Hyundai Venue 2021 review: Hyundai's cheapest model is an SUV?

There's a lot to love about the Hyundai Venue. The price and the value are excellent, we also love the looks and the surprisingly good cabin storage space.

How much the Hyundai Venue costs depends on which one you get. See the list price ranges from $20,690 for the entry grade Venue (with a manual gear box) to $26,490 for the top-grade Elite.

If you want the entry grade with an auto, you'll pay $2020 more. The grade above that is the Active for $24,640 which sits under the Elite in the line-up.

At the time this was written Hyundai's website wasn't offering special drive away prices, but individual dealers may offer them. The price list can also vary over time.

As for the second hand price of a Venue you're looking at paying about $23,000-$30,000 for a 2019 model.

The Hyundai Venue comes with one engine. Well, of course it does… it would be silly if there were two engines in one car. OK, enough with the dad jokes, because this is no laughing matter. See the engine is probably the one thing we dislike about the Venue, that, and its mate: the six-speed automatic transmission.

Yup, there's only one engine on offer in the Venue and it's a 1.6-litre petrol four-cylinder making 90kW and 151Nm. Sure, that's not a huge amount of grunt but the engine size and specs look fine for a tiny SUV. Problem is this motor not only feels under powered, but it's noisy. Adding to that is an auto transmission which seemed to constantly look for another gear when driving, especially in hilly city suburbs.

There’s only one engine on offer in the Venue and it’s a 1.6-litre petrol four-cylinder making 90kW and 151Nm.

Don't get this engine confused with the 1.6-litre found in the Hyundai Kona and i30, that one has a turbo and is brilliant.

Manual gearboxes are becoming as rare as rhinos these days, but Hyundai offer one on the entry grade Venue.

Diesel specs? We wish. There's no diesel engine in the Venue range.

The Venue's dimensions are 4040mm long, 1770mm wide and 1592mm tall. That is small in size, but the interior dimensions feel larger than some bigger SUVs. Yep there's a bit of a Tardis effect going on with the Venue, and that's a good thing.

As for the weight, the Venue with an automatic transmission weighs 1165kg and its total weight (the GVM) is 1700kg giving you plenty of carrying ability.

The manual version of the Venue is lighter at 1140kg and has a GVM of 1670kg.

The standard features list for the Hyundai Venue depends on which of the three grades in the line-up you take home with you.

The entry grade Venue comes standard with an eight-inch media screen and a reverse camera, there's also wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a four-speaker stereo, premium cloth seats, key less entry, roof rails, cruise control, air conditioning (AC) and 15-inch alloy wheels.

Stepping up to the Active adds Bluetooth connectivity, six-speaker sound system, rear parking sensors and 17-inch alloy wheels.

The Elite sits at the top of the range and adds a proximity smart key, push button start, climate control, a built-in navigation system (also known as sat nav or GPS), digital radio and a sun roof (it's not a panoramic one) – although you can't have it and the two tone roof, it's one or the other.

It's disappointing that rain sensing wipers aren't available even as an option or special feature, but the headlights are dusk sensing which means they'll automatically come on at night, in tunnels or if you were to throw an enormous doona over it.

The Hyundai venue has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, oh and it's wireless in the entry grade and Active.

Compared to its rivals the Venue is more spacious and practical than a Mazda CX-3, but doesn't drive or handle as well as that little SUV. The Vitara is more rugged looking, and also has 15mm more ground clearance than the Venue's 170mm. There's the Ford Puma and Kia Stonic, too, although both are about 100mm longer and the Ford is way more expensive. The Nissan Juke vs the Hyundai Venue? Well the Juke is longer as well, and pricier, too.

The Hyundai Venue was given four out of a maximum of five stars in its ANCAP safety test in 2019.

The venue scored well for adult and child occupant protection but not for its advanced safety tech according to the ANCAP report. While all grades have AEB ANCAP says there were “marginal performance levels observed for its ability to avoid a rear-end impact with vehicles in front”.

Hyundai says the AEB system works at city, urban and interurban speeds and is designed to avoid a collision with vehicles and pedestrians

Lane keeping assistance and high beam assistance is also standard across the range, although safety features such as rear cross traffic alert and blind spot warning are only standard on the Elite grade.

All Venues come with curtain airbags to protect all occupants including the rear passengers, while front airbags and side airbags protect those in the front.

The Hyundai Venue is not a 4x4 nor does it have all-wheel drive. While the venue looks like a tough little truck, we'd caution about taking it too far off-road as this is a front-wheel drive car only with limited ground clearance.

The Hyundai Venue does not come in diesel in Australia (they have one in India though). This Venue is only available here in petrol. There's no EV version of the Venue yet, nor is there an LPG variant.

The Venue's fuel tank capacity is 45 litres.

The Venue is more than capable on the motorway at holding 110km/h, but acceleration isn't outstanding with 0-100km/h coming in about 12 seconds.

The four-cylinder engine makes 90kW which is about 122 horsepower.

The Venue is still a relatively new car to the Australian market, but we'll keep you informed of any issues, engine problems or complaints.

Can something be fun and frustrating at the same time? Eating spaghetti is I guess – it's delicious but if only getting into your mouth didn't require advanced motor skills. Or maybe that's just me.

That's kind of how the Hyundai Venue is – it feels fun because it's little, steers well with a small turning circle (10.2m) and you sit a little bit higher up than a regular car, but then there's the performance.

See what looks to be an angry little beastie feels a disappointing to drive, especially if you live in a hilly city like me.

The transmission was constantly changing gears trying as I asked it for more power, but all I seemed to get from the Venue was engine noise as it worked hard to try to please me.

I found that the Venue was much happier on a motorway, where it didn't need to change gear and could sit on 110km/h with ease.

Suspension is soft for an almost little off-roader feeling, although in the city its short wheelbase didn't suit speed bumps which could throw everybody onboard about a bit. Rear suspension is a torsion beam, while McPherson struts look after the front.

Heck yes, the Venue is super unique in a world of samey SUVs. I like its tiny but tough looking exterior with its broad grille, and those angry-looking running lights which sit high and the googly headlights below. The Venue looks wide (even though it's not), but also tall (it isn't that either) but the design tricks make it look that way.

All grades come with alloy wheels, too.

Hyundai offers three pre-paid servicing plans: three years/45,000km for $857; a four years/60,000km for $1316 and five years/75,000km for $1575. These services included an oil and battery check.

Servicing is recommended every 15,000km or annually.

Unless it's a future classic, nearly all cars lose value the moment you drive it out of the showroom and the Venue will, too. The Venue, however, is a popular car made by a well-respected brand with a reputation for reliability and this should ensure your Venue has a good resale value if you maintain the vehicle properly and it's kept in great condition.

The Venue is a little SUV and despite it being quite spacious the rear legroom is tight. I'm 191cm tall and I can't sit behind my driving position. Obviously, the chances of two people my height sitting in that formation is pretty unlikely though, right?

The Venue is a little SUV and despite it being quite spacious the rear legroom is tight.

New cars normally take between three and six days to arrive once you have purchased it, however, at the time of writing this review the waiting time was between three and six months due to COVID-19 affecting supply.