Hyundai Venue: Which Variant To Buy?

With five variants and four powertrain options to choose from, which Venue packs the best value for money?

Hyundai has just launched the new Venue sub-4m SUV in India in five variants and three engine options in total. The prices range between Rs 6.5 lakh and Rs 11.10 lakh (ex-showroom, India) and it competes against the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Ford EcoSport, Tata Nexon and Mahindra XUV300. But which variant of the new Venue offers the most value for your money? We find out.

Here are the specifications for the powertrain options available with the Venue:

The full price list (ex-showroom, India) of the Venue is as follows:

First, we’ll go through the manual transmission options with both petrol and diesel engines across all variants to see which would be the best pick.

Hyundai Venue E - Base variant misses out on some basic features. Better to stretch your budget.

Features

Safety: Dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, front seatbelts with pretensioners, ISOFIX child seat anchor, day/night IRVM, rear parking sensors, auto door lock, front seatbelt reminders and speed alert

Exterior: Body coloured bumpers and door handles

Interior: Full cloth material seat covers, all-black theme

Comfort: Tilt adjustable steering, front power windows, front power socket, manual AC

Wheels: 15-inch steel with full wheel covers

Verdict: An aggressive entry price means the Venue closely competes against the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Nexon -- but like its peers, even the Venue’s base-spec variant is too bare for the price. It misses out on features we consider essential these days for this segment like an audio system, rear power windows, height-adjustable driver’s seat, adjustable rear headrests and rear defogger.

Hyundai Venue S: For those on a tight budget, variant to buy with 1.2P and 1.4D engines only

Features (over E variant)

Safety: Follow-me-home headlamps, rear defogger

Exterior: Roof rails, dark chrome front grille, body-coloured ORVMs

Interior: Khaki dual tone theme with Deep Forest exterior paint.

Comfort: Keyless entry, electrically adjustable ORVMs, rear AC vents with rear power socket, fixed front centre armrest with storage, all power windows, cooled glovebox, passenger-side vanity mirror

Audio: 2-DIN system for FM/AM, USB and Bluetooth; front and rear speakers, front tweeter and steering-mounted audio controls.

Verdict: There is a considerable price jump between variants here, with some features which should have been offered on the base spec to begin with. Considering the premium over the base variant, this does not count as a well-equipped variant either and comes with the bare minimum of features.

S variant is the starting point to get the Venue with the new 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, which attracts a significant premium of a lakh over the 1.2-litre petrol engine. Pick this variant only if you’re on a budget, want the Venue only, and can’t stretch further. Buy the Venue with either the 1.2-litre petrol engine or the 1.4-litre diesel on the basis of your average running.

Hyundai Venue SX: The variant to buy. Period.

Features (over S variant)

Safety: Front fog lamps (projector type), rear camera

Exterior: Projector headlamps with cornering function and LED DRLs, LED taillamps, indicators on ORVMs, shark fin antenna

Interior: Height adjustable driver’s seat, electric sunroof, adjustable headrests for rear seat, leather steering wheel and gear knob, leather seats (fabric+PU) and denim blue dual tone interior on dual tone options only

Comfort: Auto headlamps, Auto AC, power folding ORVMs, cruise control, USB charger, front centre armrest and door armrest on dual-tone version only

Infotainment: 8-inch touchscreen display with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and Arkamys sound system

Wheels: 16-inch alloys

Verdict: From this variant on, the turbo-petrol is the only petrol engine option, and it is similarly priced to the diesel engine. The SX variant attracts a premium of Rs 1.33 lakh over the previous variant but offers a lot more features for the premium. The Venue is also available with dual-tone exterior and interior options in this variant.

Of all the variants of the Venue, the SX is the most balanced Venue variant and we’d recommend it without any doubt for anyone looking to buy this Hyundai. That said, we would like to point out that it misses out on some basic features such as a rear wiper or a split-folding rear seat.

Hyundai Venue SX(O): For those who often do long distances on a full house

Features (over SX variant)

Safety: Side and curtain airbags (total 6), ESC, VSM, HAC and brake assist

Exterior: Chrome door handles

Interior: Leather+fabric upholstery, sliding front armrest, rear armrest with cupholders, 60:40 split folding rear seat,

Comfort: Smart key with push-button start, wireless charging pad, rear wiper and washer Technology: Hyundai Blue Link with remote function and telematic controls for SOS, RSA and Blue Link on the IRVM, navigation

Verdict: SX(O) is the top-spec variant for the Venue with all the bells and whistles and connected car tech, but with telematics only with the manual transmission. It is also the only variant to offer upto 6 airbags along with basics such as split-folding rear seat and rear wiper-washer.

Given that the SX variant offers a lot of goodies that make up a modern-day car, it is still the variant that makes sense for most buyers. Stretching to SX(O) would make sense to those who often do long distances on a full house as multiple airbags would make the drive safer for all passengers.

Also read: Hyundai Venue To Get 8-inch Infotainment System; Internet Features Revealed

The Hyundai Venue is also available with a petrol-automatic option for the 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine. It uses a new 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, which is regarded to be smoother than AMTs or CVTs when it comes to gear-changing. It is available on the following variants:

Hyundai Venue S: For those who want the automatic just for the sake of convenience and can’t stretch their budget.

Features (over S manual variant)

Safety: Electronic stability control, brake assist, hill assist control and vehicle stability management

Verdict: The premium Hyundai is charging for the DCT automatic transmission along with some features available on the automatic version only is reasonable. But would we recommend it over the Venue SX manual that gets a whole lot of features that’d make your every drive more enjoyable? No. Automatic’s convenience or creature comforts: take your pick.

Hyundai Venue SX+: The tech-laden personal car for those who don’t mind spending over Rs 11 lakh for a sub-4m vehicle

Features (over S automatic variant)

Safety: Front fog lamps (projector), rear camera

Exterior: Projector headlamps with cornering function, LED taillamps, LED DRLs, indicators on ORVMs, shark fin antenna, chrome door handles

Interior: Height adjustable driver’s seat, electric sunroof, adjustable headrests for rear seat, leather steering wheel and gear knob, leather seats (fabric+PU) and denim blue dual tone interior on dual tone options only, air purifier.

Comfort: Wireless charging, Auto AC, power folding ORVMs, cruise control, USB charger, push-button start-stop with smart key, auto headlamps

Technology: Hyundai Blue Link, telematic controls for SOS, RSA and Blue Link on the IRVM

Infotainment: 8-inch touchscreen display with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay & navigation, Arkamys sound tuning Wheels: 16-inch alloys

Verdict: This is the most expensive variant of the Hyundai Venue, but it doesn’t get 6 airbags. However, this is the only variant where you can boast about the connected car features like remote on/off of ignition and air-con. Clearly, this is the variant for those who self-drive everyday and given that the premium charged is reasonable over the S automatic variant, if you can stretch your budget for an automatic Venue, this is the variant to buy.

Also read: Is The Hyundai Venue More Fuel Efficient Than Its Rivals?

Read More on : Venue Automatic