2020 Hyundai Venue

Hyundai offers the Venue in three trim levels: SE, SEL, and Denim. Pricing starts at $18,345 including destination for the SE and only rises to $23,045 for the Denim.

All Venues will be built with the same 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. This little motor churns out 121 horsepower and 113 pound-feet of torque. All Venues will be exclusively front-wheel drive; all-wheel drive isn't available.

The SE comes standard with a six-speed manual transmission, while a continuously variable transmission (CVT) is a $1,200 upgrade there and standard elsewhere. The latter unit is Hyundai's very first attempt at such a transmission.

With the manual, the Venue is slated to return an EPA-estimated 27 miles per gallon city, 35 mpg highway, and 30 combined. These figures climb to 30/34/32 mpg (city/highway/combined) with the CVT.

It's also worth noting that the SE comes with rear drum brakes rather than disks. It's little things like this that keep the price down, but if you're shopping one, be aware that the stopping power of drums is inferior to disks.

The Venue is a five-seater, but with a 99-inch wheelbase, rear passengers won't want to spend multiple hours back there. The tidy size means shoulder room is also inherently compromised; even slightly bigger crossovers like the related Hyundai Kona will be better in this regard. There's plenty of space up front, however.

With the rear seats in place, the Venue will tote up to 18.7 cubic feet of cargo. This is down just half a foot from the larger and more expensive Kona, and is significantly more than any similarly priced compact sedan can fit. With the rear seats folded, the Venue has 31.9 cubic feet of cargo space.

Despite the rock-bottom pricing, Hyundai has masted the value play and therefore doesn't skimp on driver assist safety features. Every model gets automatic emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane keeping assist, and a driver attention monitor.

Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert are optional on SEL models as part of the Convenience Package ($1,100), and are standard on the Denim.

The base Venue comes standard with an 8-inch color touchscreen that has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Other standard tech includes a smattering of USB, 12V, and aux ports, as well as Bluetooth connectivity.

There's also integration with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa; you can command your smart speaker to remotely start the Venue and activate the climate control. To ensure not just anybody is telling Alexa to fire up your car, it will first ask for your Hyundai cloud-services PIN before commencing with the command.

Navigation is standard on the Denim and available on the SEL through the Premium Package ($1,750).

The base SE doesn't give itself away as the base model, thanks to body-colored trim and 15-inch steel wheels with convincing-looking hubcaps. A black grille is the only bit that suggests the SE's lowly place in the lineup.

Inside, the most noteworthy features are a six-way manual driver's seat, cloth upholstery, manual single-zone climate control, and a four-speaker audio system.

Moving up from the SE gets you into the mid-grade SEL. It wears a chrome grille, 15-inch alloy wheels, and roof rails. Inside, there's a driver armrest and center console storage, dual USB charging, automatic climate control, and an auto-up driver's window.

The Convenience Package, at $1,150, includes a sunroof, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. The Premium Package costs $1,750 and includes navigation, LED headlights and taillights, heated front seats, heated side mirrors, 17-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry, and push-button start.

Before you get your hopes up, the Denim doesn't come upholstered with Levi's finest. Instead, it earns its name by way of an exclusive dark blue paint that's paired with white accents and an interior boasting a unique denim-like hue and a special leatherette/cloth upholstery combination.

Except for the sunroof, all the content from both of the SEL's optional packages comes standard here.

Compare Venue Trims Side-By-Side