Used 2021 Hyundai Venue

Winner: 2021 5-Year Cost to Own Award
#1 in Best Small SUVs for 2021

The 2021 Venue is Hyundai’s smallest and least-expensive SUV, slotting below the Kona subcompact. The Venue debuted in the U.S. last year, and Hyundai refers to it as an “urban compact SUV.” That emphasizes what the Venue values most: shuffling its young and young-at-heart drivers around town in an efficient and practical manner.

Unlike other crossover SUVs in the Hyundai lineup but similar to the Kia Soul, Nissan Kicks, and Toyota C-HR, the Hyundai Venue is front-wheel drive only. It makes no pretenses of venturing far off the beaten path. Nor is the Venue overflowing with power.

But it’s efficient, easy to drive and park, and perhaps most importantly won’t break the bank. When it debuted last year, the Venue arrived with a price tag of just over $17,000. That was with a manual transmission, though, and that has been dropped this year in favor of a standard CVT automatic. Still, a Venue in the $18,000 range is tempting and remains one of the least-expensive crossovers available.

Given that the Venue includes active safety systems like automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping assist, plus Hyundai’s leading 10 year/100,000-mile warranty, we think the Venue hits the sweet spot for buyers needing a simple yet stylish, safe and practical new crossover at a great price.

Even though the Venue’s 1.6-liter engine puts out only 121 horsepower, Hyundai’s smallest crossover feels reasonably peppy. Its standard continuously variable transmission (CVT) is well-tuned to “shift” like a traditional automatic transmission. Although CVTs are commonly criticized, the one in the Venue feels good, with impressive off-the-line response.

The Venue is best at city commutes, but it’s also acceptable for some freeway duty. On the highway at 60 mph, the Venue tachometer indicated a relaxed 2,000 rpm, accompanied by minimal road and wind noise. What’s more, headroom in the Venue, even with a sunroof, is excellent, and the view out the rather upright windshield is great. In fact, the view out of the Venue is laudable in all directions, and it’s easy to sense where the four corners of the vehicle are.

The ride quality of the Venue is comfortable but slightly firm. Unlike the slightly larger Kona that has independent rear suspension, the Venue comes with a torsion-beam rear axle. This simpler and less costly arrangement works with long and upright shock absorbers that do not intrude too much on the generous cargo area. For the record, the Venue has 18.7 cubic feet of cargo room behind its rear seat, which is nearly as much as the Kona’s 19.2.

In the Normal Drive mode, the Venue powertrain responds in typical fashion to throttle inputs; in Sport mode, Hyundai, by keeping the CVT in lower ratios and the engine at higher rpm, makes the Venue respond more crisply, aided further by sharper throttle tuning. Also on a positive note, Hyundai’s lane-keep assist program — which along with automatic emergency braking is standard on the Venue — proved effective but pleasantly restrained.

In our initial test, the Hyundai Venue returned an impressive 34.9 mpg.

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Hyundai produces some of our favorite interiors. The Venue’s 5-passenger cabin, in black or gray, features the relative simplicity typical of a sub-$20,000 interior, but with touches of the rugged personality established by the exterior.

Though the Hyundai Venue is one of the smallest SUVs on the market, even the tiniest SUVs can provide outsized cargo flexibility by virtue of the wide-opening rear hatch and fold-down rear seats. In addition to a 60/40-split, flat-folding rear seat, the Venue offers a convenient dual-level cargo floor. With the front seats all the way back, there isn’t much legroom for rear passengers, but the headroom back there is excellent, even with the optional sunroof.

Small? Yes. But compared to a subcompact sedan, the Hyundai Venue is downright cavernous. Our only real complaint: The plastic armrests on the door panels are hard and uncomfortable.

Although Hyundai has design studios around the world, the new Venue was designed at company headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. And we like the results.

The Hyundai Venue is an upright and boxy crossover SUV, which helps when carrying people and cargo, and the grille shows a family resemblance that continues all the way up to the Palisade 3-row SUV. A strong shoulder line adds a sense of strength to the Venue, while a steeply slanted C-pillar adds a hint of aggression. In back, the wide-set taillights create a stable, planted look.

Seven colors are available: Black Noir Pearl, Ceramic White, Scarlet Red Pearl, Intense Blue, Stellar Silver, Galactic Gray, and Green Apple. The Denim color, exclusive to the Denim edition, has a contrasting white roof and little white accents on each fender. While 2-tone designs are trendy these days, we think it looks good on the Venue.

At just 159.1 inches in length, the Venue is small enough to slot into tight garages and parking spaces.

SMARTSENSE
This safety suite, standard on all 2021 Hyundai Venues, includes automatic emergency braking (with pedestrian detection), lane-keep assist, and a driver-attention warning. A blind-spot warning system and rear cross-traffic alert are included in SEL and Denim models.

INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM
The Hyundai Venue’s standard infotainment system features an 8-inch color touchscreen and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto to access smartphone capabilities like app-based navigation, streaming audio, and voice-controlled search capabilities.

The Hyundai Venue is available in three trims: SE, SEL, and Denim. The least-expensive Venue SE includes an automatic transmission, 15-inch alloy wheels, cloth interior, cruise control, and 6-way adjustable driver’s seat. The standard infotainment system is impressive, bundling an 8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and 4-speaker audio system with AM/FM/HD Radio. The Venue includes active safety features such as forward-collision alert with automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping assist. For 2021, new Hyundais come with three years or 36,000 miles of complimentary maintenance. New Hyundai vehicles also include an outstanding warranty that covers 10 years/100,000 miles for the powertrain.

We think more buyers will appreciate at least a mid-trim SEL Venue, and for 2021 it includes even more features. Now standard are items formerly bundled into the convenience package. These include leather-wrapped steering wheels and shift knob, blind-spot monitoring system, power sunroof, sliding armrest, and 17-inch wheels. The SEL also adds rear disc brakes in lieu of the SE’s drum brakes, automatic climate control, chrome front grille, roof side rails, dual USB charge ports, 6-speaker audio system, voice control, and driver’s auto-up window.

Topline Venue Denim models include leatherette upholstery and most of the features available in the Premium package for the SEL. Those include heated front seats, LED headlights, keyless entry with push-button start, navigation, and heated outside mirrors, but you won’t get a sunroof, as you do in the SEL. As its name implies, the Denim Venue comes in an exclusive blue exterior color with a white contrast roof. Note if you want those features but the Venue in a different color, get the SEL and add the Premium package.

The Hyundai Venue uses a small 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine that makes 121 horsepower. That isn’t a lot of power, but then again, this isn’t a lot of vehicle. As we noted in our driving impressions, it’s adequate to shuffle the Venue around the city and on the highway. All Hyundai Venues are front-wheel drive (FWD).

When the Venue debuted last year, base SE models came with a 6-speed manual transmission. We imagine the take rate was exceedingly low, as Hyundai has dropped it just one year into the Venue’s life here in America. Now standard on all 2021 Venue models is Hyundai’s Intelligent Variable Transmission, a type of CVT with no set gears.

1.6-liter inline-4
121 horsepower @ 6,300 rpm
113 lb-ft of torque @ 4,500 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 30/33 mpg