Welcome to sunny Miami Florida where we came to find out why the dynamic Hyundai Venue is completely shaking up the status quo in subcompact segment. We’re joining the Hyundai team at the Burberry just north of downtown on hand to learn the ins and outs to give you the edge on what’s happening .
So there was great food, and music but more importantly, we got the inside scoop on the venue for you which was an informative and impressive presentation. Yup, now I understand how the Venue kicks butt in the segment.
The bold grille and multiple headlamps give the Venue a distinctive front facia design
See, the Venue is the newest little crossover on the market being offered by Hyundai . The 2020 Venue is cost less than most crossovers in the US and yet its one of the best subcompact SUV’s on the market.The base Venue starts at $18,470, slightly undercutting the Kia Soul and Nissan Kicks, which start at $18,610 and $19,965, respectively.the mid-grade SEL trim, and with both the convenience and premium packages it came to $23,405.
The fun part, taking it through the sunny streets of Miami to see how it feels and performs in real city situations such as traffic, and bumps, as well as performance elements like acceleration, braking and parking.
PERFORMANCE: The little 1.6-liter four-cylinder powertrain delivers a peppy ride at low speeds. It’s agile and nimble; powered by a 121-hp four-cylinder engine, a six-speed manual transmission is available, manual transmission with plenty of standard features. It earned around 27 mpg in the city and 35 mpg on the highway. Models with the CVT are rated at 30 mpg city and 34 highway. Continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) is optional on the base model and standard on the SEL and Denim. I was able to hot 0-60 in about 8.8-seconds and I was fine with that because this is a car for cruising, dashing around town and taking car of business, not racing on the turnpike.
Tony Lesesne, Woodie Lesesne and Daniel Romagnoli testing the Hyundai Venue in Miami
The list of performance and safety-enhancing features include Driver Assist technology Available blind-spot monitoring. rear cross-traffic alert Standard forward-collision warning, automated emergency braking Standard lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist Standard driver-attention warning.
Exterior: Its boxy appearance is unique and bold. After all, with the broader front and width, the look is still cool,. The Venue sits on a 99.2-inch wheelbase and is just over 13 feet long and less than 6 feet wide. For a little perspective, most parking spaces are about 18 feet long and around 9 feet wide.
INTERIOR: The screen is what grabs you first once inside. On that note there are lots of reminders relating to the fun factor like the interior infotainment screen that is easy to operate and quickly accessible. The biggest surprise is the headspace. I’m 6’2 and I am long when it comes to my legs so knee space is important and I have plenty of it inside the Venue. Headspace is also important and there was lots of thought given to that as well. For a small subcompact SUV you would expect a lower roof line but Hyundai made it boxier without sacrificing a cool design. That pays off once you’re sitting inside if you’re tall.
Mike O’Brien giving the scoop on the Venue
There’s a simple, yet attractive gauge cluster and infotainment system features an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability. The Venue provides about 19 cubic feet of cargo room. That volume increases to 32 cubes when the back seat is folded flat.
It was very smooth and easy to shift in and out of the busy downtown traffic. Parking was a breeze with plenty of room to spare, making it ideal for the urban environment.
Pricing for the Venue varies. The SE: starts at $18,470, the SEL: $20,370, and the Denim: $23,170. The Limited warranty covers 5 years or 60,000 miles. The Powertrain warranty covers 10 years or 100,000 miles. Hyundai provides complimentary maintenance covers 3 years or 36,000 miles
There aren’t many values as good as this one on the market for a subcompact SUV. This is especially true if you are in an urban environment. Didn’t test it on the long road or extended distances but did find the shorter commutes much better. For more on that just hit me up and I’ll give you details.