2024 Hyundai Venue Review and Test Drive
In the small crossover SUV segment, the 2024 Venue brings impressive value to buyers on a budget.
Jun 25, 2024 | 9 min read
Christian Wardlaw
Decades ago, I drove an old car that broke down constantly. Finally, I reached the limit of my patience when a repair shop quoted me $600 for a brake overhaul — in 1990 (more than $1,450 today). It was a fortune to a pizza-delivering college student. So I pushed that rusty old car to the dealership next door, got $300 for it in trade, and bought a new but basic economy car that cost me $140 per month for five years. It traveled 135,000 miles before it needed a major repair.
Had 1990-me been in the same situation in 2024, a Hyundai Venue would have been a perfect solution to my problem. Affordable, practical, efficient, backed by an impressive warranty, and featuring class-leading ownership benefits, the 2024 Venue is loaded with value. This small crossover SUV also has a sense of style and comes with the technology you want, all at one of the lowest base prices of any new vehicle in the U.S.
Christian Wardlaw
2024 Hyundai Venue: Affordable Prices, Appealing Ownership Benefits
The 2024 Hyundai Venue comes in SE, SEL, and Limited trim levels, and base prices range from the low $20,000s to the mid-$20,000s, including the destination charge to ship the SUV from the Ulsan, Korea, factory that builds it to your local dealership.
The Venue's value extends beyond price. It has a 10-year or 100,000-mile powertrain warranty and a five-year or 60,000-mile vehicle warranty, and it includes five years of roadside assistance without a mileage limit. In addition, scheduled maintenance visits and Bluelink connected services are complimentary for three years; Bluelink+ is free for the entire time the original owner possesses the Venue.
For this Venue review, I test-drove the Limited in Southern California. It had optional floor mats, bringing the manufacturer's suggested retail price of the test vehicle to $24,735, including the $1,375 destination charge. Hyundai provided the vehicle for this Venue review.
Christian Wardlaw
Fashionably Detailed in SEL and Limited Trim
Boxy but stylish, the Venue looks best in SEL and Limited trim, in my opinion, as those models come with larger wheels, sturdy roof rails, and extra brightwork. The vehicle looks pricier than it is, except for its diminutive size.
Open a door, and you'll find plenty of hard plastic inside a Hyundai Venue. However, the automaker pays close attention to surface gloss and texture, so the Venue looks higher in quality than the sticker price might lead you to believe. I've also found that in most Hyundai models, the transmission shifter's feel, action, and sound are more refined and sophisticated than many buyers often expect for the price.
Upgrading to the SEL or Limited gives you nicer interior materials and added convenience and safety features. My Venue Limited's seats featured a mix of fabric and artificial leather with white piping, contrast stitching, and dashboard accents. Subtle seat stripes added a retro 1970s flavor.
Though all Venues have an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Hyundai equips the dashboard with volume and tuning knobs, buttons providing quick access to main screen menus, and large climate controls. The little crossover also has a digital instrumentation display with numbers I found reminiscent of an 1980s bedside clock radio.
In short, the Venue SEL and Limited aren't penalty boxes, which my first new car definitely was. That 1990s-era economy car didn't even have air conditioning.
Christian Wardlaw
Four Adults Comfortably Fit Into This Particular Venue
Though Hyundai calls the Venue a small crossover SUV, it sits lower to the ground than I expected for an SUV. Still, it feels easier to enter and exit than a car.
Once you're in, the Venue is reasonably comfortable. Every trim level includes a height-adjustable driver's seat and a tilting and telescoping steering wheel, and the SEL upgrades the cabin with a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob. The door and center armrests offer some padding, while the Limited has heated front seats.
Understandably, rear-seat room is tight, but I found you can pack four adults into a Venue without much grumbling. Unfortunately, Hyundai panels the front seatbacks in knee-unfriendly hard plastic, and on the right side, there's a storage net. Still, leg support is decent, and the upper trims have rear USB charging ports. However, you won't find rear air conditioning vents in the Venue.
Christian Wardlaw
The 2024 Venue Offers Crossover Utility Within Compact Dimensions
In addition, unlike most crossover SUVs, the Venue doesn't have dark-tinted rear privacy glass. That means the sun will beat down on rear passengers, and any cargo you store inside will be visible to passersby. Lift the rear hatch, and you'll find an 18.7-cubic-foot trunk. Drop the 60/40-split folding rear seat, and the space expands to 31.9 cu-ft.
Small item storage areas within the cabin include a dashboard shelf in front of the passenger's seat, trays in the door armrests, and lower door panel bins. The glove compartment and center console bin under the armrest are reasonably roomy, and the test vehicle had a wireless charging pad in front of the transmission shifter.
Christian Wardlaw
2024 Hyundai Venue Bluelink Infotainment System: Better Than Basic
Every 2024 Venue has an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system equipped with Bluelink connected services. While that's small by modern standards, it fits nicely between the diminutive SUV's two center air vents in the middle of the dashboard.
Standard features include Bluetooth connectivity, music streaming capability, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, and two USB ports. The Limited trim adds a navigation system, SiriusXM satellite radio, Bluelink+ connected services, and wireless charging. Unfortunately, it also swaps the wireless Apple and Android platform support for a wired setup. Yes, it is strange to take that big step backward to gain a few steps forward.
Bluelink is complimentary for three years. After that, you'll need to pay for a subscription. The Venue Limited model's Bluelink+ service is free of charge for as long as the original owner drives the SUV.
Bluelink highlights include remote access to certain functions, a find-my-car feature, automatic collision notifications, and panic-alert notifications. You can also program curfew time, vehicle speed, and geographic boundary alerts. If someone steals the Venue, a Stolen Vehicle Recovery service is part of Bluelink.
I had no trouble pairing my iPhone to the system, streaming from my Apple Music account, or running Apple CarPlay via a USB cable. The wireless charger worked well with my device, and I found the Venue's native voice recognition system to be nearly as capable as Siri or Google Assistant. However, since younger people might find the Venue appealing, this SUV deserves a better sound system. I thought the one in the test vehicle was merely decent.
Christian Wardlaw
2024 Hyundai Venue SmartSense Review: Everything You Really Need
Though the list of standard advanced driver-assistance systems aboard the 2024 Venue is short, it includes the most effective ones for helping drivers avoid accidents.
Packaged into a Hyundai SmartSense collection of technologies, the standard safety features include forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection, automated emergency braking, lane-departure warning, and lane-keeping assist. In addition, you get driver monitoring and rear-seat reminder systems. Choose SEL or Limited trim, and the Venue adds blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.
The Venue does not offer adaptive cruise control, semi-autonomous steering aids, or Hyundai's Highway Driving Assist technology. Therefore, aside from a handful of inaccurate lane-departure warnings and lane-keeping responses due to pavement scars and cracks, there is little to criticize here. However, I feel blind-spot monitoring should be standard equipment.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Venue earns mostly favorable safety ratings. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gives the Venue an overall four-star rating instead of five stars.
Christian Wardlaw
Less Power for the People
Hyundai equips the 2024 Venue with a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, a continuously variable transmission, and front-wheel drive. The four-cylinder produces a modest 121 horsepower at 6,300 rpm and 113 pound-feet of torque at 4,500 rpm. The SEL and Limited get driver-selectable modes, including Normal, Sport, and Snow.
Though Hyundai markets the Venue as a crossover, all-wheel drive is unavailable. It does offer 6.7 inches of ground clearance, though, which is more than a car. The suspension uses MacPherson struts in front and a basic torsion-beam axle setup in back, and you need to get SEL or Limited trim to upgrade from the SE's rear drum brakes to a more effective set of rear discs.
Christian Wardlaw
A Hyundai Venue Works Best as a City Commuter or Suburban Runner
Since the Venue's base curb weight is just 2,612 pounds, its unremarkable power output proves adequate. Nevertheless, I have some advice. Don't try to beat other drivers when the traffic light turns green, give yourself plenty of room for passing, and plan to floor the accelerator every time you merge onto a freeway. In addition, expect a noticeable impact on performance if you load the SUV up with people or cargo.
I found the Venue is willing to hustle on the highway, can easily climb a mountain grade if you step much harder on the gas pedal, and displays decent handling on a twisty road thanks to its available 17-inch wheels and tires. However, the faster you go, the louder it gets, and the more unsettled the simple rear suspension can feel on imperfect pavement.
Christian Wardlaw
The Venue is a more agreeable companion in urban and suburban areas. Its small size and effortless steering help you to park it almost anywhere, and it can slice and dice through traffic like a hot knife through a stick of butter. I also found the outward visibility excellent, which made driving the Venue easy in these environments.
Considering the Venue's size, weight, and engine, fuel economy fell short of my expectations. The EPA says the 2024 Venue returns 29/33/31 mpg in city/highway/combined driving. On my mountainous Southern California testing loop, it averaged 30.3 mpg. That result aligns with official ratings but nevertheless fails to impress.
Christian Wardlaw
The 2024 Hyundai Venue Is All About Value
When you're tired of constantly repairing your old car, a new one is undeniably attractive.
It's hard to beat the 2024 Hyundai Venue on the affordable end of the automotive spectrum. It looks and works like a crossover SUV, has a sense of style inside and out, and makes an implied promise that you won't need to worry about fixing anything for years to come. In addition, the 2024 Venue oozes value with lengthy warranty coverage, paid maintenance and roadside assistance, and generous access to connected services.
That said, the Venue isn't the only small crossover vying for your attention. Alternatives include the impressive Buick Envista and stylish Chevrolet Trax, as well as the quirky Kia Soul and funky Nissan Kicks. However, they all have slightly higher starting prices, and I don't think any of them can match the Venue's value equation.
Written by humans.
Edited by humans.
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