2022 Hyundai Venue Facelift | First Drive Review

The Hyundai Venue has barely been around for around three years in India, and within such a short span, it has carved quite a market for itself. For instance, although Hyundai sells the Venue in North America and Australia, two out of three Venue sold globally are sold in India. The Venue alone reels about 40% of all Hyundai sales in India. So, needless to say, this is a significant product for Hyundai and one that has shown remarkable growth and sold even greater volumes within its relatively short existence. Now when you look at its competition, one is its sibling, while another has gone electric, and the one who kick-started the segment has left the country. So if anything, the Venue primarily has itself to beat, so without any further ado, let’s see what the new Venue has in store for us.

Exterior Design of the Venue

So for 2022, the changes on the exterior are pretty significant. Still, before I get to that, I must appreciate that Hyundai retained all the things that were loved by previous customers. Such as its bold character, SUV-like stance, excellent ground clearance, and most importantly, compact dimensions. Moving on, here are the changes for the 2022 Venue. What you now have is this dark chrome grille on the front which looks similar to other SUVs in Hyundai’s portfolio. Moreover, you have fully LED projector headlights and a faux skid plate in the front.

Move on to the side, and while the silhouette of the Venue remains the same, you now get these redesigned 16-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels. But I must now move to the best-looking bit of the Venue, which is its rear. What really caught my attention is the connecting LED tail lamps which not only is a segment first but also make the Venue look like a vehicle from way higher than its segment. So now, when you compare the Venue to its competitors, it certainly does manage to stand out in a crowd, especially in its Fiery Red Dual Tone paint scheme.

Interiors of the Venue

While the changes on the outside for the 2022 Venue are highly noticeable, the changes made to the interiors are pretty subtle. What remains is the 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, but the Bluelink technology has been updated to its latest generation, which has a unique sound of nature mode. Moreover, a brand new TFT driver’s display is also added to the features list. Not only that, the Venue boasts of having a few segment-first features too. Things such as a Type-C charger in the front, 4-way electrically adjustable front driver’s seat, two-way recline-able rear seat with the 60-40 split option and most importantly, ambient lighting on the inside to accentuate the interiors of the Venue.

Driving Dynamics of the Venue

Under the skin, the Venue remains identical to the current generation. There are no changes to the powertrain and gearbox options, and you still can choose between the 1.2-liter petrol, the 1.0-liter turbo petrol, and the 1.5-liter diesel. I got to drive the 1.0-liter turbo petrol, which was mated to the 6-speed iMT gearbox. There isn’t much to report about the driving dynamics and overall feedback of the 2022 Venue. It feels the same as before, with it offering decent steering feedback, which helps maneuver the Venue in tight spaces quite easily. Brakes on the Venue are sufficient for the duties it needs to follow, and not once during my testing did I find the brakes to be spongy or lazy, but what I did hope for is that they had a bit more bite on them.

Speaking about the suspension of the Venue, it is extremely supple and doesn’t experience a lot of jitters even at high speeds. The suspension eats up all the undulations on the road rather well, which in-term makes the ride quality of the Venue pretty good. However, there was a major downside that I experienced with the Venue, and that was its NVH levels. I could hear the engine and tyre noise on the inside even while going at a slow speed; moreover, you can listen to the engine whine away constantly, which could become tiring over longer journeys.

Verdict

Now, after spending an entire day with the 2022 Hyundai Venue, I finally understand why many people, including you folks reading this, are interested in purchasing the Venue. With its updates for 2022, it certainly holds a charisma over its competitors and more over when you look at the pricing, which is Rs 7.53 lakh to Rs 12.47 lakh (ex-showroom, Maharashtra), it slots itself right in the centre that is bound to attract more customers. Again, to begin with, the powertrains never really needed any tweaking but now including the fact that it retains its bold design but also adds a funky element to it makes it a good purchase. Anybody looking to buy their first car can definitely keep this as a priority on their options list until its newest rival, the Maruti Suzuki Brezza, launches in India, which is quite soon.

Specifications

Engine – 1.0 Kappa Turbo GDi Petrol
Power – 118bhp @6000rpm
Torque – 172Nm @1500 ~ 4000rpm
Gearbox – 6-Speed iMT (Intelligent manual transmission)
Fuel Tank – 45 Liters

Launch Price (ex-showroom)

1.2 Petrol (MT)	1.0 Turbo (iMT/DCT)	1.5 Diesel (MT)
E-₹7,53,100	S(O)-₹9,990,000	S+-₹9,990,000

Pros – Quirky looks, compact dimensions
Cons – NVH Levels, No ventilated seats