Are you looking for a cheap new car priced under $25,000? All three versions of the 2024 Hyundai Venue – SE, SEL, and Limited – cost less than that. Hyundai calls the 2024 Venue a small SUV, but since it doesn't offer all-wheel drive and supplies no more than 6.7 inches of ground clearance, you shouldn't plan any off-roading adventures. Instead, use a Venue as a practical city car or suburban runabout, and it should serve you well.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Hyundai introduced the Venue for the 2020 model year, and it hasn't changed much since one of our independent experts spent a day driving and reviewing a 2020 Venue SEL in Miami, Florida. Over the years, Hyundai has modified the trim lineup, added standard equipment, enhanced the safety features, and more. But the 2024 Venue is fundamentally the same vehicle, so you could shop for a used one and save money.
The 2024 Venue comes in SE, SEL, and Limited trim levels, and prices range from $19,900 to $23,150, not including a destination charge of $1,375. Every Venue is loaded with value. They have a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty, a 5-year/60,000-mile standard warranty, and five years of complimentary roadside assistance without any mileage limit. In addition, you get free scheduled maintenance for three years or 36,000 miles.
So, there is more to a new Hyundai Venue than just a low price.
In the following sections, our independent expert analyzes a 2024 Hyundai Venue Limited equipped with optional floor mats. The test vehicle's price was $24,735, including the destination charge to ship the Venue from the Ulsan, South Korea, assembly plant to your local dealership.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
There is no getting around how small the Venue is. While it technically seats five people, four will be happier, especially if the people sitting in front are shorter and willing to slide the seats forward a bit. The plastic panels on the front seatbacks are unkind to the rear passengers' knees.
Nevertheless, stepping into and out of the Venue is easier than a traditional car because it sits slightly higher off the pavement. Once you're inside, the seats are reasonably comfortable. My Venue Limited test vehicle had attractive black fabric over leatherette upholstery with contrast piping, stitching, and groovy 1970s-style stripes. The seats looked upscale and youthful, and with Limited trim, the front ones offer heating for cold days.
A manual seat-height adjuster allows the driver to raise and lower the cushion, while a tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel helps to fine-tune the driving position. You'll enjoy excellent outward visibility if you prefer to sit up high like me. You can see the front corners of the hood, making the Venue easy to park, and the thin windshield pillars offer a nearly unobstructed 180-degree view forward. Large side mirrors with blind-spot warning lights add confidence when slicing and dicing through traffic.
Looking to the rear, a reversing camera and rear cross-traffic warning system assist when backing out of driveways and parking spaces. However, on the road, the housing for the third brake light blocks your view of distant traffic approaching from behind. Fortunately, you're unlikely to exceed the speed limit to the point of attracting attention from law enforcement.
Though rendered primarily in hard plastic, the Venue's interior is stylish. The test vehicle had a digital instrument panel, an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and appealing upper dashboard texturing. Choose a gear, and the solid yet silky transmission shifter will instill a sense of quality every time you drive the Venue. The same is true of the robust door release pulls. The cabin emits nary a rattle or squeak.
Storage is plentiful for such a small vehicle, from the deep cupholders to the handy shelf on the dashboard in front of the passenger. Rear-seat occupants aren't as lucky in this regard, but Hyundai added two USB charging ports this year, so your passengers can remain plugged in and entertained while searching for places to stash their stuff.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Every 2024 Venue has an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system housed on the center of the dashboard between the air vents. It includes the following standard features:
Upgrade to the Venue Limited, and you get:
Wait. What? You get spendy and choose the Limited, and Hyundai downgrades you from wireless to wired smartphone mirroring? Yep, that's the case. And it's one reason I think you'd be happier in the Venue SEL.
However, if you choose the SEL, you'll lose access to Bluelink+. It's the same thing as Bluelink, but where the Bluelink in the SE and SEL requires a paid subscription after the complimentary three-year trial period, Bluelink+ is free to use for the life of the vehicle as long as you're the original owner.
Besides its lack of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, I found the Venue Limited's infotainment system agreeable. It is more sophisticated than you might expect, from its graphics to its excellent voice recognition system. I had no trouble pairing an iPhone 15 Pro or streaming music via Pandora and Apple Music. It's too bad the Venue's stereo speakers are mediocre at best.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Considering that a Venue SE's base curb weight is exceptionally light at 2,612 pounds, the 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine delivers decent performance despite its lack of power. It makes just 121 horsepower at a lofty 6,300 rpm and no more than 113 pound-feet of torque at 4,500 rpm, and it could really use a turbocharger. However, a relatively sophisticated continuously variable transmission (CVT) makes the most of it.
There's no excuse for turning a Venue into a rolling traffic cone. With one person aboard, the test vehicle had no trouble accelerating to prevailing speeds on freeway entrance ramps, and it climbed Southern California's Conejo Grade at a steady rate of speed. So plant your right foot down hard, prepare for the droning common to four-cylinder engines with CVTs, and you'll keep up with or even pass traffic.
With that said, freeways are not where the Venue shines brightest unless they're clogged with traffic. This is a city car, sized for effortless parking and for leveraging opportunities others can't, like squeezing between the curb and motorists waiting for the red light to turn green so you can make a right at the next intersection.
The Venue hates speed humps and speed bumps though. There isn't much isolating the MacPherson strut and coil spring front suspension from the cabin, so the Hyundai shudders unless you take them slowly. Likewise, the busy ride on imperfect pavement is partly due to the simple rear torsion beam axle suspension.
On smooth blacktop, the Venue feels tautly tuned while its P205/55R17 Nexen N’Priz tires let you zig and zag about. The SEL and Limited have responsive four-wheel-disc brakes, and the Venue handles mountain driving without trouble. I tried the Sport driving mode, which makes the powertrain slightly more eager to respond, but the resulting character isn't what you would call sporty.
Regarding fuel economy, the Venue returned 30.3 mpg on my evaluation loop. That aligns with the official EPA fuel economy rating of 31 mpg in combined driving.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Hyundai bundles its advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) into a SmartSense package.
With the Venue SE, SmartSense includes:
Upgrade to the Venue SEL, and you'll get blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. Limited trim expands the list to include a cyclist detection system.
During a week of driving the Venue, the forward-collision warning system gave one false alert while driving into the morning sunlight on a tree-lined street, and the lane-departure warning was incorrect a handful of times. Otherwise, the Venue's collection of SmartSense features worked as advertised.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Cargo space behind the Venue's back seat measures 18.7 cubic feet, and folding the rear seat down results in just 31.9 cu-ft of cargo room. The rear load floor is adjustable, so you can create a deep well or a hidden storage compartment. My Venue Limited had a raised roof rack, and cross rails are an option. So, tying things down to the roof is possible when you run out of interior room.
The EPA says the Venue should get 31 mpg in combined driving, and the test vehicle returned 30.3 on the evaluation loop. Thanks to an 11.9-gallon fuel tank, that observed result gives the Venue 360 miles of range, but you'll stop sooner than that to top it off.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has performed three crash tests on the 2024 Venue, and it earned the highest rating of Good in each one. Furthermore, the Limited trim level's LED headlights get an Acceptable rating, and the IIHS says SmartSense's pedestrian detection system is effective. However, the Venue has not undergone the latest testing from the IIHS, so it has not earned a Top Safety Pick rating.
Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives the Venue an overall rating of four stars instead of a top five-star rating. The reason is the Hyundai's frontal-impact test results, which show four stars for the driver and front passenger.
Beyond the crash-test ratings, it's important to remember that vehicle weight also plays a role in safety. Larger and heavier vehicles do a better job of protecting their occupants in certain types of collisions. The Hyundai Venue weighs just 271 pounds more than a Mazda MX-5 Miata.
Hyundai sneaks the 2024 Venue SE in under $20,000, giving it a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $19,900. The Venue SEL is a deal at $21,900, while the Limited lands at $23,150. You'll need to add a lofty destination charge of $1,375 to each price.
In the JD Power 2023 Initial Quality Study (IQS), the Buick Encore GX ranks highest in the Small SUV segment. The Kia Soul and the Ford Bronco Sport are the next highest-ranked models.
In the JD Power 2023 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study, the Mini Countryman ranks highest in the Small SUV segment. The Chevrolet Trailblazer and the Ford Bronco Sport are the next highest-ranked models in a tie.
Other competitors to the Hyundai Venue include the Chevrolet Trax and Nissan Kicks.
Photo: Christian Wardlaw
Hyundai could have named the Venue the Value. A low price, excellent warranty, complimentary maintenance, and impressive ownership perks make it especially appealing. Plus, it has a genuine sense of style, exudes quality, and has all the technology you could want for the price.
In particular, the Hyundai Venue deserves more attention from city dwellers because urban environments are where this small and affordable crossover thrives. The Venue also works as a suburban errand-runner and a budget commuter. However, it is less suited to America's wide-open highways and byways, where big rigs and large pickups rule the roads.
Still, no matter where you live, there comes a day when continuing to repair your old car no longer makes sense. Trust me, I've been there myself, and something like the 2024 Hyundai Venue would have been on my shortlist.
Christian Wardlaw is a veteran automotive journalist with 30 years of experience in the field and has held automotive editorial leadership positions at Edmunds, JD Power, and The New York Daily News. Today, Chris owns a content agency called Speedy Daddy Media, and in addition to JDPower.com, his work appears on Capital One Auto Navigator, CarGurus, and Edmunds.
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