Hyundai’s New Venue SUV Offers Surprising Space in a Small Package

The most surprising thing about Hyundai's all-new 2020 Venue subcompact SUV is how accommodating its cabin is regardless of whether you're in the front or rear seats. For a vehicle that's around 5 inches shorter and an inch narrower than the Kona, Hyundai's other subcompact SUV, the level of comfort the Venue offers adult occupants is impressive.

From the front, the Venue looks like a scaled-down version of the brand's large three-row SUV, the Palisade. The Venue has a boxier appearance than the Kona, but like that SUV it offers a contrasting-color roof, a design cue we've also seen on models like the Toyota C-HR, one of the Venue's key competitors.

2020 Hyundai Venue
Cars.com photos by Christian Lantry

The Venue's boxy shape pays dividends in the cabin as front-seat occupants enjoy good headroom. The roof pillars aren't too big, either, so forward views are good.

The SUV's entry-level positioning, however, is apparent in its cabin materials; they're mostly hard plastics accompanied by a very basic design when you move to the second row. The Venue on the show floor was clearly an early build and production versions will likely be a bit more polished, but I'd be surprised if interior materials were much different.

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2020 Hyundai Venue
Cars.com photos by Christian Lantry

The space-efficiency story continues in the cargo area, which is a sizable 18.7 cubic feet behind the second row and includes a height-adjustable cargo floor — the CH-R has 19 cubic feet and the Kicks 25.3 cubic feet.   

The Venue is part of a growing class of pseudo-SUVs that include models like the C-HR and Nissan Kicks, to name two. In another era these higher-riding, front-wheel-drive vehicles would have gone by another name — hatchbacks — but these days SUVs rule, and the Venue looks like it's positioned to rule its corner of the SUV world.

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