Three years after Hyundai Motors India rolled out the Venue compact SUV, there has been midlife update with the latest version having been rolled out a month ago. Most of the major underpinnings have remained unchanged since the latest version is not a full model change but a facelift. These tend to be largely cosmetic change exercises in general with a tweak here or a change there that basically freshen up looks somewhat to bump up that feeling of freshnes of the car. Hyundai has certainly done that, but it has also thrown in a fair bit more to keep the model relevant and updated to meet current market trends.

The updated Venue, like the previous model, comes in a variety of configurations of engine and gearbox that use both petrol and diesel engines — two of the first and one of the second. The 1.2-litre manual comes mated to a five-speed manual shifter only. The 1-litre turbo comes with the option of either Intelligent Manual Transmission (iMT) or the dual-clutch automatic transmission. The diesel comes with a six-speed manual only.

Gajraj Hyundai in Salt Lake graciously lent us two petrol versions of the Venue, a 1.2-litre and a 1-litre turbo with iMT to drive around and get a feel of the vehicles in their new avatar. Here are our impressions.

(Clockwise from left)The interior gets a black-and-greige colour scheme now as well as a new instrument cluster; Side on proportions are quite pleasing; The tail light treatment with the connecting LED lamp looks very up to date

THE EXTERIORS

Straight off the bat, one must admit that Hyundai has mastered the art of making a vehicle look more premium than its price tag would suggest it is. And things are no different for the new Venue. The new front grille design is almost a straight lift from that of the bigger and pricier Palisade that the company sells in the US. The shape is very rectangular and along with the top light treatment that matches the chrome blocks on the grille there is an overall greater visual sense of width to the vehicle. The scuff plates front and rear are quieter now, and that’s a good thing.

To complement the grill, the blacked-out intake on the bumper is now rectangular and the idea continues to the black insert in the rear bumper as well. Interesting things happen a little further up on the tailgate. The tail light clusters are now comprised of smaller LEDs that look kind of like little blocks and very techy. The eyecatcher is a red LED that goes right across the tailgate and connects the two tail light clusters, akin to something we have seen on Porsches earlier. What we can say is the whole appearance works rather well.

As for the wheels, there are rather sharp-looking 215/60, 16-inch alloys on the turbo petrol as well as the diesel while the other petrol runs on 195/65 R15 pressed steel wheels with covers. The alloys, as mentioned earlier, add to the premiumness of the look of the vehicle. Apart from the new design alloys, viewed from the side there aren’t a great many changes that one sees. Overall, the refresh has made the Venue look much sharper than before.

(Clockwise from top left) The front seat backs have been scooped out to create more rear legroom; The air purifier is now integrated into the arm rest and there are USB C ports as well; The new instrument cluster has displays for the tyre pressure monitoring system, fuel efficiency statistics and compass

THE INTERIORS

Much of the other changes to the Venue have happened inside the vehicle. To begin with there is a black-and-greige colour scheme in the interior now that looks quite good. The rear seats now come with a back that can be set to either a fairly upright position or one a little more reclined and relaxed. The front seat back has been scooped out to make more knee room for the rear passengers and it does make a difference. The airpurifier has been integrated into the front arm rest as we have seen in other cars from the same group. The driver’s seat now gets 4-way power adjustments as well. There is also a new digital instrument cluster that’s easy to read and integrates the tyre pressure monitoring system, a compass and fuel-efficiency data. There are also wireless chargers for phones and USB C ports front and back. So, while the look and feel broadly remain the same, a whole set of changes does add up to a fair bit.

Where other significant changes have been made is in the infotainment system which now gets home to car (H2C) connectivity with Alexa and Google Voice Assistant, which seems IoT-ready.

There are a couple of other features of the infotainment system that should be mentioned. First is that the input-output is now possible in 10 regional languages apart from English. That makes life easier for many. The second is the sounds of nature feature, where one can play soothing nature sounds to keep the stress levels from mounting when driving in difficult conditions or even in general.

In general the quality of the cabin and comfort is good and it is easy to live with nothing that really jars one out of the comfort zone.

(Clockwise from left) The iMT gear shift slots in with certainty and there’s a wireless charger in the front console as well; The multifunction, flat-bottom steering wheel is good to grip and use; The boot space is decent and shaped well too

ON THE ROAD

The Telegraph drove the petrol versions only in the higher-end SX/SX(O) trims for both the 1.2-litre, five-speed manual and the 1.0-litre turbo with six-speed iMT. The levels of refinement of both the engines is impressive. Very little comes into the passenger cabin from the engine bay either in terms of noise or vibration unless one is pushing the engines near the redline. The 1.2 has the lower power output and is the slower of the two, but there is adequate power for most driving conditions. Even three-digit highway speeds are not difficult to achieve and the engine response is good. The 5-speed manual is slick and slots in smoothly.

The 1.0-litre turbo is the more fun car to drive though. Not only is the power output higher, it is the way the power flows almost linearly that make it very easy to drive, particularly with the iMT, which slots in with a very sure throws. That said, I would have loved this one with a full manual because this engine begs to be played around with a bit.

Ride is confident and insulates passengers from bad roads pretty well without crashing and bumping through bad patches. Direction changes are confident and on neither of the wheel sizes is there any perceptible problem with ride quality or handling.

THE CALL

The Hyundai Venue, even in its earlier avatar, was a competent package to begin with. With the latest update, Hyundai has made it more relevant for current usage patterns, tried to improve the car in some ways over the older model and spruced up the looks. The prices haven’t changed a great deal and overall now it is a more complete package that one would probably find pretty well equipped in regular use in the city or intercity runs.

Pictures by the author

THE VENUE IN NUMBERS

Form: Sub-4m compact SUV

LxBxH (mm): 3,995 x 1,770 x 1,617

Wheelbase (mm): 2,500

Wheels & tyres: N: 195 / 65 R15, T: 215/60 R16

Engines as driven: 1,197cc naturally aspirated (N) and 998cc turbo (T) petrol

Peak power (ps): N: 83 @6,000, T: 120 @6,000

Peak torque (Nm): N: 113.8 @4,000, T: 172 @1,500-4,000

Transmission: N: 5M, T: 6iMT

Price: Rs 7.91 lakh to Rs 10.21 lakh ex showroom Calcutta for the petrol engine vehicles