Why I chose Hyundai Venue instead of other cars

 As information about me having booked a Hyundai Venue was shared on twitter and FB, many have asked me why Venue? Why not Nexon or Ecosport or something else. This post is to explain my rationale, limitations and thought process. I could be wrong or it may not match with your line of thinking. I am not saying I am correct and all have to follow it. Use this as reference and use your discretion.

When I made up my mind to buy a car, I was 100% sure I want a new car. But all cars in 5-6 Lakh budget were very unsafe, didn't have passenger airbag or didn't have basic features related to comfort and convenience. [Detailed thought here]. Thus I decided to spend a lakh more and booked Tata Tiago XZ in December 2020.

But over next 1 month I found so many issues with Tata Motors Udupi (no service center, no mechanic, no stockyard, car will be driven by road from Mangalore, total lack of communication etc). Thus I started looking for Option 2.

I went to Hyundai showroom to check Grand i10 Nios. I was costing almost 8 lakhs (50k more than Tiago XZ), had lesser ground clearance and had got only 2 star safety rating. I didn't want to consider Maruti or Renault at that time. I saw Venue S+, which costed 10.2 lakhs on road but for the extra 2.2 lakhs (compared to Nios) offered following things extra

- It is a few categories above hatchback (Compact SUV>Premium Hatch> Standard Hatch> Budget Hatch)

- Higher ground clearance (190 mm compared to Tiago's 170 and Nios 165mm)

- Few extra features compared to Tiago XZ- Auto AC, rear camera, corner headlamp, projector headlamp, rear seat height adjustment, driver arm rest etc

Thus I made up my mind to extend my budget to 10 Lakhs and book a Hyundai Venue.

But then, if someone is spending 10 lakhs, below is what you can get

#	Category	Examples	Pros	Cons
1	Premium Hatchbacks, near top variants	Altroz New i20 Jazz	Lots of features	Still a hatchback Lower Ground Clearance
2	MPV- Entry to mid variants	Ertiga Lxi Triber RXZ	7 seats	No everyday use of 7 seats Top variants cost more
3	Compact SUV- entry to mid variants	Venue S, S+ Nexon XM Ecosport Brezza LXi	High ground clearance A more popular category	Premium features like sunroof, turbo engines, Auto transmission etc cost a few lakhs more
4	Compact Sedans- top variants	Aura Tigor Amaze	Little extra space (boot) Most features of corresponding hatch’s top variant	Segment losing popularity now due to compact SUVs Low ground clearance Hatchback with a small boot

Premium Sedans like Verna cost 13-15 lakhs now on road. Premium SUVs like Creta, Hector, Harrier cost 20-22 lakhs while full size proper SUVs (Endeavor, Fortuner, Gloster etc) cost 35-40 lakhs.

So I decided to stick to Compact SUVs and within 10 lakhs on road price. Once I made up my mind on this, below were my options. Please note that when I say 10 lakhs I mean on road price in Karnataka. This means I need to chose a car whose ex-showroom price is under 8.5 lakhs (on road price is 20-25% more than ex-showroom price)

#	Model	Pros	Cons	Remarks
1	Ford Ecosport (Ambiente or trend only)	4 star rating Proven vehicle	6-7 year old design Ford’s future in India uncertain	Didn’t evaluate as I wasn’t sure if Ford will continue in India September 2021 update: Ford Left India
2	Tata Nexon (XM, XM(S) only)	5 star rating	Poor dealer experience	Didn’t consider any Tata cars because of poor experience with Tiago
3	Kia Sonet HTK or HTK Plus			Didn’t consider because of 3 month waiting period. Build similar to Venue
4	Mahindra XUV300 W4	5 star rating, service center in Udupi & Kundapura	Only W4 in budget, all others are beyond 10 lakhs	W4 didn't have any features, W6/W8 beyond budget.
5	Venue S+		Only 83 PS power, no rear wiper	Felt like good choice among options, right compromise of power, features and basic needs
6	Nissan Magnite	Cheaper, loaded	6+ month waiting New car, safety & feedback not known	Was unable to trust Nissan brand, hence didn't consider
7	Reno Kiger RXT	Cheaper by 2 lakhs Lots of features	New car, safety & feedback not known
8	Brezza VXi	4 star Lots of cars on road		Only ZXI has decent list of features, beyond my budget. VXi not much
9	WRV			Didn’t evaluate
10	Urban Cruiser			Didn’t evaluate: Brezza+50k premium

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I narrowed down what I wanted in my car.

- Decent ground clearance- have some bad roads in my hometown- a bit more ground clearance will give more confidence and comfort.

- Reasonable power, not too little, not too much. I don't want to race with anyone and prove I have the faster car, but I also don't want to crawl on a highway during weekend trips.

- Driver height adjustment

- Some comfort for 2nd row passengers

- Decent music system- need not be top notch but not ultra cheap either

- A vehicle that is proven, reliable and likely to last 5-10 years without issues

- Decent after sales service near my town.

- Trustworthy build quality and safety- Venue got 4 star in Australian NCAP. Global NCAP rating not known, Hyundai may do cost cutting for India makes. But didn't see much videos on Venue accidents and crashes, so assuming not many major incidents have happened with this car and it can be trusted.

I also decided things on which I won't waste my money

- Sunroof

- Alloy wheels

- Turbo/ too much power which I can hardly use

- Auto Transmission

- Ambient lights

- Push button start

Venue S+ ticked most of the boxes. Earlier Venue had only E and S. S+ was introduced mid 2020 with some more features over S. More expensive variants like SX, SX(O) with sunroof, turbo, DCT etc cost 2-3 lakhs more, so I decided to avoid them and stick with the variant within my budget. S+ still has some limitations I am aware and will live with it [Read: Is Venue S+ underpowered car?]

- Instrument cluster is old style, not more advanced ones used in SX and not fully digital like in Kiger or Nexon

- No power to windows after key is taken off

- No armrest for second row passengers (not even an option)

- If not alloy wheels, wheel covers made to look like alloy wheels would have been nice. I will use stock tyres and wheels for 30000 kms. Then will change better tyre and alloy wheel as per my choice.

Venue S+ price increased by 7k since Jan. No price protection was offered unlike Tata Motors. Also absolutely no offer/discount for Venue and Creta (Hyundai's top selling models)

With Tata, Ford, Kia, Nissan and Maruti brands ruled out due to various reasons such as after sales service, waiting period etc, I was left with Hyundai, Reno and Honda. Of these options I felt Hyundai Venue is the best fit. Did I make the right choice? I will know after few months.

I am not saying Venue S+ is the best thing you can buy. If you can extend by a few lakhs there are more powerful, more feature loaded cars. You can also opt for premium hatchbacks like Altroz or i20 in this price range or compact sedans like Amaze. Use your discretion.

Related: Venue PDI checklist * Is Venue S underpowered? * Venue Owner Review *