Hyundai Venue side profile
You wouldn’t know it from the way Hyundai talks about the new Venue CUV here in the states, but this is a global vehicle. As you can read in my full Venue review from last fall, the Venue is (or will be) sold in around the world – in India, Korea, Australia, Mexico and Canada – along with the U.S. Exactly how the vehicle differs in all of these regions is beyond the scope of this post, but I figured U.S. readers will want to know more about the affordable utility vehicle now that U.S. pricing is out.
Because that was an important topic in the original review. At the time, we didn’t know exactly how much the Venue would cost here. Hyundai has since revealed that price, and it starts at $17,350 plus $1,120 in freight fees. That’s the cost for the 1.6-liter, 4-cylinder engine and the six-speed manual transmission in the entry-level SE trim, i.e., the model most people won’t buy. Opting for the automatic transmission bumps the MSRP to $18,550, while the top-of-the-line Denim trim costs $22,050. All in all, more than reasonable.
2020 Hyundai Venue in Miami.
Price is an important part of the sales pitch for the Venue here in the U.S. This is Hyundai’s cheapest CUV, coming in just under the Kona, which starts at $20,300 (plus the $1,120 fee, of course). That guarantees a number of shoppers will give the Venue a glance, at the very least, as they shop. And Hyundai thinks a good number of those people will be those who are opting for used cars today but would rather have a new vehicle. Hyundai thinks the Venue will tempt them with more tech and safety features for not that much more money. For example, the base Venue comes with an 8-inch touchscreen that’s compatible with Apple Carplay and Android Auto as well as safety features like lane-keep assist and front collision warning with automatic emergency braking.
Once you get into the Venue, you can see where Hyundai saved money in building the Venue. Some of those places are big and obvious, like the lack of an all-wheel drive option. Some are smaller and easy to miss, like the fact that the driver’s side sun visor extends to block the sun further back on the side window while the passenger’s visor is not able to extend at all. I don’t know about you, but this reminded me of the way some older cars used to have inside controls for the driver-side mirror while the passenger side mirror had to be manipulated from the outside. Ah, the auto industry and the ways it tries to reduce costs.
2020 Hyundai Venue Interior.
Even though there are some powertrain and suspension differences between the U.S. Venue and the global model I drove in September, the ride feel is pretty uneventful. This isn’t a terrible thing (again, see MSRP), but it’s also not something worth getting into. Hyundai says its the “urban entrepreneurs” who will be the target for this CUV, and nothing about that description suggests they will demand much more than errand-running from their Venues and the 121 horsepower and 113 pound-feet of torque it offers.
The Venue gets decent fuel economy as well. The manual is rated at 30 mpg combiend, 27 in the city and 35 on the highway. With an automatic, the 2020 Venue gets 32 mpg combines, 30 in the city and 34 on the highway, so frugal car shoppers can spend relatively modestly at the pump as well.
All in all, the U.S.-spec Venue makes a lot of sense, inside and out. You know where Hyundai saved money, and you know they did it so you can save money. If you can live with that compromise, then it’s worth checking out.
