Hyundai Venue N Line Review: A True Enthusiast’s SUV?

While the Venue N Line offers a more exhilarating drive experience than the standard Venue, it asks a premium of over Rs 50,000 for the same

The Hyundai Venue N Line is the sportier version of the Hyundai Venue SUV and is priced between Rs 12.08 lakh and Rs 13.90 lakh (ex-showroom). Its only competition is the X-Line variant of the Kia Sonet and it offers sportier looks, a dark cabin, and an overall fun-to-drive experience. But should you pay an extra amount just for that, or is the standard Venue good enough? Let’s find out.

Exterior

The overall design of the Venue N Line is similar to the standard Venue, but some small details create a big difference. Its big black chrome grille, sleek LED DRLs, and connected tail lights give it a modern look, and its wheel arches along with the cladding add some ruggedness to its design.

But the sportiness is added by the red inserts all around, chrome bumpers, stylish alloy wheels, N Line badging, rear spoiler, and dual exhaust tips. In my opinion, this looks even better than the standard Venue, which in itself is a pretty good looking car. And due to this design, when you’ll drive the Venue N Line, people will definitely notice you, due to its eye-catching road presence.

The Venue N Line also gets three colour options, out of which the blue and grey are exclusive to this sporty SUV. Hyundai played it right with these colours because this SUV, with its sporty design elements, really stands out in those shades.

Boot Space

There is no difference in the boot space of the Venue N Line and the standard Venue. Here, you can easily store a suitcase set: large, medium, and small suitcase, and will still have space left to keep a small bag.

If you need more space for your luggage, you can fold its rear seats in a 60:40 ratio, so you’ll be able to store more luggage with ease.

Cabin

If you thought that the exterior was sporty, then you’re in for a surprise. The cabin of the Venue N Line is sportier, and comes in an all-black theme with contrast red elements. The cabin houses an all-black dashboard with gloss black elements and red inserts. Here, you also get sporty front seats with red stitching and N Line badging for an additional sporty touch.

Talking about the details, you get the N Line badging on the steering wheel and gear knob, and you can spot the red design elements on the steering wheel, AC controls, AC vents, and on the doors. Also, the Venue N Line gets a different steering wheel, which looks sportier than the one in the standard Venue.

Usually, I do not prefer dark cabins and like lighter cabin themes because they make the cabin feel more airy. However, this dark cabin is different. When you’ll sit inside the Venue N Line, you’ll not only like the design of the cabin, but will also get the feeling that you’re about to drive a powerful car. 

However, the cabin quality could have been better. In this segment, you usually do not get very premium or plush interiors, but in some cars, like the Nexon, you get a leatherette finish on the dashboard which makes the cabin feel more upmarket, but this does not get that. 

In the Venue N Line, or the standard Venue for that matter, you get a hard plastic dashboard which feels a little scratchy, and while you do get leatherette padding on the door pads, it doesn’t feel enough. However, the buttons on the centre console and on the steering wheel are of a good quality and feel very clicky and tactile. 

Now let's get to the front seats. These seats are not only sporty, but are also very comfortable and supportive. You get a good amount of headroom here and the driver’s seat is 4-way power adjustable for convenience. Also, since you get a tilt-adjustable steering wheel, finding your driving position is not so hard.

Features

The features list of the Venue N Line is not as comprehensive as some of its rivals’, but it is more than enough for your daily commutes or even for long trips. The first is an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, which runs smoothly, has no lag or glitches, and offers good graphics too. This screen also supports wired Android Auto & Apple CarPlay, which run seamlessly.

It also offers a digital driver’s display, a wireless phone charger, automatic climate control with rear AC vents, a single-pane sunroof, cruise control, paddle shifters, and voice commands which can be used to open or close the sunroof or even to change the AC temperature/fan speed.

Overall, the features list is nice, but it would have been better if some more features were present, like wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and ventilated front seats. These features would have made the experience of this cabin even better.

Practicality & Charging Options

In the Venue N Line, you get 1-litre bottle holders on all four doors, a decent sized glove box, two cup holders in the centre console, storage in the centre armrest, and a tray on the dashboard where you can keep your phone or wallet.

Apart from the wireless phone charger, you also get a USB charger, a type-C charger, a 12V socket in the front, and two type-C chargers in the back.

Rear Seat Experience

Just like the front seats, the rear seats are comfortable as well. Here, you get a good amount of headroom and underthigh support, and these seats offer a decent amount of knee room. Given its compact size, the space on offer is strictly adequate and you’d want more legroom if you’re a tall person. 

The width of the rear seats are better for just two passengers. Seating three is possible, but only if you’re okay with brushing shoulders for a while. So, it's best if you seat only two people in the back.

Safety

The Venue N Line’s safety net includes 6 standard airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control (ESC), a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), all-wheel disc brakes, and hill hold assist.

Apart from these features, it also comes with a rear view camera, which is very helpful. There is no lag in the footage of this camera, and it works well during the day. However, at night or in low light conditions, the footage becomes grainy which causes difficulty in seeing what’s behind.

Now, Hyundai also offers a dual-camera dash cam with the Venue N Line which is a good features addition. It not only records the road when you’re driving, but can also record the cabin with a camera placed facing the cabin. The real benefit of this equipment is that if unfortunately you get into an accident, or have a close call, the footage from the dash cam can be very useful.

Lastly, the Venue and the Venue N Line both come with Level 1 ADAS (advanced driver assistance system) features like lane keep assist, forward collision warning, high beam assist, and autonomous emergency braking, which will make your drives even safer.

Engine & Performance

The Venue N Line gets standard Venue’s 1-litre turbo-petrol engine which comes paired with either a 6-speed manual transmission or a 7-speed DCT (dual-clutch automatic), and we drove the DCT variant. The Venue N Line is truly an enthusiast’s car, because it was clear from its drive experience.

Is this engine refined? Yes. Is it responsive? Yes. Is it powerful? Absolutely. While driving the Venue N Line, I did not feel the lack of power for even a second. It has a great acceleration, does not take much time to get to high speeds, overtakes are a piece of cake, and the exhaust note is like music to the ears (Yes, its exhaust note is different from the standard Venue).

The DCT changes the gears pretty smoothly and you don’t feel any jerks when the gears are changed. Also, to increase the sportiness of this drive, you get paddle shifters, which you can use to change the gears yourself.

During city commutes, there is no lack of power and you can smoothly navigate through bumper-to-bumper traffic. Hyundai has also made some adjustments to the suspension of the Venue N Line for better handling, but the difference between this and the standard Venue’s handling is not so big.

When on the highways, you enjoy the quick acceleration along with the sporty exhaust note, and you just want to keep going. Driving the Venue N Line, especially with the DCT, is extremely fun, and I’m sure you would like its drive experience.

Ride Comfort

Just like its performance, its ride quality will also not give you any complaints. The suspension setup, while slightly on the stiffer side, absorbs the bumps very well, so you don’t feel them much inside the cabin. It can easily go over broken patches, and while there will be some movement inside the cabin, you will remain comfortable.

We’d suggest you slow down for speed breakers and big potholes, considering the suspension has a tendency to bottom out and make a loud thud sound. Finally, on highways, the Venue N Line is pretty stable, and even with some noticeable body roll, your comfort will remain intact.

Verdict

Should you buy the Venue N Line over the Standard Venue? Yes, but… it is not for everyone. We all want a car that makes us feel exhilarated with its drive experience, but that is not what you’ll be doing constantly.

If you want a car that offers the same performance, same features, same comfort, and the same ride quality, you can go for the standard Hyundai Venue and save some money while doing so because it offers everything the N Line does. Also, with the standard Venue, you get two more engine options: 1.2-litre NA petrol and 1.2-litre diesel.

But if your priority is style, sportiness, and a fun-to-drive experience, the Venue N Line will cater to your every need. And we will definitely recommend this car, because it truly is an enthusiast's SUV.