Hyundai caught on the bandwagon of the ever-so-growing sub-compact SUV segment with the Venue back in 2019. The Venue quickly became a popular contender in the small SUV space thanks to its long list of features, fresh looks and efficient engine options. It was also the Hyundai to offer many firsts, like the connected car features, iMT auto-clutch manual transmission and the new 1.0L turbocharged petrol engine. From the day it was launched, it became one of the best-selling sub-compact SUVs in its segment. Later on, Hyundai introduced a facelift in 2022, offering new features and enhanced exterior appeal. However, is a minor nip and tuck enough to tackle the emerging competition from new rivals like the 2024 Tata Nexon, Kia Sonet and the Mahindra XUV3XO. We shall find that out in our in-depth review of the new Hyundai Venue.

With the facelift, Hyundai spruced up the exterior design of the Venue, to enhance its appeal and give it a butch stance. However, since its dimensions and shape remain the same as before, the Venue continues to look more like a hatchback than an outright small SUV. Starting with the changes at the front, Hyundai updated the grille with a mature block-like pattern, which comes finished in dark chrome. The grille is surrounded by a black applique that also merges with the indicator housing.

Like before, the Hyundai Venue continues with a split headlight setup, where the top lights act as turn indicators. The main headlight contains an LED projector setup with a DRL surrounding the bezel. Other changes include a redesigned bumper and skid plate and also the omission of fog lights. Around the side, the Venue remains the same as before. The only perceptible change is the new design for the 16-inch alloy wheels. The lower variants get the same design for the wheel covers, thereby making the onlookers confused to distinguish between its variants. Speaking of the other details, it gets LED turn indicators on ORVMs, chrome door handles and roof rails. Like before, the Venue also continues with slim wheel arch cladding to avoid scratches from minor scrubs. Around the back, the Venue gets the biggest change over the outgoing model. Like the new range of SUVs from Hyundai, the Venue also features a connected LED tail light setup running across the width of the car. It improves its appeal at night while also exaggerating the sense of width. The LED tail light cluster also gets black surrounds, thereby further enhancing its presence. Furthermore, the redesigned bumper features black applique and reverse lights along with the skid plate. Like before, it continues to feature a rear wiper with a washer and shark fin antenna. Overall, the exterior changes on the Venue are centred on its front and rear profile, which help to increase its road presence. Speaking of its dimensions, the Venue measures 3,995mm in length, 1,770mm in width, and 1,617mm in height while boasting a wheelbase of 2,500mm. Furthermore, it also offers a ground clearance of 190mm and 343 litres of boot space. On the dimensions front, the Venue falls back compared to its rivals in all aspects, with its sibling Kia Sonet offering better boot space and ground clearance.

Coming to the interior of the Venue, it receives minimal changes over the outgoing model. The dashboard layout remains the same as before and so are the most set of features. With that being said, the Venue continues to deliver good fit and finish levels on the inside while maintaining good quality plastic across the cabin. The clutter-free layout of the Venue may please the more conservative buyers. It gets proper physical controls for all the basic functionality, which are easy to operate. Since it is a facelift, the cabin space remains the same as before, which is not generous. Other SUVs in its class offer better knee room at the rear. However, with the facelift, Hyundai added a 2-step reclining rear seat, thereby improving comfort at the rear. The rear seats offer a good amount of under-thigh support and a tall seating position.

Starting with the entertainment features of the new Venue, it boasts an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a 10.25-inch LCD instrument cluster with TFT MID and a 6-speaker sound system. It is worth mentioning that Hyundai swapped the Arkamys sound system of the older Venue with an unbranded sound system for the facelift. Moving to its convenience features, the Venue facelift offers automatic LED headlights, a power-adjustable driver’s seat with manual height adjustment, front and rear adjustable headrests, multi-lingual support for the infotainment system, electric sunroof, automatic AC with rear AC vents, front and rear armrests, multi-drive modes, cruise control, keyless entry with push-button start-stop, puddle lamps, wireless phone charger and paddle shifters. Coming to its advanced set of features, the Venue packs a suite of connected car tech features. These features enable certain features to be operated right from the smartphone app, which include vehicle diagnosis, remote lock/unlock and even removing engine start for certain variants.

With the facelift, Hyundai continued with the same powertrain options as the outgoing model, except for the diesel engine. So let’s start with the diesel engine, which happens to be a 1.5L turbocharged unit featuring a wastegate turbocharger. Hence, it produces less power than the Hyundai Creta. The Venue’s diesel engine puts out 100PS of power, which is 15PS less than that of the Creta. Speaking of its driving performance, the diesel engine offers a good amount of poke in the city's confines. It delivers torque from the get-go, however, picking up at low speeds in second gear becomes a problem in certain cases. With that being said, its diesel engine offers very good NVH levels, with minimal noise coming inside the cabin. The clutch also feels light with the right amount of progression and the transmission feels slick to use. Unlike the Sonet which offers a 6-speed torque converter option with the diesel engine, the Venue continues with a 6-speed manual transmission only. We think it's high time for Hyundai to offer the diesel automatic transmission option with the Venue. Someone looking for an automatic can shift to the Venue turbo petrol automatic, which uses a 1.0L turbocharged petrol engine and a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The 3-cylinder petrol engine puts out 120PS of power and 172Nm of torque. Inside the city limits, the engine delivers a good low-end grunt and the power build-up is linear. The engine thrums and feels strained as you push it higher to the rev limit. The dual-clutch transmission offers seamless shifts but doesn’t feel lightning-quick like a VW DSG. Coming to fuel efficiency, one could expect somewhere between 15-18kmpl depending on the driving pattern and conditions. Going over bad roads, the Venue feels comfortable as it maturely irons out road imperfections. However, big bumps unsettle the occupants as the suspension runs out of travel. Around the bends, the Venue feels confident and progressive. If you want better handling, Hyundai offers the Venue N Line with stiffer suspension and retuned steering for better response. Braking performance feels adequate however we would have appreciated better response and feedback from the brake pedal.

Speaking of the Hyundai Venue safety features, the sub-compact SUV offers 6 airbags, electronic stability control, ISOFIX child seat anchorages, rear defogger, seat belt pretensions for driver and co-passenger, seat belt reminders, speed sensing alarm, reverse parking camera with sensors, tyre pressure monitoring system and 3-point seatbelt for all passengers. Furthermore, the higher variants of the Venue also offer Level-1 ADAS features, which include forward collision warning and avoidance assist, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, high beam assist, leading vehicle departure alert and driver attention warning.