Hyundai's smallest SUV, the 2021 Venue, packs a lot into a very compact package. It excels at everyday tasks and is comfortable enough to take on a road trip. It's a great value and comes with most of the latest safety and technology features. If you want something more practical and stylish than a subcompact sedan, it'll be worth your time to check out the Venue.
Nothing screams value quite like the 2021 Hyundai Venue. An extra-small crossover SUV that serves as the entry point for the automaker's SUV lineup, it is the second least expensive Hyundai after the Accent sedan. Even so, it's ready to carry up to five people and as much as 31.9 cubic feet of cargo. That's less than half of what you get from the next size up SUV — a Honda CR-V, for example — but it's still sufficient for most daily tasks.
** OVER 30,000 VEHICLES SOLD, TWO LOCATION TO SERVE YOU, 400+ VEHICLES IN STOCK, visit www.AlphaMS.com to view our inventory, BEST PRICES IN TOWN ** N...
This year's updates add standard equipment, especially for the midgrade Venue SEL. A spiffy set of 17-inch alloy wheels improves the SEL's look, and it now includes a blind-spot collision avoidance system, further cementing the Venue as a true value leader among extra-small SUVs. The only deletion for 2021 is that the six-speed manual transmission previously offered with the SE trim has been dropped. As such, every Venue now comes standard with a continuously variable automatic transmission.
Though it doesn't offer much in the way of power and performance, the 2021 Venue nevertheless brings significant style and tremendous bang-for-the-buck to the extra-small SUV segment. Check out our Expert Rating for our in-depth take on the pros and cons of this pint-size Hyundai.
Edmunds Expert Rating
edmunds TESTED
by the Edmunds Experts
Average
7.4
out of 10
We drove the 2021 Hyundai Venue on our test track and on real roads. Our Edmunds team conducts rigorous independent vehicle testing, driving 500,000 miles a year.
Performance
7/10
How does the Venue drive? From behind the wheel, the Venue is perfectly adequate across the board. You'll have no issue commuting, running errands, or taking a cruise to the beach or lake. Acceleration is about average for this class, which is not fast by most accounts. At our test track, the Venue needed 9.4 seconds to get up to 60 mph.
But it's good where it counts for a small city runabout, responding quickly right off the line, with its CVT automatic and easy brakes providing a pretty smooth driving experience overall. It's definitely not an athletic SUV, but its small size keeps it nimble and kind of fun to zip around corners.
Comfort
7/10
How comfortable is the Venue? You might assume based on its small size and low cost of entry that the Venue lacks comfort. Thankfully that's not the case. It's far from a luxurious experience, but the Venue fares well even compared with some larger rivals in its class. The front seats have a nice balance of cushion and support. The rear bench cushion is a bit flat, but there's a good recline to the backrest. Ride comfort can be tricky to maintain in smaller vehicles, but the Venue's won't beat you up even on longer trips.
The climate control is single-zone only, which makes sense given the Venue's size, and we found it sufficient for keeping the cabin cool. There is some wind and road noise at highway speeds, but it's nothing out of the ordinary for this class.
Interior
7.5/10
How’s the interior? The Venue's interior is practical, and passenger space is better than expected given its short length. It achieves this relative spaciousness through its upright seating. As long as you're not much taller than 6 feet, you should find the Venue relatively accommodating in front and cozy but livable in back. The squared-off doors make it pretty easy to get in and out of.
The simplicity of the Venue keeps it easy to use. The 8-inch infotainment touchscreen is bright, responsive and easy to use. All other controls, buttons and knobs are clearly labeled and arranged logically. Forward and side visibility is pretty good, but your over-the-shoulder view is hampered somewhat by the thick rear roof pillars. The available blind-spot monitoring system certainly helps alleviate this issue when switching lanes.
Technology
7.5/10
How’s the tech? The Venue has just the right amount of technology, and it's easy and straightforward to use. The available six-speaker sound system produces surprisingly good sound that's clear and has a nice amount of punch. The 8-inch touchscreen infotainment/navigation system comes standard with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration. The navigation system is very reminiscent of today's smartphones in look and feel, and real-time traffic information is nice to have.
The advanced safety and driver aids work but seem a bit oversensitive. It's worth noting that adaptive cruise is not offered on the Venue in case that's an important feature on your list.
Storage
7/10
How’s the storage? The Venue is small, so there's only so much you can physically fit inside. We think it makes excellent use of the space it does have, however. There's 18.7 cubic feet behind the rear seats (31.9 cubic feet with rear seats folded), which we found sufficient for everyday use.
The cargo area offers a couple of cool things: an adjustable load floor and a stowable cargo cover. The loading area has a wide opening and low loading height to make it easy to get things in. Up front, there's a sufficient amount of storage space for your personal items. As for child duty, the Venue's car seat anchor points are clearly marked on the seatback and easy to access. But the lack of rear legroom will make it hard to fit a larger rear-facing child safety seat.
Fuel Economy
7.5/10
How’s the fuel economy? The EPA estimates the Venue's fuel economy at 31 mpg combined (30 city/33 highway), a pretty efficient estimate for this class. But we found it tough to match that in our real-world driving. On our highway-heavy 115-mile evaluation route, we averaged a mere 29 mpg. Perhaps it's due to our need to keep up with the flow of California traffic, but we suspect the EPA figures are a bit optimistic for a Venue roaming in the wild.
Value
8.5/10
Is the Venue a good value? Good value? No. We'd call this an excellent value. The Venue is well built and relatively practical. For what you pay, Hyundai packs in a lot of features. Some vehicles start where the Venue tops out on price and don't have the same amount of tech.
Hyundai's warranty is best in class. It includes five-year/60,000 bumper-to-bumper and 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranties. Roadside assistance is provided for five years with no mileage limit, and all Hyundais now come with free scheduled maintenance for three years/36,000 miles.
Wildcard
7/10
Is it fun to drive? Not really. The Venue is very utilitarian and that seems to be the core focus. The styling of the Venue is also rather nondescript, blending into the sea of subcompact SUVs. If you want something more distinctive, look elsewhere, at perhaps Mazda's CX-30 or even Kia's Soul or Seltos.
2021 Hyundai Venue trim level differences
The 2021 Venue is the most affordable SUV in Hyundai's already value-oriented lineup. It comes in three trim levels: SE, SEL and the stylish Denim trim. Highlight features include: Compare the 2021 Hyundai Venue trim levels in-depth.
Which Venue trim does Edmunds recommend?
Because the Venue Denim provides less in the way of choice, we recommend the SEL trim level. It offers the greatest blend of value, equipment and color choice. For 2021, the Venue SEL further sweetens the deal with 17-inch alloy wheels and a blind-spot collision avoidance system with rear cross-traffic collision avoidance warning as standard equipment.
The 2021 Hyundai Venue has a 5 years / 60,000 miles basic warranty and 2 recalls. Below you’ll find our owner reviews.
Recalls
2 recalls found
Checking if a car has a recall is simple. Just type the car's VIN number into the NHTSA website (https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls). If there's an unrepaired recall, you'll see it there.
If a recall shows up, just call your local car dealer. They'll know about the recall and will work with the car maker to fix it for free (if the recall happened within 10 years of the car being first sold).
Recall Number:
22V458000
Manufacturer Recall Number:
231
Number of vehicles affected:
72142
Defect Description:
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Venue vehicles. In the event of a crash, the front driver-side and/or passenger-side seat belt pretensioners may explode upon deployment.
Defect Consequence:
An exploding seat belt pretensioner can project metal fragments into the vehicle, strike vehicle occupants, and result in injury.
Corrective Action:
Dealers will secure the seat belt pretensioners with a cap, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed October 25, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's number for this recall is 231. This recall expands and replaces NHTSA recall number 21V-796 for Venue vehicles. Venue vehicles previously repaired under 21V-796 will need to have the new remedy completed.
Recall Number:
21V796000
Manufacturer Recall Number:
211/009G
Number of vehicles affected:
978
Defect Description:
Hyundai Motor America (Hyundai) is recalling certain 2021 Elantra, Elantra HEV, Venue, Genesis GV80 and 2022 Genesis GV70 vehicles. In the event of a crash, the front driver-side and/or passenger-side seat belt pretensioner(s) may explode upon deployment.
Defect Consequence:
An exploding seat belt pretensioner could project metal fragments into the vehicle, striking vehicle occupants and resulting in injury.
Corrective Action:
Dealers will replace the seat belt pretensioners, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed February 10, 2022. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460. Hyundai's numbers for this recall are 211 and 009G. This recall is replaced by NHTSA recall numbers 22V-354 for Elantra and Elantra HEV vehicles, 22V-458 for Venue vehicles, and 23V-094 for Genesis vehicles. Elantra, Elantra HEV, Venue, and Genesis vehicles already repaired under this recall will need to have the new remedies completed.
2021 Hyundai Venue SEL 4dr Hatchback (1.6L 4cyl CVT)
This little care is awesome. It’s a nice crossover, plenty of room inside. The engine does respond, especially in sport mode. The Apple Airplay and Android Auto touchscreen radio is very user friendly. Speakers are great. I bought the SEL model, and it’s well worth the upgrade.
Love this car
5 out of 5 stars
DANSEL, 01/19/2021
2021 Hyundai Venue SE 4dr Hatchback (1.6L 4cyl CVT)
I wasnt sold after my test drive but I am so glad I got this car. The gas mileage is AMAZING, it handles well in all weather...even icy conditions. The truck and backseat are a little small, but that's only because I have a car seat and stroller to go everywhere with me. Little touches make the car feel like a luxury vehicle: sunroof, leather steering wheel and a user friendly … touchscreen display. I am super happy with my choice.
Very disappointing
2 out of 5 stars
from WI, 05/29/2022
2021 Hyundai Venue SEL 4dr Hatchback (1.6L 4cyl CVT)
4th Hyundai I've owned. Bought it new; complained of a squeak when going in reverse since it was new to two different dealerships. "Must be dust on new brake pads..." I was told. Under 15,000 miles, the transmission went out. Took them a month to fix it and still trying to get money back for the car rental, the story keeps changing on who I should talk to. Now the horn never works and … the dome light works occasionally, even though the dealer checked off the horn works just fine the last oil change. Driver assist and acceleration in cruise control are abrupt and jerky. It does get over 38 mpg in summer, so it's got that going for it.
Better than I expected.
5 out of 5 stars
R. Geithmann, 02/05/2023
2021 Hyundai Venue SEL 4dr Hatchback (1.6L 4cyl CVT)
The Venue was not my first pick for a new car but since the Ford Maverick I wanted would not be available till 2024 I purchased my second choice. we wanted to order a 2022 Venue but again there would be to long of a wait and the price would be much higher. We settled for a slightly used 2021 that was actually better than what we would have ordered! Also since it is a SEL there are the … usual upgrades. One that is only available on the newer SEL's is the sunroof which ours lacks which in our case was good as we did not want one.
This is our first Korean auto and we are very impressed with the build quality and how solid it feels. There are no rattles , squeaks or shakes present anywhere. Even though it is an economy configured car it does not feel like one. The interior is actually quieter that you would expect and the engine and road noise ( what little there actually is ) is not that harsh at all.
Performance wise it is what you would expect however acceleration is very good as I have no trouble getting up to highway speeds and that includes going up onramps. I proved this in the Detroit area where driving can sometimes be quite interesting.
The ride is actually very good considering the short wheel base and the lower profile 17 inch wheels but it is not objectionable. It is still better than my 2010 Transit Connect and my former 2008 Focus. If you want a slightly better ride the smaller 15 inch wheels on the SE might be a bit better.
The infotainment center and dash displays are very easy to use and take very little time to get used to. This was good for me as this is my first car with all the bells and whistles. I like the fact that you can turn some of the more annoying warning signals off if you want and they stay off untill you turn them back on. The interior is laid out petty good with good room and spaces to store items. The rear seat folds down completely flat without having to remove the headrest's like on my Transit.
In the rear there is also some very good extra storage in the spare tire well which is great for storing extra winter driving items. The gas mileage is also much better than what is stated on the window sticker as I am currently averaging 38.7 miles per gallon in mixed driving which is far above the 33 mpg stated. The CVT transmission is very smooth and gives you very good acceleration at all speeds even with only 121 hp. The only modern item I had to get used to was the electric assist on the steering. Since almost all cars have this now you have to get used to it. It is a bit vague to me as I am used to having some kind of road feel as feedback while driving but is is growing on me.
I have not had to do any maintenance yet as everything is still under warranty but time will tell how easy that will be. But so far what I can see the major items that the average owner could take care of would not be much of a problem as most things seem easy to get to.
Overall I would give this vehicle a 4.9 out of 5. I hope this helps someone out?
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="1200" height="588" fill="none" preserveAspectRatio="none"%3E%3Cmask id="b" width="1200" height="588" x="0" y="0" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" style="mask-type:alpha"%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23a)" d="M896 513c116 45.015 222 64 304 75V0H0v501c40 36.024 154 76 340 76s344-146.269 556-64Z"/%3E%3C/mask%3E%3Cg mask="url(%23b)"%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23c)" d="M896 513c116 45.015 222 64 304 75V0H0v501c40 36.024 154 76 340 76s344-146.269 556-64Z"/%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23d)" fill-opacity=".15" d="M581.718 62.893c42.993 1.53 86.281 5.888 129.704 13.204 311.828 52.485 552.538 242.016 657.698 483.656-149.97-147.971-450.891-226.33-789.375-232.079-338.534.839-640.434 74.572-792.746 220.292 108.75-240.047 352.255-425.97 664.832-473.803a1041.548 1041.548 0 0 1 129.887-11.27Z"/%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23e)" fill-opacity=".5" d="M611.247 209.93a1458.84 1458.84 0 0 1 139.573 27.692c333.61 83.239 577.16 267.208 668.67 475.188-148.93-138.63-468.279-241.218-835.209-290.421-367.6-43.915-702.265-24.445-881.281 72.561 140.567-178.524 422.355-295.817 766.181-293.074 47.867.484 95.274 3.212 142.066 8.054Z"/%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23f)" d="M735.039 879.394c48.524-6.62 97.023-16.967 145.3-31.2C1227.03 746.059 1475.76 472.327 1564.28 145c-151.17 209.633-482.23 344.436-865.05 388.31C315.515 568.571-35.93 504.564-227 330.342-73.333 632.61 226.169 849.617 586.429 878.604c50.15 3.871 99.74 4.07 148.61.79Z" opacity=".3"/%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23g)" d="M694.222 783.712c50.956 12 103.317 20.27 156.946 24.578 385.102 31.013 738.232-146.76 952.062-439.434-231.22 151.216-613.24 158.795-1012.047 55.796C394.784 312.716 68.643 114.101-55.211-133c37.44 360.528 253.087 691.895 601.449 858.946 48.557 23.091 97.963 42.302 147.984 57.766Z" opacity=".9"/%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23h)" fill-opacity=".5" d="M896 513c116 45.015 222 64 304 75V0H0v501c40 36.024 154 76 340 76s344-146.269 556-64Z"/%3E%3C/g%3E%3Cdefs%3E%3ClinearGradient id="a" x1="1005" x2="989.087" y1="23" y2="552.522" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop stop-color="%23007EE5"/%3E%3Cstop offset=".333" stop-color="%231561D4"/%3E%3Cstop offset="1" stop-color="%230A4AAB"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="c" x1="1005" x2="989.087" y1="23" y2="552.522" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop stop-color="%23007EE5"/%3E%3Cstop offset=".334" stop-color="%231561D4"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="d" x1="675.999" x2="879.999" y1="648.999" y2="120.999" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop stop-color="%23fff"/%3E%3Cstop offset="1" stop-color="%23fff" stop-opacity="0"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="e" x1="656.5" x2="637.602" y1="213" y2="622.259" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop offset=".115" stop-color="%23fff" stop-opacity="0"/%3E%3Cstop offset=".944" stop-color="%23017D8D"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="f" x1="398" x2="737" y1="599" y2="387" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop stop-color="%2300ABB5"/%3E%3Cstop offset="1" stop-color="%2300A0B5" stop-opacity="0"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="g" x1="1051.5" x2="271" y1="567" y2="575" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop stop-color="%230098C2"/%3E%3Cstop offset="1" stop-color="%23033E96" stop-opacity="0"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="h" x1="1005" x2="986.038" y1="23" y2="587.43" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop offset=".813" stop-opacity="0"/%3E%3Cstop offset=".972"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3C/defs%3E%3C/svg%3E)
