Written by Marco Carvajal
I am test driving the 2022 Hyundai Venue SEL, this cute subcompact SUV is the ideal car to live and drive in a big city like Chicago, New York, Miami downtown, and other cities where space is limited. The venue is easy to fit on any parking space or small street. It has great visibility all around you so you can drive around many objects, cars, or people in a dense busy city.
However, the venue can also be a nice car to drive in a small suburb where distances are not that long and roads are good.
2022 Hyundai Venue
The new Venue is a very compact city crossover SUV car with a big personality because of its good original design and because it is supercharged with technology features ready for a demanding young generation who needs more technology and style than interior space.
The venue was released by Hyundai in 2020 and now the 2022 model is already available. You can buy a used 2020 or 2021 venue, or purchase a brand new 2022 year model venue for a very low price starting around $18K.
If you need a car for your kids to go to high school or college, the venue will be the star of the school with its attractive original design and a size ideal for students.
The venue reminds me of Italian cars. When driving the venue it bring back memories from driving in Mila and Rome in italy in a small car surrounded by many other small cars and motorcicles. Even if the venue is not a European car, it makes me feel as I am driving a cute small Italian or French car.
The Hyundai Venue SEL I am test driving surprised me with how optimized is the interior space. The trunk is small but somehow you can fit many packages or a couple of small suitcases inside. The seats and the interior is limited, but due to its great visibility all around the car and the great distribution of the space you can enjoy the interior space and feel you want to keep driving, staying inside the Venue.
The five-door mini SUV is small but it can take 5 people on comfortable rides and have decent cargo space.
The venue offers most of the latest Hyundai driver assistance systems and infotainment technologies. The base new Hyundai Venue is offered one-color body color and 15″ steel wheels.
The basic equipment of this new subcompact crossover includes:
- halogen headlights
- front airbags
- curtains of safety
- air conditioning
- rear parking sensors
- Heated and electrically operated side mirrors.
The Venue’s steering wheel can be adjusted in height and in reach with function buttons installed on the sides of the steering wheel to control the multimedia system.
Trims and Pricing for the 2022 Hyundai Venue
The small Venue is available in 3 different versions at a great low price. Hyundai wants to sell and many buyers need a new alternative for a small car like the Venue at a low cost, but fully loaded.
- SE
$18,900 Starting MSRP
- SEL
$20,650 Starting MSRP
- LIMITED
$22,150 Starting MSRP
Besides great low pricing near $18K and great technology, the venue is also very attractive and ideal for the small parking spaces and congested streets downtown. Fuel efficiency with a 33MPG on the highway is also another factor that will mark the success of the new Venue.
The 2022 Hyundai Venue SEL
The main powertrain change in the Hyundai Venue SEL trim model is the ability to select different driving modes: Normal, Sport and Snow.
This feature is extremely helpful if you live in a city with difficult weather conditions, especially Snow mode lets you drive safely throughout the snow. Also Normal and Sport modes are great driving tools depending on how you want to drive and your fuel economy preferences.
Driving modes are something unexpected for a city car and definitely a great plus for the Venue compared to its competitors.
The SEL Venue is also enhanced with 17-inch alloy wheels, and the rear disc brakes, producing a sportier look.
The Venue SEL comes with a powerful engine for its size producing 121 horsepower with a 1.6L DPI 4-cylinder engine.
The SEL trim model includes a steering wheel trimmed in leather, as well as the CVT mode selector. The air conditioner on the SEL venue has been replaced with a full-fledged air conditioner.
The multimedia system in the SEL model includes an 8-inch color touchscreen display with navigation and six speakers for great audio inside the Venue. There are also two USB connectors for charging devices.
One of the best parts of the attractive Venue is the very low price. You can purchase the Venue SE base model car for only $18K, or purchase the SEL I am test driving for $20K, finally the top of the line, the Limited Venue can be purchased for $22K.
With a low purchase price, the venue is helping Hyundai to have an SUV for every buyer with every budget, from the large luxury Hyundai Palisade to the mid-sized Santa Fe, the compact Tucson, or the cute subcompact new Venue for less than 20K.
The Venue goes underneath the Hyundai Kona in their SUV lineup, being the smallest Hyundai SUV.
With a wide range of new SUVs, Hyundai has been awarded as the ‘Best SUV Brand’ for the second consecutive year.
2022 Hyundai Venue SEL Highlights
- Wirelessly Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- 31 MPG Combined, 29 City / 33 Hwy
- 121-hp 1.6L DPI 4-cylinder engine
- Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW)
- Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning (RCCW)
- 17-inch alloy wheels
- Power tilt-and-slide sunroof
- Cloth seating surfaces
- Driver’s sliding armrest/storage box
- 6-way adjustable driver seat
- Smartphone/USB and MP3 auxiliary input jacks
- Dual USB charging
- Bluetooth hands-free phone system with voice recognition
- Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA-Ped) with Pedestrian Detection
- Lane Keeping Assist (LKA)
- Driver Attention Warning (DAW)
- Anti-lock Braking System (ABS)
- Bodyside reinforcements
- 5-mph bumpers
- Front and rear crumple zones
- Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
