Re: Hyundai Venue : Official Preview. EDIT: Launched @ 6.5 lakhs First official post! I know I'm late to the party but hey- Better late than never.
So I'm in the market for a new car and I'm looking at the sub-4m Compact SUV segment. I had shortlisted Hyundai Venue and Ford Ecosport. My father was never a fan of Ford vehicles for a long time because of their poor(and absolutely wrong) market perception and also primarily because he hadn't driven one! So anyway, we went for the TD of both the Venue and the Ecosport and the following was my experience:
1. The Venue looked very small in person, but mind you- it is actually as big and wide as the Ecosport on the inside. I don't know if it's the exterior look or the all black interiors, it definitely looks small until you actually sit in it for yourself!
The Ecosport has been here for a long time, and I needn't tell you how it looks on the outside and the inside. It is a tad bit narrower than the Venue but it doesn't show.
2. The seating position in the Venue is high enough to give you a very clear view of the road ahead. The edges of the bonnet are visible and you will easily know where your car ends, providing good confidence for easy manoeuvring in the city traffic.
The Ecosport on the other hand offered an even higher seating position and it was very confidence inspiring! But the bonnet isn't as visible as in the Venue and you will have to let your judgement take the call (as with most cars- this really isn't a problem but I thought I'd mention it anyway). The notorious A-Pillar wasn't as intrusive as many have mentioned, but I'm sure a short TD is not sufficient for me to judge it.
3. The steering on the Venue was as light as a feather at parking speeds. I could steer with just my little finger! It weighed up decently at higher speeds, not as much as I would have liked it to. I couldn't cross 70kmph, so I don't know how it feels on highway speeds. The steering feedback was definitely better than what an i20 or even a Creta offers!
The steering on the Ecosport was perfect! Pretty light at low speeds and it weighed up to my liking at higher speeds- very confidence inspiring. Also, it offered better feedback than Venue.
4. My Venue's TD car was a 1.0 turbo petrol and I must say, Hyundai has done a very commendable job with the new engine. There is a turbo lag, but once you're in the zone, you wouldn't believe that it was a 1L engine working under the hood! And since the view was very clear (as I mentioned before, I could clearly see where the car ends in the front), I could find myself confidently zipping through traffic at relatively higher speeds though it was the first time I drove it.
I drove the Ecosport with the 1.5L dragon engine at first, and I was really impressed with it. But after having driven the Hyundai's turbocharged petrol, I wanted more. Once you drive a turbocharged petrol engine, it's hard to be content with a naturally aspirated one! So I asked for a TD of the very famous 1.0L EcoBoost engine, and oh boy was it gooood! The power delivery was very linear for a turbocharged engine and it was very rev-happy. And the 6-speed manual offered me great control over the engine speed so that I could easily work around the turbo lag. This was my favourite engine, but the Hyundai's 1.0L GTDi isn't far behind. The reliability of the Hyundai's 1.0L turbo isn't known, only time will tell. EcoBoost has aged tremendously well in the older cars, definitely a reliable engine.
5. The dealer had only the DCT version of the Venue 1.0 turbo petrol. I'm not a fan of automatics and I would've loved to test the manual SX 1.0 turbo petrol, but alas. The gear shifts were smooth, especially the upshifts. You would hardly notice them happening, but it was a little hesitant to downshift. The turbo lag was evident at low engine speeds, which can be worked around if it was a manual transmission. But overall, it was very drive-able is gonna be the first preference for automatic-lovers.
The EcoBoost came in with a 6-speed manual that I'd prefer over an automatic, so my opinion is biased here.
6. The clutch of the Ecosport was very light. You wouldn't feel much discomfort even after hours in bumper to bumper traffic.
7. The suspension of both the vehicles seemed to be similar- stiff at low speeds and does what it supposed to do at higher speeds. I wouldn't call either of them as uncomfortable even on bad roads at low speeds.
8. The braking again was very good on either of the vehicles. I didn't get to test the hard braking in the venue, but I did on the Ecosport. Very decent braking power and ABD ans EBD works well to bring the car to a stop in the same lane.
9. The FE on charts between the two cars ar every similar though I am forced to believe that the EcoBoost would offer better FE than Venue's 1.0L turbo given Hyundai's reputation for FE.
10. Now on the features- since I would be going for a manual transmission, the Bluelink was nothing but a gimmick to me. The only feature of the Bluelink that I could see myself using is the automatic starting of the engine and the air con but that's only available with the DCT variant and the manual misses out on it. You do get wireless charging and rear air con vents, but again, I can easily live without them. The infotainment system on both the Venue and the Ecosport were at par. But if I had to choose one, I would choose the SYNC3 that comes with the Ecosport since I got to spend more time with it and I really liked the ease of use and response. The Tyre Pressure Monitoring System on the Ecosport was a very helpful addition, one that's not a gimmick according to me.
Otherwise, both the cars offer more or less the same features which are very adequate.
For your reference, my experience is based on the test drives of both the cars, but the test drive scenarios were very different. The Venue TD happened on a moderately busy road with traffic pile ups here and there. The Ecosport TD was done on a mostly empty road where I could drive freely without much hindrance from traffic. I know it's not the same, but we gotta do with what we have!
You won't go wrong with either of the cars.
I'm not as enthusiastic as most people on this forum, so please excuse me for my simple experience and the non-usage of jargon. My judgement may be wrong in a few places, but I've tried my best to give an honest feedback.
PS I've booked my Ecosport S with the EcoBoost engine. Expecting it to be delivered next week! |