Bay Harbour: July 08, 2020

2
Wednesday July 8 2020
[Edition datE]
Compact venue faces
tough competition
QUITE SIMPLY, I don’t
understand how it works,
two companies under the
one umbrella selling similar
models.
I’m talking about Hyundai
and Kia, both of which have
released the Venue and
Seltos respectively, small
sport utility vehicles that
have just landed in the New
Zealand market.
I’m a big believer in
shared product development
and componentry, it makes
for cost savings which
then trickle down to the
customer, but these two
models compete in a tight
market where choices will
be made solely on cost and
value.
Regular readers may recall
my Kia Seltos evaluation in
late March. The car in this
review is Hyundai’s Venue,
and while both share the
same floorpan and many
similarities,there are plenty
of differing features such
as exterior design and
drivelines.
The Venue also has a
shorter wheelbase than
the Seltos, and measures
just 4m against the Seltos
at 4.3m. But therein lies a
bit of a trick, for those who
definitely want, or need, a
small SUV then the Venue is
the pick.
It fits into a market where
the buyer will benefit from
the easy access up front and
tall seat height, it’s great for
those in my generation who
are advancing in years. If
you don’t have young ones
in tow or seldom have rear
seat passengers and like the
manoeuvrability short cars
offer, then the Venue has
advantages.
It also has a more
traditional driveline, its
1.6-litre engine is paired
to a six-speed automatic
gearbox, as opposed to
the continuously variable
transmission in the Seltos.
And if you are already
thinking that the Venue’s
1591cc engine wouldn’t
compete against its
stablemate’s 2-litre unit,
then think again. Hyundai
rate the Venue at 90kW and
151Nm, and although both
outputs are realised tall in
the rev band at 6300rpm
and 4850rpm respectively,
the engine doesn’t work
overly hard.
HYUNDAI VENUE ELITE: Short-wheelbase
translates to manoeuvrability.
That’s because at just
over 1100kg, the Venue in
total is a lightweight, and
that doesn’t ask much from
under the bonnet.
This engine is used widely
across the Hyundai/Kia
range, in turbo and nonturbo
form, it is a sweet
unit that delivers smoothly
and quietly. The naturally
aspirated unit in the Venue
is responsive and fills the
close gaps between gears
easily.
• Price – Hyundai
Venue Elite, $31,990
• Dimensions –
Length, 4040mm;
width, 1770mm;
height, 1592mm
• Configuration –
Four-cylinder, frontwheel-drive,
1591cc,
90kW, 151Nm, sixspeed
automatic.
• Performance –
0-100km/h, 11sec
• Fuel usage –
7.2l/100km
In terms of performance,
the Venue will reach
100km/h from a standstill in
11sec. It isn’t a fast car, but
then again the market it is
destined for doesn’t require
speed, it is capable amidst
the hurly burly of today’s
traffic, and that is all that
would be requested from it.
Hyundai claims a
combined cycle average fuel
usage figure of 7.2-litres per
100km. That fits well with
the consumption gauge in
STYLISH: The Hyundai Venue is characterised
by a short, squat rear quarter.
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
the test car, it was showing
8.4l/100km when I returned
it to the dealership.
In Elite form the Venue
rides on 205/55 x 17in
Nexen tyres, that is quite a
sizeable amount of rubber
for a small car, but the
benefit is the grip that
can be gleaned and the
associated ride benefits.
The Venue gets a torsion
beam rear suspension; put
simply, each wheel is not
independent from the other,
there’s an axle tying them
together which doesn’t allow
as much freedom as there
would be otherwise.
That’s fine, so long as the
spring and damper rates
have been well chosen;
thankfully, Hyundai have
done a lot of development
work for Australasian
roads and the Venue has a
comfortable, absorbent ride
with tidy handling manners.
At almost 1.6m, you would
expect some gravitational
effect, but it is arrested well,
body movement over the
suspension won’t lurch
occupants.
In Elite form the Venue
has enough wizardry to
keep buyers happy. Major
items of fitment include
part leather trim, keyless
entry and ignition, central
screen touch display, Apple
Car Play and Android
Auto capability and heated
steering wheel, the latter
ideal for those frosty
Canterbury mornings.
If you don’t need all the
bells and whistles of the
Elite, the Venue also lands
here in entry-level form, it
doesn’t miss out on much
and will still give plenty
of satisfaction within the
buying experience.
The Venue lands at a
special launch price. It lists at
$27,990 for a limited time. It
will go up to $29,990 at any
given point, and you’d need
to add $4k for Elite trim.
That doesn’t quite meet
the keen price of Kia Seltos,
but it is close and with the
Venue’s extra goodies I guess
buyer choice will come
down to whatever feels right
on the day of purchase.
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BAY HARBOUR
PAGE 13
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