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The Hyundai Venue on display at auto show

Don’t Let the Size of the This New Hyundai Fool You

The Hyundai Venue is rolling off the crossover SUV line alongside some of its sister vehicles, like the Kona. Originally offered in Australia, the Venue is coming to the North American market, and word has it, this vehicle will make a big splash. That might sound surprising since it’s pretty small – smaller than even the …

The Hyundai Venue is rolling off the crossover SUV line alongside some of its sister vehicles, like the Kona. Originally offered in Australia, the Venue is coming to the North American market, and word has it, this vehicle will make a big splash. That might sound surprising since it’s pretty small – smaller than even the Kona.

So, how could a little vehicle like the Hyundai Venue make it in the big world of SUVs? As Motor 1 reports, the Hyundai crossover is bigger than the size dictates as far as value is concerned, so don’t let the small stature fool you. There’s more than meets the eye here.

What’s so great about the new Hyundai Venue?

The size of this crossover SUV doesn’t detract from the value Hyundai brought to the Venue. Its base trim alone offers plenty for an inexpensive price. For the standard SE trim level, you get a 6-speed manual transmission, an anti-lock brake system, traction control, and a total of six airbags. But, this is only a small fraction of the features that come standard on the Venue as Cars.com lists. You will be able to upgrade to a 2-speed continuously variable transmission if you choose.

One thing to note is that you’ll only find one engine option, the inline-four 1.6-liter motor, which is standard for all trim levels. Most people drawn to this vehicle won’t be turned off by that, though. All-wheel drive is also absent from this crossover sport utility vehicle, but in its place is a snow-mode feature, which will give an extra boost to the tires in snowy conditions. Gas mileage is pretty decent at 34 highway miles per gallon, which isn’t too surprising for a Hyundai.

What will Hyundai offer for the higher trims?

The Hyundai Venue at an unveiling in India
The Hyundai Venue | Manoj Verma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

With all the features the lower-end package offers with the starting price of around $18,000, it makes you wonder what a loaded trim level would look like. The SEL comes with either a Premium or a Convenience package. The Convenience package adds a power sunroof, leather-covered steering wheel, and traffic collision warning.

Upgrade to the Premium package and you’ll get heated front seats, LED running lights, push-button start, and 17-inch wheels. The Convenience package is only around $1,200 more than the base price. Add $500, or so, more to that and you get the Premium configuration.

The other trim package offered is the Denim. This one goes more for styling points than features, but it does offer much of the same as the SEL. This package adds the classic denim theme to its exterior with white and two-tone blue paint. The interior materials for the dash and seats also have a denim look to them. Pricing for this package is only slightly more than those for the SEL.

What are the drawbacks of the Hyundai Venue?

While it seats up to five passengers, the legroom inside the Venue is bleak. If you only have young children in the back, you can fit five easier. Also, Motor 1 had a tough time figuring out the right position to set the driver’s seat to stay comfortable on the long drives; they felt it was too tiresome.

If you’re looking for an SUV with top-of-the-line technology for the interior, the Venue may disappoint. Its dash controls are pretty simple without too much flash. It has a few luxuries, like the infotainment system, for example, but to keep costs down, the basic feel might not bother too many people.

It turns out the Hyundai Venue is small, but many expect it to hit big in the market for those looking to get an SUV with decent gas mileage. The Venue doesn’t look like it will disappoint since it gives you plenty of standard features for a price of less than $20,000. With only a few thousand more, and you can have tons of amenities to make your driving experience enjoyable.