BABY BUGGY

Hyundai’s cute, cut-price Venue shows the pros and cons of budget buying

Stack ’em high, sell ’em cheap. A simple concept but, when it comes to our insatiable appetite for small SUVs, Hyundai’s new $19,990 Venue looks like sales gold.

The starting price should lure punters into showrooms before the good salesfolk talk them into the pricier variants.

These days if you show SUV shoppers a price starting with “1” — once common for small hatchbacks — they may go into a Boxing Day-style sales frenzy.

It makes good business sense. Hyundai’s new baby SUV is giving the people what they want: good value urban transport, desirable SUV body, high ride for those with dodgy knees or hips, enough safety and features, plus assuring five-year warranty. All boxes ticked.

I know what you’re thinking. Hyundai already has a small SUV with its funky Kona.

This one’s even smaller, best seen as a replacement for the brand’s titchy Accent city car. The Accent will be dropped from Hyundai’s line-up by year’s end, even though it’s the country’s best-selling light car, last year’s sales tally exceeding 15,000.

Are they mad? Probably not. The Accent costs just $15,490 — meaning little profit margin — and our buying habits are changing rapidly. In just five years, sales of light cars (think Mazda2, Toyota Yaris) have dropped by 37 per cent, while small SUV sales have grown by 58 per cent.

Hyundai has seen the future and acted pre-emptively.

“It all plays well for the introduction of our new entry level car,” says Hyundai marketing director Bill Thomas of the new Venue.

“Light cars are attractive for low price, economy, manoeuvrability and ease of parking. Small SUVs have ease of ingress and egress, high driving position and desirable SUV body style. The Venue’s job is to appeal to (buyers of ) both.”

It appears a job well done. From a distance the Venue looks almost toy-like. At barely four metres long it’s shorter than an Accent and even a Mazda2, but is taller than its Kona stablemate.

It’s certainly cute but the stacked headlight front-end and pumped out wheel arches suggest some ruggedness, even if off-roading in this front-wheel drive is a strict no-no.

And what of kerb appeal? Pick the top grade Elite ($25,490 plus on-roads) and you get edgy 17-inch alloys, two-tone paint, contrast colour body inserts, chrome grille and LED tail-lights.

Despite the awkwardly skinny rear, these Elites look superb — especially if you’re bold enough to option Acid Yellow with black roof.

The lesser Go (from $19,990) and Active (from $21,490) on 15-inch wheels and plainer hues look a bit daggy in profile. That’s probably not a concern for older empty-nesters but budget first car buyers may eschew the Go and its tiny steel wheels with plastic covers.

The Venue Go undercuts our best-selling small SUVs, the Mitsubishi ASX (from $23,490) and Mazda CX-3 (from $22,260). To do so, it’s built to a budget — and it shows.

The steering wheel’s plastic, there’s no central armrest and you’ll swap cogs yourself unless you pay $1500 for the six-speed auto.

For the modern buyer, the eight-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, Bluetooth and rear camera, plus cruise control, auto emergency braking and lane-keep assist cover most non-negotiables.

Most will stop and shop at the Active grade as it adds 15-inch alloys, rear park sensors, leather steering wheel and better audio and lighting.

It’s a $2000 leap to the auto-only Elite, which appears best value overall with two-tone body, satnav, more premium seat finish, climate control and enhanced active safety.

It’s cosy inside. The high roof gives good headroom front and back but adults in the rear struggle for legroom.

Doors are big slabs of hard plastic no matter the grade you choose and the doors and boot feel light-car tinny when closing — expected at this price, really.

The boot’s a useful 355L, nearly matching the Kona’s load space.

ON THE ROAD

The Venue shape is all new but the engine’s an old faithful. There’s no zippy little turbo petrol or anything hybrid to see here, just Hyundai’s tried-and-tested 1.6-litre petrol engine with 90kW/151Nm in all grades.

Putting a positive spin on this pragmatic choice, Thomas insists Hyundai’s research showed the 1.6 to be a plus point as “that capacity’s associated with better fuel economy.” Its claimed 7.0L/100km shows it’s hardly the most frugal (Renault’s 1.3-litre turbo Captur returns 5.4L), and the weedy outputs mean there’s lots of noise and lazy progress on hills.

In the natural habitat of towns and cities, the engine is fit for purpose. As you sit in your elevated position, it hums along and the six-speed auto gearbox delivers a more satisfying drive than the whiny continuously variable transmissions commonplace in small SUVs.

The Venue turns sharply, the steering is lovely and light in town and the compact

Venue has the height, looks, features, space and price tag for mass appeal and it shines as urban transport. The cabin shows it’s built to a budget but there’s enough charm to win over young and old alike.

dimensions help with tight city parking spaces.

The auto (no paddle-shifters, sadly) can get lazy and confused on inclines given the engine’s lack of guts. You save money by taking the manual gearbox, also a six-speeder, which adds more driving joy in the wilds — choose your own gears and you can keep revs high and the motor singing.

As we expect of Hyundai, the local engineering team has excelled in the comforrt and cornering department.

Fun to throw into corners, the little car feels balanced and safe, while comfort is markedly better than typical light cars — even the 17-inch wheels on Elite grades do little to reduce bump absorption. It’s stable at highway speeds but tyre and wind noise are quite intrusive at 110km/h.

A noteworthy feature is the traction mode selection dial, to adjust engine torque to suit snow, mud or sand driving. If you see a Venue owner attempting such things, take the keys from them and sit them in the shade.