Hyundai has finally unveiled the Venue compact SUV for India. The unveil was witnessed on board a cruise liner Angriya in deep sea between Mumbai to Goa. The Venue also made its global debut at the New York Auto show.
The Hyundai Venue measures 3,995mm in length, 1,770mm in width and 1,590mm in height. However despite being compact, the Venue carries the smart stance of an SUV and almost looks like a baby Creta in profile.
It gets a large chrome front grille flanked by split headlamps upfront and daytime running lights. Lower down in the bumper there’s a silver skid plate with a small air dam and round fog lamps placed on either side. Move around to the side and the SUV’s compact dimensions begins to show up, however the large alloy wheels and roof rails look interesting. At the rear the Venue gets small taillamps that are inspired from the Carlino concept but the well designed tailgate and square like parking lamps with skid plate are well detailed.
On the inside the interiors come finished off in full black trim with a generous touch of chrome. The dashboard design is smart and so is the space packaging in the cabin. Standing tall at the centre console is a large 8-inch touchscreen infortainment system that comes loaded with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Also placed on around the touchscreen are A/C vents and shortcut buttons for the infortainment system. Lower down the console, there are chunky looking controls for the A/C and Aux-in and USB slots. A brand new steering wheel with controls for various functions also makes its debut on the Venue.
As expected with all Hyundai’s, the Venue too comes loaded with an array of features many of which are segment first and smart. The list includes an electric sunroof, projector fog lamps and cornering lights, HD display screen wireless charger for compatible smartphones, air purifier, voice recognition, glovebox cooling and an Arkamys sound system. Further a wheel air curtain and Eco coating are also part of the feature list on the Venue.
The main highlight of the Venue though has to be in its smart connectivity it comes with or as Hyundai calls it ‘Blue Link’. Blue Link comes with remote start, door, climate, light and horn control, real time traffic information, Geo fence alert, POI send 2Car ( destination transfer)and Voice recognition with Indian accent or Artificial Intelligence. It also gets Vehicle theft, track and immobilize alerts, auto crash notifications. Further the car users can avail of SOS/Emergency assistance, panic button and Roadside assistance by pressing the respective buttons on the inner rear view mirror of the car.
Speaking at the unveiling of the Hyundai Venue, Mr. S S Kim MD & CEO, Hyundai India said, “Today we are glad to unveil the Hyundai Venue – India’s first Connected SUV at the most unique Venue. Hyundai Motor India is committed to lead the India Auto Industry by introducing world-class product. Hyundai Venue will create quality time for customers making their life a Happy life. Being India’s first Connected SUV not only makes Hyundai Venue a new Benchmark in the segment but also demonstrates Hyundai’s unwavering emphasis on offering the highest quality and feature rich products to the customers.”
“We believe the Hyundai Venue will enable ease of life and empower the customers to have a safer, connected and more versatile car ownership experience. The advanced and intelligent Hyundai Blue Link will offer the customers control of their vehicle even when they are away from it.”
Mechanically the Hyundai Venue will come loaded with two petrol and one diesel engine. The petrol motors include 1.0 litre Turbo Kappa GDI and a 1.2 litre petrol motor, while the diesel is a 1.4 litre Crdi unit.
The 1.2 litre petrol puts out 83 PS and 11.7 kgm of torque, while the 1.4 litre diesel on the flipside produces 90 PS and 22.4 kgm of torque. The 1.0 turbo petrol churns out 120 PS of power and 17.5 kgm of torque. Transmission options are limed to a 5-speed manual on the 1.2 petrol and 6-speed manual on the 1.4 litre Crdi diesel, whereas the 1.0 turbo petrol employs a manual gearbox and a 7-speed dual clutch automatic.
Keeping its hold with not compromising on safety, Hyundai claims the Venue’s body structure to be made using 69% advanced high strength steel and high strength steel. It has also equipeied the Venue with 6-airbags, speed sensing door lock/unlock, ISOFIX child seat mounts, hill start assist, brake assist system, vehicle stability management, electronic stability program and electronic stability control.
Having unveiled the car to the Indian media and the world now, the Korean automaker is getting set to launch the Venue on the 21st of May. At which prices will be announced too, however considering the list of features available on offer, expect pricing to stay more in the Ford Ecosport and Mahindra XUV 3OO territory than Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Tata Nexon segment. The car manufacturer is also offering a tempting 3 years roadside assistance and 3 years unlimited kilometres warranty on the Venue compact SUV.
