2021 Hyundai Venue Active review

We can’t ignore the contribution that new arrivals like the Toyota Yaris Cross, Kia Stonic and our favourite the Ford Puma have made to the segment’s growth, but it’s also true that mainstays like the Mazda CX-3, VW T-Cross, Suzuki Jimny and Hyundai Venue are also finding greater favour with buyers.

The recipe for success in this segment is fairly straightforward: small, nimble, economical, sharply-priced, and easy to live with. Add a smattering of technology to that, dress it with flair and you’re ready to serve.

That last point – styling - is an interesting one. No other new car category has such visual variety. For example, nobody is ever going to confuse the bug-eyed Yaris Cross with the chiselled Kia Stonic, or the boxy Suzuki Jimny with the curvy Mazda CX-3, or the guppy-grilled Ford Puma with the braces on the Hyundai Venue.

I’ve just spent a week getting to know the 2021 Hyundai Venue Active, and I have tried very hard to evaluate its many attributes as professionally as possible. But styling doesn’t work that way. We all react emotionally to looks, and one person’s beauty may be another’s beast. After all, history shows that people did spend their own money on cars like the SsangYong Stavic and the original Subaru Tribeca despite their confronting curves.

The Hyundai Venue is nowhere near as ungainly as those two automotive lowlights, but it’s not my cup of tea. To me it looks like an evolution of those tiny but tall and boxy Japanese Kei cars that rose to worldwide prominence in the '80s and '90s, just without the warm and cutesy appeal. Still, more than 7000 Australians have put their money down for a Venue since it first hit Australia in late-2019, so while my view can’t be discounted, neither can theirs.

Okay, let’s leave the skin behind and look at the substance.

The Venue sits below the Kona small SUV in Hyundai’s range in both size and price ($20,690 to $26,490 depending on spec), although the top-spec Venue Elite’s price does overlap the base spec Kona (more here if that’s a conundrum you’re battling with).

The Venue range received a mild update and slight price increase in the fourth quarter of 2020, introducing wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard on the base model (of the rivals I mentioned above, only the Kia Stonic can match that). Other features were added to the three Venue variants (base, Active and Elite), which you can read about here.

The Venue Active I’m testing here rose by $420 to $24,890 at that time, an increase easily justified by the addition of the aforementioned wireless smartphone connectivity, 17-inch alloy wheels, and comfortable and supportive sports cloth seats with leather bolsters.

The cabin is fairly conventional, but neither does it want for any of life’s must-haves. In fact, the Venue’s strong value for money was one of the reasons it finished on the podium in the Drive Car of the Year awards this year. The only thing it wants for is keyless start. Instead, the Venue goes old-school and requires you insert a metal key into an ignition barrel, which you then turn to crank the engine. At least it means you avoid having a pesky key rattling around in the cupholders.

Some touches are nice, such as the white bezel surrounds on the air vents breaking up the predominantly black cabin. The infotainment touchscreen’s graphics are also of very good quality for this end of the market.

There is evidence of money saving in the Venue’s cabin, like the hard plastics on the dashboard and doors, the lack of sat-nav in the multimedia system, and air-conditioning instead of climate control. You could argue sat-nav is redundant if you use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, and I’d agree. That said, my experience with Android Auto’s wireless functionality was not great; the system dropped connection repeatedly for no apparent reason.

Now to practicality. At 4.04m bumper to bumper, the Venue is one of the smaller cars in this very small car category, but it’s not short on room inside partly because of the tall roof – at 1592mm it’s similar in height to the Yaris Cross and 50mm taller than the Ford Puma and Mazda CX-3. There’s plenty of head room front and rear, and the back seat has room for adults in both outboard seats. Leg room in the back is also in decent supply for non-basketballers.

The boot’s 355L capacity puts it at the smaller end of the category, but still ahead of the CX- 3 (264L). It does have a couple of useful features – the floor can be lowered to increase carrying height or raised to create a secret cubby underneath. And, if your tall load requires removing the hard cargo blind, that stores neatly down behind the back seatback.

As for the way it drives, the Hyundai Venue is capable and competent, but doesn’t set benchmarks in any area. This Venue Active, like all Venue models, is powered by a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that produces 90kW and 151Nm on cheap 91RON fuel.

Performance when paired with the six-speed automatic we tested is adequate rather than exciting, and I didn’t mind the little engine’s gravelly growl when you ask it to dig deep. Accelerative response from half throttle inputs – such as leaving traffic lights – is a tad lethargic, but there’s only so much pull its engine can deliver.

It’s also not the most fuel efficient in its class, but our on-test consumption of 8.4L/100km is not far from the 7.2L/100km manufacturer claim, and relatively easy to live with because it requires only 91RON.

The suspension strikes a good balance between dynamic competence and ride comfort, although it doesn’t cope as well with rough roads as the Ford Puma or some other rivals. In terms of manoeuvrability, the Venue scores well with a tight 10.2m turning circle, and has reverse parking sensors and camera, but no front parking sensors.

As for peace of mind, the Venue makes a stronger case on the safety front, even if it scored only four stars in ANCAP’s independent testing. The fifth star was withheld because the Venue’s AEB performance was scored as ‘marginal’ in its ability to avoid rear-end collisions with the car in front.

Overall, it’s easy to see why the Venue performed well in the 2021 Drive Car of the Year awards, because it mounts a strong case for value and practicality. There are better engines in its class, and there are sharper cars to drive, but the Venue is not without its charms. So, if you also like the look, then it could be the baby SUV for you.