[bled_soul]

Originally Posted by HarshGtR

First Drive Review of Venue from CarDekho. Looks like the competition is with Brezza and XUV300. Hyundai doesn't want to mess with Ecosport and Nexon. I used to like CarDekho reviews but this one is not that great. Paid review? Because when you talk about Diesel engine, you have to compare it with Nexon and Ecosport. And when it comes to space, Nexon has to be mentioned, right?

Also, according to reviewer, we can feel small potholes and unevenness on road but the suspension is better on bigger potholes. Well, what kind of suspension is that? Can anyone who drove Venue can shade some light on this?

I personally found the venue absolutely unappealing. And the ride is very very stiff. I don’t understand why the reviewer is saying what he is saying, but the suspension is incredibly stiff and the engine has a lot of turbo lag. The two biggest deal breakers for me, coupled with lack of rear wash wipe and sliding armrest.

Originally Posted by ecosport rules

Venue turbo petrol DCT(11.1L)
VS
New Ecosport petrol TC auto(11.36)
..

I am a bit averse to buying preowned vehicles so I’d recommend going first hand. That being said, I have driven all the cars you have mentioned here, and have owned 2 of the above (2009 city cvt and 2014 altis cvt). I have test driven all the other cars here and right off the bat, Creta petrol auto is really bad (to me). Venue has loads of turbo lag and the stiff suspension made it uncomfortable for me. Jazz is nice and comfortable but I don’t think it’s a highway vehicle. It’s strictly a city vehicle and if the use is strictly inside city, it can be good. However the lack of projector headlamps is a downer for me and it does affect visibility at night. I personally loved the ecosport and I feel it’s VFM (considering the prices of the others and the feature list) and it drives well too. So if you want to buy first hand, eco would be my pick and if preowned, I’d pick the altis over the city (assuming both are in good condition), but you can’t go wrong with the city as well. Do note the quality issues in the city discussed on this forum.

[nkumarblr]

Originally Posted by Eco_Driven

Yes it would be really helpful if you could please connect me to your friend.

Sure Eco_Driven. Kindly send me your email id/ mob# via TBhp private message. I will ask my friend to get in touch with you. I am not able to send you a private message as you are a Newbie.

[kubectl]

Originally Posted by bled_soul

I personally found the venue absolutely unappealing. And the ride is very very stiff. I don’t understand why the reviewer is saying what he is saying, but the suspension is incredibly stiff and the engine has a lot of turbo lag. The two biggest deal breakers for me, coupled with lack of rear wash wipe and sliding armrest.

There's not much we can do about it - the reviewers cater to the mass market and tell them what they want to hear, that's how they get likes and views and subscribers.

As an audience we should filter out the signal from the noise, which is why Team-BHP becomes all the more relevant. There are other not-so-influenced auto journalists who I count on for semi-genuine reviews like Hormazd Sorabjee, Faisal Khan, Gagan Choudhary, Milind Kwatra - some of them might not produce top quality content but range from modestly honest to brutally honest, which is nice

Also, a couple of honest opinions that I found about the Venue -
- https://twitter.com/hormazdsorabjee/...30166170750976
- https://twitter.com/SirishChandran/s...01038461661184

[purb_du]

Test drove the 1 L turbo petrol Sx (O) Manual which had most of the features you can ask for. Was more interested in how it drives and initial impression was that it felt punchy from 2nd gear once you cross about 1500-1600 rpm. The engine is rev happy and you dont mind pushing it that extra bit. I own the next gen verna 1.6 P and have to say the initial acceleration from the small 1 L engine with a turbo felt better than the bigger 1.6 naturally aspirated petrol of the verna in gears 2 & 3. However the refinement level gets more glaring as you climb up the revs and the speed alarm from 80km/hr and the constant beep from 120km/hr doesnt help but as always safety first. The ride quality is on the stiffer side but it wasnt uncomfortable in any ways over speed breakers or some broken roads off the tarmac.

What i definitely liked is the high seating position with a good view of the bonnet & road ahead. I am roughly about 5'9" and with my driving position I could seat comfortably behind in the back seat. The boot space is big enough for a small family and the overall compact dimensions of the car should really blend well in our crowded streets. Overall I feel it has lot many positives going its way and will be another success on our roads. All the Best Venue!

[bled_soul]

This note details my test drive of the Hyundai venue DCT. I’d like to begin with the disclaimer that the views expressed here are my own, and I don’t intend to offend, hurt or persuade anyone. I am not associated in any way with any car manufacturer, although I think I want to work with an automobile company in the future.

The Hyundai Carlino concept was unveiled last year and the production variant was slated to be launched around 2019. The test mules that were spotted on numerous occasions showed the creta-esque profile and I was interested in the car ever since. This compact SUV was expected to rule the segment and when news about the 1.0 turbo charged engine mated to the dct started doing the rounds, I stood up and took notice! I was set to buy a car in March but I decided to wait for this potentially segment breaking Hyundai.

Hyundai unveiled the car officially in a new way, and the car looked stunning on that ship. I drooled all over the amazing features and seeing how Verna and i20 both were available in the top variants with an automatic transmission, I expected Hyundai to launch this in auto top variant as well as that’s what the market desires; there’s enough sale of automatic top variants to deserve a fully loaded auto variant.

Hyundai went ahead and began the pre-booking for the car and despite all the leaks suggesting that there won’t be a fully loaded auto, I pre-booked a venue dct top variant (whatever would be the top most variant in the venue lineup). I wanted to believe against all the leaks in the media that a rear wash wipe would be present whether it’s the top variant or not.

Then the car launched and everything was clear. I was shocked! The pricing was shocking and so was the fact that there wasn’t a fully loaded automatic variant. More shocking was that there isn’t rear wash wipe in the lower variants and the sliding armrest was also removed from every but the top variant. I was out of the country and I told my SA that I’ll test drive the vehicle once I am back (25th of may).

On the day of the test drive, I went with preparation to confirm the booking as everything worked in its favour. I was willing to live with the lack of rear wash wipe as it’s a Hyundai. It’ll be good to live with; trouble free and comfortable as has been my i20 for the last 30 months.

While the people before me drove the car, I checked the display vehicle. It looks small, but is spacious enough for 4 heavy adults and 5 moderately built adults. The hue and cry over it not being big enough is exaggerated and the car certainly has presence. The interiors are good quality as well (at least they seem so) and they feel like they’d last long, albeit the black interior colour scheme works against it as the feeling of lack of space is compounded. The sunroof helps and it’s a smart move by Hyundai to lure in more customers. Blue link connectivity isn’t demonstrated by the crew because apparently the SIM card hasn’t been set up in the test cars yet, and I think that’s very stupid of Hyundai as that’s one of the most talked about points of the car.
The touchscreen unit doesn’t look well integrated into the dashboard and looks like an aftermarket unit.
The rear cabin feels much lower in terms of quality than the front. No leather padding on the door pads take away the premium quotient that is present in the front seats.

After waiting for 45 minutes owing to the long list of people waiting to drive the car, I got to sit in the back seat while another girl drove the car. Immediately the first thing I felt was the stiff ride! It was very bouncy at slow speeds for me on the backseat and it wasn’t comfortable at all. The window glass was also too high and with the sunroof closed, the car felt claustrophobic. The rear door pads were cheap, in stark contrast to the front ones as there was no soft padding which is present on the front door pads. For the passengers, the ride is definitely not all that great. I asked the SA about the tyre pressure and he told me that it’s 32 psi. Very stiff for 32 psi.

Then it was time for me to drive it. Upon entering, the first thing I did was shut the engine off. I wanted to test the clatter and vibration at start up, as three cylinder engines aren’t known to be refined during start up. The clatter was typical and it did take away a bit of the premium quotient that Hyundai is rooting for. But since it’s a small thing, I noted it and moved on as it isn’t a deciding factor. Off the bat, this car is slow! The turbo lag is prominent and the car starts responding only after 1800 rpm as far as what I felt. What doesn’t help is the gearbox. It upshifts to second gear very soon, which drops the revs to below 1000 rpm. This causes the engine to go from ~900 to ~1800 rpm very slowly, and thus the progress is really sluggish. The car doesn’t show any form of urgency, and it’s worse than the i20 petrol in this regard. The 1.2 in the i20 starts pulling considerably better and the progress feels better. This car, owing to its bad low end, coupled with the turbo lag, would be a pain to drive in bumper to bumper traffic IMO.
The engine performs well in its powerband, which I think is over 2000 rpm, or may be over 1800 rpm, but definitely not below it. The gearbox works well as far as shift quality is concerned. The tuning may need some serious work. I couldn’t reach very high speeds as the test drive was a short one but there is a loud chime at 80 kmph. The chime is similar to the seat belt reminder so if you are unable to reach that speed, check the seatbelt chime and you’ll know what you have to put up with while speeding over 100 kmph. Also because I couldn’t go fast, I couldn’t check the 100 kmph cruising rpm for this engine gearbox combination, which I think should be around 2000 rpm, as I think I have seen a similar 100 kmph cruising rpm for the i20 that is sold in the international market with the same 7 speed dct mated to this engine albeit in 100 ps tune.

On the move, the car makes considerable noise and that’s something one should check for themselves. Engine note is heard pretty easily and whether that’s due to shoddy insulation or the inherent characteristic of the engine, the bottom line is that it’s loud and not refined like the other typical Hyundais. That doesn’t mean it’s LOUD, but in comparison to, say an i20 or a Verna, it’s louder, so definitely not refined. I found it to be louder than the ecosport’s 1.5L dragon as well.

I don’t think the automatic 1.0L is good for the city, but it might be good for the highway considering the car will be in the boost zone almost all the time, so overtaking might be good. However, there is no push felt even when the car enters the turbo zone and people hoping for the “shove in the seat” feeling will be left disappointed. The manual might be a better choice but I haven’t driven it so can’t comment on that.
The ride felt stiff even from the driver’s seat and I didn’t like it. It’s stiffer than the ecosport, for people who might want a reference.

The SA turned up the car stereo volume and on FM, the speakers didn’t seem well calibrated. Too boomy with no mids. May be it was due to FM radio, but the sound felt off. My i20 comes with 4 speakers and 4 tweeters and isn’t the Arkamys system and it sounds better. The new i20 with the Arkamys system (4 speakers and 2 tweeters; which I think is what is offered in the venue) sounds better too, so may be this was the fault of the radio station or signal, but for people who consider sound to be very important, do a thorough check.

All in all, the car failed to impress me. I cancelled my booking and asked for a full refund. It’s interiors are good and everything feels solid, but the driving experience leaves a lot to be desired, and along with the ridiculous variants and feature distribution, it didn’t make sense to me. But as it’s a Hyundai, I do expect it to sell aplenty.

This one person who was next in line to test drive the vehicle was sold on the venue. I don’t know what he drives currently but he seemed pleased with the performance. He wanted to compare the 1.2L as well and said he’d wait to test drive that, so I don’t know what kind of a benchmark he has to compare it with. So it really is dependant on everyone’s own benchmark.
I feel that anyone who drives an NA 1.2 and above wouldn’t enjoy the venue automatic. The turbo lag is prominent and it shows below 1800 rpm. Anyone with an NA below 1.2 would really have nothing to complain about.
Venue diesel is the same as the i20 diesel and it pretty much caters to a different set of buyers.

These are my two cents on the venue turbocharged petrol automatic. I didn’t click any pictures and thus I am not uploading any. I hope this helps any prospect buyer. I’d be happy to answer any questions anyone might have.
Thank you.

[sandx]

Originally Posted by bled_soul

This note details my test drive of the Hyundai venue DCT. I’d like to begin with the disclaimer that the views expressed here are my own, and I don’t intend to offend, hurt or persuade anyone. I am not associated in any way with any car manufacturer, although I think I want to work with an automobile company in the future.

Wow, quite an exhaustive post that is. I had high hopes in the venue myself and when looking for an upgrade from my Alto searched up every possible detail on the launch and the things that followed after. While not a great benchmark but the Alto has served me well and the next should expectedly be greater at different levels of (car) parameters. I am all about first impressions and regardless of the fact how the size was reported in the forums and through the social media I still went with an open mind. But the first thing that strikes you is the size maybe not from the front but the rear lost the plot completely. Even when I was inside the cabin it didn’t feel much greater size wise than my Alto purely in terms of the feel factor. Next when I walk into the ford showroom just one look and a test drive later the EcoSport seemed everything that I needed. So the new car hunt ends at that

[CarStruck]

Originally Posted by sandx

looking for an upgrade from my Alto... While not a great benchmark but the Alto has served me well and the next should expectedly be greater at different levels of (car) parameters.... Next when I walk into the ford showroom just one look and a test drive later the EcoSport seemed everything that I needed. So the new car hunt ends at that

I am in your shoes as well @sandx - upgrading from an Alto which has served me very well for the last many years I had been eyeing the Ecosport for a long time and almost booked in December 2017 when the facelift was launched. However, I pulled back as interiors, especially the rear, was very claustrophobic and Ford depleted features on a rolling basis while steadily increasing the cost. The Titanium trim's price went up by about Rs. 50K in a space of 4 months - major changes were rear view camera was added but Sync was removed. It lost its VFM for me as more variants with additional features were added, which obviously added to the cost.

I found the Venue a fresh product with good features and at par ride quality in comparison to the ageing Ecosport, price being almost the same. My new car hunt has ended too...cheers to you for a new beginning!

[Chrome6Boy]

We booked two DCT SX+ Venues at Hyundai Motor Plaza Guindy Chennai today, one for my father and one for my wife. We've been promised delivery by June 15th.

We were in the market for a petrol automatic and the only other competitors in the Sub 4 SUV segment was Ecosport and Nexon.

We tried test driving the Ford Ecosport but realized many of their showrooms in Chennai are now closed or relocated. There was simply no showroom close enough to us to go and test drive the car. The news of their alleged impending departure from India helped make our decision.

We test drove the Nexon and I personally was quite impressed with every aspect of the car except for the AMT, so this too was rejected.

It was very unfortunate that the XUV300 AT has not been released until now and Brezza is still not offered in petrol!

Frankly the combination of a turbo petrol and a dual clutch coupled with Hyundai's quality sold us.

[patelhemals]

I have booked the SX+ DCT Forest Green, and went today at the Shreenath Hyundai showroom in Andheri, Mumbai. I had not seen the car in person or driven the car before that. After having seen detailed reviews on youtube and and very detailed views from fellow BHPians on Teambhp. I entered the showroom with a blank bias towards any views. Below is my feedback and experience.

Exterior - Looks ravishing and mini Creta from the Front. Loved the Chrome Grill on the DRL on the Headlight housing. Brings in a fresh new style in the CSUV segment. The Back LEDs look good too, but the back is to plain for my taste. Yes, I agree, looks are always subjective.

Interior -

• The Dash is premium and oozes Hyundai character in certain places. (when you step in the top end SX O) The Interior in the SX+ DCT looses simple things like the movable Arm rest, Leather on the door hand rest, Split seats, Back Seat Arm rest, Leather inserts in Seats. Rear Wipes.
• The Front seats are fab with super thigh support, seat height option available and is generous.
• The back seat lacks some amount of thigh support, Has medium width for 3 middle passenger, Lacks middle head rest. Leg room is ok and cannot be called adequate.
• IRVM - Looks ugly with the buttons, the Auto Diming IRVM given with earlier Asta i20 would have been a great bonus.
• HVAC - Cools the cabin instantly. Controls look good and have good quality HD Screen 8" - Good touch and control. faced issue in Sunlight while reading, but it is the plastic covering to protect the screen could be to blame.
• ICE - Ok sound, Ok Base , Good treble. Can't review over songs played on radio. Yet my Elite i20 Asta ICE sounds way better.
• Sunroof - Cute for a car of this size.

Test Drive - The ignition reminds you that this is a 3 cylinder motor. Post ignition the clatter dies down but roars in when you step on the gas. There is some delay on step down but this is much lower than a CVT. I loved the roar inside the cabin when the tachometer goes beyond 2800 RPM. Pick up is linear and the best part is that you dont notice the gear changes. This is a super car to drive in the city. I tend to agree with fellow Tbhpians that the ride is a bit stiff, but not too much. The steering weighs up well when the speed is higher while in regular traffic it is very light. The rear has only 2 reverse sensors, i don’t know the logic of that.

Well, here ends the good part of the story. Now to the key -ves. The moment you step in the car and close the door, you feel the door is too close for your comfort. This felt like a very small car in the inside. My Elite i20 is much better in shoulder room and overall space in the cabin. I really felt the genes of Santro when i sat in the driver seat. The Santro platform effect - ? could be. Other key omissions in the DCT SX+ which i feel was atrocious -

• Rear Wipe
• Extra Airbags
• Split Seats

My decision is to cancel the booking and restart the search for complete Auto CSUV. For now the only option is the Ford Ecosport Titantium + Auto ticks all boxes minus the tyre on the rear door and the rumors on the exit of Ford from India.

[bled_soul]

Originally Posted by patelhemals

I have booked the SX+ DCT Forest Green, and went today at the Shreenath Hyundai showroom in Andheri, Mumbai. I had not seen the car in person or driven the car before that. After having seen detailed reviews on Youtube and and very detailed views from fellow BHPians on Teambhp. I entered the showroom with a blank bias towards any views. Below is my feedback and experience.

Please read the thread on rumour of ford reshuffling the features on the ecosport. If you do think it’s the right car for you, try getting one right away. My SA has told me that it’s set to lose sync 3 and cruise control at the very least. There could be more deletion as well.

[ValarMorghulis]

Checked a lot of reviews yesterday on YouTube. Overdrive, Cardekho, and a couple others. All of them seem to be quite enchanted with the car which is quite different from the members' experience. I trust TeamBHP and the members more so eagerly awaiting for the official review.


Mods when are we getting the goodness?

[s10]

A noob question, Does anyone know about the emission specs for Venue engines. Are these engines including 1.2 Kappa, 1.0 DCT and Diesel, BS VI compliant?

[DRIVE_ADDICT]

Same here. Many car reviews in youtube say +ve about this car but few members here posted its very laggy. Few says its too stiff. Awaiting TBHP's official review. I'm eyeing the 1.0L DCT.

Btw, Checked the car in showroom didn't take a TD though, as TD was not available in that showroom.

The car overall appears well built.

Though the feel is claustrophobic, Interior space is not bad. I'm a six footer after setting the driver seat to my comfortable position, I managed to sit in the rear with ease. The tall seating helps here. If you are someone who pulls the seat all the way back and drive with the leg and hand stretched (which I do sometimes), then stay away from this car. They managed the space using the height of the car and not by length/breadth.

Interior quality is top notch. Switchgear, buttons, knobs, door pad, steering - everything looks and feels very good. Premium interior at this price point.

Boot is quite decent and I see usable space is quite good, it wont be a sore point for this car.

Need a TD to confirm whether this suits me. I'm a diesel head after living with diesel for ~7 years, N/A petrol to me feels lethargic. Hope Turbo petrol will not disappoint.

[Waspune]

Overdrive guys said that the Venue is fun at corners and the only segment competitor that comes close is the MS Brezza! What were they smoking?

[tarik.arora]

Originally Posted by Waspune

What were they smoking?

May be a Magenta coloured 66 mm×166 mm piece of Paper with Gandhiji on it

Even i was surprised to hear this. How comfortably have they ignored the Eco-sport. And being a Nexon owner i can say that it is also pretty good (thanks to its wider track?).