शनिवार, 25 मई 2019

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Review: 2019 Hyundai Venue review, test drive

What is it?

The compact SUV segment in India has offerings from almost all the major carmakers – Maruti Suzuki, Tata, Ford and Mahindra – but the second-largest car manufacturer in the country – Hyundai, has been missing from this space for the longest time. But not anymore. The Hyundai Venue is here to fill in the blank and it’s a model that’s positioned between the premium i20 hatchback and the uber-popular Creta SUV, in Hyundai's portfolio.

The Hyundai Venue is available with four engine-gearbox options in India. There’s a 90hp, 1.4-litre diesel engine with a 6-speed manual gearbox. Venue petrol range includes an 83hp, 1.2-litre unit with a 5-speed manual, though the petrol engine of big interest is the new 1.0-litre, direct-injection, turbocharged unit. The engine can be had with a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed dual-clutch auto, the latter being another first for Hyundai in India.

Hyundai Venue prices range from Rs 6.5 lakh to Rs 11.1 lakh (ex-showroom, India), putting the model right in the heart of the compact SUV segment. The package sounds promising but it’s time to find out what the final product is really like.

What’s the Venue’s exterior like?

There’s no mistaking the Venue for anything other than a Hyundai. In fact, it could easily pass off as a shrunken Creta at first glance. Its oversized cascading chrome-lined grille might polarise opinions, but the split headlamps with slender LED-equipped strip at the top and a square-ish housing bordered by LED DRLs, surely look striking. What this car also gets is body cladding all around to give it a tough appearance. Its flat bonnet, upright cabin, strong shoulder line, roof rails and flared wheel arches are in tandem with its SUV character. The design of the 16-inch alloys is funky too.

Hyundai claims that 69 percent of the car is built of high-strength steel, and it comes with air curtains around the front wheel for better aerodynamics.

What’s the Venue’s interior like?

Step into the Venue’ cabin and you’re greeted by a neatly designed dash. Our test car sports an all-black theme with silver highlights, and the good bit is that the quality of materials and fit-finish is very good. The textured dash-top is non-reflective, the vents come with beautifully damped air volume shutters and even the gear lever and steering are beautifully finished. There are few, if any, low-quality plastics in here.

The floating 8.0-inch touchscreen might appear like a tablet slapped on as an after-thought, but what’s thoughtful are the string of shortcut keys below it for quick access to the different functions of the system. The screen is slick and then there’s also the embedded SIM tech with a whole host of connectivity features; this is really something unique.

You are sat at a comfortable height in the Venue and front seat comfort is good. The seats feel snug with plenty of side bolstering. Legroom for passengers at the rear is a bit of an issue; it is the least in the segment. Hyundai has, however, placed the front seats high, so passengers at the rear can place their feet underneath; this allows you to stretch your legs a bit more. That apart, the rear seat is pretty good. The seat base is set at a good height, the backrest is nicely angled and this is also the widest car in its class, so if you have to sit three abreast, you are relatively more comfortable here. The rising beltline of the car and especially the all-black interior do make the rear of the cabin feel a bit claustrophobic. 

The Venue’s cabin is very practical with plenty of stowage areas for smaller items, and all its door pockets can easily accommodate a one-litre bottle each, with space for other knick-knacks as well. Also nice is the 350-litre boot that’s well-shaped and large enough for two suitcases. 

Hyundai is known to load its cars with maximum features, and the Venue isn’t an exception. In terms of safety, the top variants come with six airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist, ESP, hill-start assist, Isofix child seat mounts and speed-sensing door locks to name a few. Also onboard are premium features like a sunroof and wireless phone charging, and kit like projector headlamps with DRLs, cornering lamps, LED tail-lamps, cruise control, Arkamys sound, rear air-con vents, and an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android and Apple connectivity, aside from the much-talked-about connectivity tech.

What’s the Venue diesel like to drive?

With two petrols and one diesel in the range, you’d assume petrol cars would form the bulk of the sale. That's not the case here. Hyundai expects a good 50 percent of all Venues to be diesels. Now the diesel in question is a familiar one – the 1.4 unit making 90hp that's found on all manner of Hyundais, from the Verna to the i20 and even the Creta.

There’s not much vibration at idle, it’s silent for the most part and what’s particularly nice is that the engine smoothens up further when I tap the throttle. The Venue even pulls reasonably well when the engine is ‘off-boost’. As revs build, a stronger tug comes in post 1,800rpm and then performance increases in a linear and progressive manner. Unlike the Maruti Brezza however, there’s no big slug of power when turbo boost comes in, and neither does Hyundai’s diesel pull well all the way to 5,000rpm. Rather, the 1.4 has already done its best work by 3,500rpm, so revving it all the way to the redline is rather futile. This means the best way to drive the diesel Venue is to short-shift and drive it in a relaxed manner. Even the 6-speed manual gearbox works well, and the clutch is light, so selecting gears requires no extra effort.

Our test car is brand new and even feels a bit ‘tight’, but we just had to strap on our Vbox timing gear. The Venue diesel’s 0-100kph time of 15.48sec is still a good deal off from what you'd expect from a car in this class. Competitors like the Brezza at 12.96sec, the XUV300 at 11.85sec and the EcoSport at 12.74sec are clearly a whole lot quicker. Be prepared to row through that 6-speed gearbox a lot more on the highway.


What’s the Venue petrol automatic like to drive?

If its performance you want from your Venue, the version to go for is this 1.0-litre direct-injection turbo that drives the front wheels via a twin-clutch gearbox – a first for Hyundai in India. The motor is nicely balanced at idle, the rocking motion of the three-pot is well contained and that flutter you get at times as you accelerate is missing for the most part too. Step off isn’t very energetic due to some mild turbo lag and the fact that there’s no torque converter. But because the boost comes in nice and early and there’s a nice swell in performance, the Venue pulls forward with a good amount of energy. Performance, however, is linear, and the engine clearly is not as spiky as the Mahindra XUV300’s. Where this unit also scores is that it likes to rev. It spins happily all the way to 6,400rpm, the tachometer needle is eager to run to the redline as you accelerate, and go higher up the powerband, there’s even a nice three-cylinder snarl from under the hood. This makes it particularly fun to drive. And truth be told, many drivers prefer a progressive build-up in power over spiky power delivery. And we are impressed; the Venue turbo hit 100 from rest in just 12.58sec.

Of course, what makes the experience nicer still is that the twin-clutch gearbox is quick to respond, relatively jerk-free and works well with the engine. It’s smooth at low speeds, it shifts up almost without your knowledge and is even adept at shifting to a lower gear if it senses you’ve tapped on the accelerator a bit hard. There are no paddleshifters, sadly, and, at times, the gearbox delays downshifts attempted in close proximity to the redline, such as when you are about to get into a corner. But apart from that, Hyundai’s combination of petrol direct-injection turbo and twin-clutch gearbox work really well.

What about the Venue’s ride and handling?

Where the Venue also does a commendable job is over rough roads. The Venue, with its 190mm ground clearance, makes light work of damaged roads. It also rides well over regular roads. Its tall springs have plenty of compliance, and the tall sidewalls of the tyres can take the edges of smaller, primary undulations. And what betters this is that the suspension, in general, works silently. There is, however, a bit of ‘kick’ in the springs, and this results in the Venue bobbing or being tossed around mildly on poorly surfaced roads, especially ones with regularly spaced expansion joints. So the ride isn’t as flat as it could have been.


The compact SUV also rolls a fair bit when you hurl it into a corner. Sat on its tall springs, this is not really surprising. What is, however, is that the steering is nicely weighted, there’s a fair amount of grip and the driver finds a decent amount of confidence once the car settles on its springs. No, this is not a car you will enjoy hurling around tight corners and steering accuracy drops sharply the harder you drive it. A Ford EcoSport it certainly isn’t, but you can’t help being impressed by the tidy ride-handling balance of the Venue. And then, importantly, it is light and effortless to drive in traffic.

Should I buy one?

So, does the Venue have what it takes to take on the competition? Simply put, yes. Sure, legroom in the rear isn’t as good as the competition, and the diesel definitely needs a bit more zing, but, apart from that, the Venue ticks all the boxes. Attractive on the outside, beautifully built on the inside, festooned with tech and features, the Venue delivers a very impressive all-round performance. It rides well, the petrol-automatic drives nicely, and then the connected car tech just makes it quite unique. With prices starting at Rs 6.50 lakh for the base 1.2-litre petrol-manual and going up to Rs 11.10 lakh for the 1.0-litre, turbo-petrol automatic, it offers good value too. The Mahindra XUV300, Maruti Brezza and Ford EcoSport sure have a tough battle on their hands.

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from Autocar India http://bit.ly/2EtqZPw

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