We went all the way to Australia for this.
Hyundai's new Venue subcompact SUV
is ordinary. There are no quirks, no surprises, and nothing about it is
innovative. It's handsome, but not beautiful. It uses its interior
space efficiently even if it's not quite roomy. It isn't quick, and that
won't matter at all. Hyundai is going to sell a bajillion of them.
The Venue effectively replaces the Accent subcompact hatchback
in Hyundai's line. Yes, there was an Accent hatch that sold in tiny
numbers to those wacky eccentrics who still think honest hatches are
neat packages for daily living. Yes, the Venue is also a hatchback. But
because it rides a bit high, has a blunt nose with a big grille, and
flexes some body cladding along its wheel wells, the market perceives it
as a crossover. In ability, however, it's a front-wheel-drive economy
car powered by a transversely mounted 1.6-liter inline-four. All-wheel
drive is not an option here.
In the Hyundai hierarchy of crossovers, it's the anchor at the bottom, below the Kona. For those keeping score, the Hyundai now offers six crossovers, with the new, gigantic Palisade at the top.
Hyundai also makes some cars.
Hyundai's
designers have become skilled at crafting adorable-looking crossover
thingies. The Venue's proportions are similar to those of the Nissan Kicks,
with some subtle reduction of the tumblehome from the roof to the
beltline. It's this flat, boxier look that was effective in giving the
Palisade a slight off-road appearance. It's a throwback to old school,
flat-fendered vehicles such as the original Land Rover, the
International Scout, and the early Jeep Wagoneers. It works.
Hyundai juiced journalistic interest in the Korean-made Venue by
holding the introductory event in not-nearby Noosa, Queensland,
Australia. The advantage of the Sunshine Coast region is spectacular
scenery and some sweet roads. The disadvantage is that in Australia they
drive on the left side of the road and vehicles in that market put the
steering wheel on the right-hand side.
Also, the Aussie-spec
Venues are slightly different from North American versions in a few
other ways, most notably in transmission availability. Australia-bound
Venues can be had with a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic
transmission. Those on hand were all right-hand drive and used the
six-speed automatic. Meanwhile, all Venues clearing United States
customs will be left-handers. Base models will come with a six-speed
manual, and upper trims will offer a continuously variable transmission.
Under its available contrasting color roof lies the Venue's
greatest asset: the interior. For a vehicle that's projected to have a
base price near $18,000, the inner Venue is awfully beguiling. There's
nothing startling about the design, but the materials used throughout
feel, look, and fit top drawer. That's top drawer as in there are $40K
machines out there that don't match them.
Straightforward and practical, the instrumentation is two simple dial
gauges—a tachometer and speedometer with a digital display between
them—with the ventilation controls just to the left (or right) on the
center stack. On the Venues in Oz, those vent controls were three simple
dials with one to choose how hot or cold the air should be, one to
direct where that air should go, and the third to control how quickly
the fan should push that air. Hey, those controls worked on the 1986
Ford Taurus, and they're a refreshing and sweet throwback now.
Naturally,
the Venue has a touchscreen atop its dash. It's an 8.0-inch color
display, as today's buyers have caught on to the fact that these screens
are cheap, and no vehicle can compete effectively without a good-sized
one. It's a crisp display that works well with both Apple CarPlay and
Android Auto, at least while in the southern hemisphere.
In Australia, the Venue is trimmed out either in base Active or
uppity Elite levels, but in the U.S. it will be sold as either an SE or
SEL. The press-ready Venues were all Elites with well-shaped cloth seats
and lots of gadgetry. That gadgetry includes rear parking sensors to go
with the rearview camera, navigation, forward-collision warning, and
lane keeping. Most of those are standard on the base vehicle as well
since tech is now a requirement for any vehicle to attract younger,
entry-level buyers.
There's not a lot of front shoulder room in
the Venue—1.6-inches less in the already tight Kona. And there's not a
lot of room in the back seat for those appendages popularly known as
"legs." But if the tots are tiny, and the parents slim, it's doable.
There's 19 cubic feet of storage behind the second-row seat when it's up
(about 4 cubes more than a new Toyota Camry's trunk holds), and that
expands to 32 cubic feet when the rear seat is folded.
While
15-inch wheels and 185/65R-15 tires will be standard on all American
Venues, the Elite models on hand wore the optional 17-inch wheels with
205/55R-17 radials. The handling can be summarized in one word: benign.
The steering is communicative, but it doesn't have anything interesting
to talk about.
Rated at 121 horsepower in Australia (that number may adjust slightly
for the U.S.), the 1.6-liter is low-key in operation but strained when
given the spurs from a cruise, even after the transmission clicks down a
couple gears.
The Venue is likely going to stroll to 60 mph in
under 10 seconds—but not a lot under that. The brakes work well, with
discs up front and drums in back.
This trip to the magical land of Oz was a foretaste of what's to come
for Hyundai's Venue here in the U.S. The final evaluation will have to
be after this market's version is tested. But, come on, this is an
attractive, compact crossover in a world that is currently raging for
compact crossovers. This is as close as Hyundai has come to having a
version of the Kia Soul to sell as its own. It's clearly superior to the
Ford EcoSport, and at least a match for the Nissan Kicks in usability,
driving, and equipment.
Today's ordinary car is vastly better than
an ordinary car from just four or five years ago. And calling the Venue
ordinary isn't to damn it with feigned praise. It's to recognize the
reality that ordinary today exists on a higher plane.
