140 plus on-road costs (the manual is $2020 cheaper). And at that price, you are not likely to be disappointed by the standard kit.

For starters, the Hyundai Venue Active stands pretty proud with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) – which is operational at both high and low speeds – plus pedestrian avoidance, lane departure warning, lane keep assist and rear parking sensors all standard. (For blind-spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert, it’s necessary to step up to Elite level.)

The engine is a non-turbo version of the 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol unit seen in the next-step-up Hyundai Kona small SUV. At 90kW/151Nm it’s less impressive than the 130kW/265Nm turbo (or the atmo 110kW/180Nm 2.0-litre also available in the Kona), but the Venue has less weight to deal with.

Indeed, at around 160kg below a comparable Kona, the Venue’s power-to-weight ratio sits somewhere between Mazda’s 2.0-litre CX-3 and Volkswagen’s slightly puny 1.0-litre turbo T-Cross.

The Venue Active’s seat trim is basic cloth (denim is optionally available), the front seats are non-powered and there’s no sat-nav, no climate-control and the headlights, though self-dipping and backed up by LED daytime running lights, are halogen-only.

Apple CarPlay/Android Auto help deal with the missing sat-nav.

Yet despite all its safety technology, the Hyundai Venue only qualifies for four ANCAP stars.

This comes down to a new Australian safety testing regime in which ANCAP now measures the performance of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) systems. ANCAP wasn’t entirely happy with the Venue’s camera-based system’s performance in avoiding “rear-end impact with vehicles in front”.

Less complex than the radar/camera Fusion II system used in other Hyundai models, the system was also criticised for its inability to detect cyclists.

Against its light SUV class competitors (except maybe for the Volkswagen T-Cross), however, the Hyundai Venue’s safety credentials otherwise look pretty sharp.

The Hyundai Venue Active is a vehicle for pragmatists.

In terms of packaging, adult rear-seat passengers aren’t particularly well catered for, especially if they’re relatively tall, but the boot is on par with its competitors.

On the other hand, a slightly elevated hip point helps entry and egress (especially for older folk or those carting kids) and two floor levels in the boot help open up a load space that’s easily accessed through an appropriately large tailgate.

Hyundai doesn’t talk about the Venue’s total seats-folded capacity but quotes the boot at 355 litres which puts it near the top of the class.

Standard roof rails will be welcomed by the Venue’s empty-nester, young-couple or youthful-single owners.

Hyundai does, however, make a bit of noise about the fact its suspension systems are tailored to suit the Australian environment. The Venue scored no fewer than 33 front and 41 rear damper configurations in testing before Hyundai’s engineers were satisfied that it was ready to meet local market expectations.

The result is that it does better than expected of an unarguably compact package (it’s the shortest – though tallest – in the Mazda CX-3, Volkswagen T-Cross, SsangYong Tivoli bunch).

We think, however, the Venue Active would be better served, visually and dynamically, with something a bit larger than its tiddly 15-inch (alloy) wheels and the high-profile 185/65 tyres that are fitted.

With 2.7 turns from lock to lock, the steering is quick and responsive enough for tidy overall handling, but a bit more tyre grip would be welcome. Not necessarily the Elite version’s 17-inchers, but at least 16s.

It’s not all bad though. Although understeer is never far away, the ride, for such a small car, is especially comfortable and absorbent.

The 1.6-litre engine does a workmanlike job but it’s here that you remember we are talking budget motoring. The atmo four-cylinder is responsive and revs quickly towards the 6500rpm redline, but inevitably it ends up sounding thrashy.

The six-speed auto works well when manually shifted, but it will shift up and down gears occasionally on steep gradients as if unsure of which gear it wants.

The Hyundai Venue is economical, but not especially. The claimed consumption is 7.2L/100km – a figure we all but equalled on test with an average of 7.4L/100km – on RON 91 fuel. It’s well down on the Mazda CX-3 (6.3L/100km) and Volkswagen T-Cross (5.4L/100km) though equal to the SsangYong Tivoli.

When you first encounter the Hyundai Venue Active, the impressions are a bit ho-hum.

It’s hard not to get the feeling that our test car would have been more appealing in brighter colours. The slate grey looks unobtrusive – not exactly bland, but it didn’t walk the walk of some of the edgier light SUVs. Even the SsangYong Tivoli has enough wefts and warps in its styling to attract more attention on the street.

What’s always front of mind though is that this is Hyundai’s cheapest car. It doesn’t really pretend to be anything else.

That’s not to say the Hyundai Venue Active is uninspiring. Far from it. It does everything with the degree of competence you’d expect from this now-matured car-maker.

And, true to the original Hyundai creed, there’s nothing in the light SUV segment – other than the teeny Suzuki Ignis – that is more within financial reach.

A return to roots indeed, and a successful one. The Hyundai Venue is the already Australia’s second best-selling light SUV behind the pricier Mazda CX-3.

How much does the 2020 Hyundai Venue Active auto cost?
Price: $24,140 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 90kW/151Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.2/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 165g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Four-star (ANCAP 2019)