For the past three years, the Hyundai Venue has been the go-to choice for many who are looking for a small petrol -powered automatic SUV, but it's about to get very tough. What you're looking at here is the 2022 update and it won't be as easy as it was in the original Venue because the competition has finally caught up. Now, it's up against cars like the all-new Maruti Brezza, which have taken a huge leap in technology and features, so let's find out how those two perform when we consider features, performance, fuel efficiency and price.
Features and Safety Equipment
Every vehicle in the compact SUV class is now fully loaded with the latest technology and comfort-oriented features, and the higher-spec versions we have here are no exception. In the Brezza, you get 360-degree surround-view cameras, a sunroof, LED headlights, LED fog lights, a wireless charging pad, ambient lighting, engine start/stop, range adjustment for steering, and a head-up display.
The Venue, on the other hand, has a built-in air cleaner, electrically adjustable driver's seat, tyre pressure monitoring system, two-step rear seat tilt, driving modes including Sport and Eco, and adjustable leather seats.
They both come with six airbags, ABS and EBD, although the two are a close match when it comes to equipment in general because there are some important features not available on the Venue, but at the same time the Brezza, which is significantly more expensive, like them, It lacks the new features now common in similarly priced cars.
Driving Manners
The Hyundai Venue is clearly the faster car of the two. It's actually the torque advantage of this 1-liter turbo that puts it far ahead of the Brezza when it comes to speed and the way it's delivered - it gets 118 hp / 172 Nm of torque compared to the 102 hp / 136 Nm in the Brezza and let's not Forget the Hyundai is lighter and has a quick-change dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
The Brezza gets a convertible, relatively old automatic Torque paired with a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine. Given the Venue's weight-ability advantage, the numbers we got from our performance tests made very sense. From zero to 100 km/h, it fills the place four seconds faster and the gap only widens at 120 km/h. It's a second and a half faster in the acceleration test from 20 to 80 km/h and about four seconds faster from 40 to 100. The place is fast even in normal driving mode. Put it in the sport and you'll want to go out more. The combination of the turbo engine and the responsive automatic dual-clutch is very attractive, and the car feels dynamically nimble, stable and nimble.
The new Brezza K15C engine produces 102 hp, but since it is naturally aspirated, it doesn't produce much torque. At 136 Nm, the torque is roughly adequate for everyday driving and because Maruti has tuned this engine to be more efficient than before, it has affected its drivability, especially in the mid-range. Brezza is clearly more of a laid-back cruiser than an avid performer. The paddle shifters are located behind the steering wheel and help make quick progress because you can downshift quickly and get that engine right into the core of your powerband but then again there's a lot a torque converter gearbox can do. All things considered, this naturally aspirated engine combined with the ultra-smooth automatic transmission makes the everyday driver calm and relaxed, but a bit frustrating when you want to go fast.
The Maruti Brezza can't match the Venue for its outright speed, but it makes up for it with its highly refined, well-damped suspension. Whether it's on any surface other than smooth asphalt, it's a little more comfortable than the Venue. Now, because it has a smoother setup, you feel fewer major road flaws like potholes and expansion joints on this car. We tested both cars on all kinds of road surfaces, and most were pretty bad, and the initial shock when it hits a sharp pothole or pothole is smoothed and rounded much better than the Venue, which is noticeably more stiffly sprung.
The Brezza's cabin is also noticeably quieter at low to medium speeds. You hear less honking, and noise from the road and other vehicles around you. At highway speeds, although there isn't much of a gap between the two, and when traveling at triple speeds, the Brezza's engine is the loudest.
Fuel Efficiency
Things get really interesting at this point. So you have a turbocharged engine paired with a modern dual-clutch automatic transmission versus an old naturally aspirated engine mated to a torque converter automatic transmission. The Brezza also weighs a bit more than the Venue due to its larger engine, but it's also the one with mild hybrid technology that includes an integrated starter alternator and a small battery. In our tests, we got 13.10 km in the city and 18.63 km on the highway from Brezza. As for Venue, he managed 12.58 and about 18.80 kilometers during the same races. Obviously there's not much to divide on highway efficiency, but the fact that the Brezza with its much larger engine is more efficient than the Venue is simply due to its mild hybrid technology and that's how it works.
At low revs and light acceleration, the ISG assists the petrol engine by providing a certain amount of electric assistance. And by doing this, you reduce the load on the engine at lower speeds, which ultimately makes it more fuel efficient. In fact, if you drive the Brezza quietly in urban conditions, it is certainly the most fuel-efficient car here.
Price
The ex-showroom prices for entry-level Brezza variants are on par with the competition, but as you go forward, they tend to be more expensive than the competition. The high-spec automatic version that we have here is a prime example of this. At Rs 13.96 lakh, it is priced at 1.2 lakh rupees more than the higher-spec Venue automatic model. Sure, the Venue misses some of the basic features that the Brezza has, but let's face it, the road price difference will be even greater.
Conclusion
There are plenty of solid reasons for choosing either of these cars, although I suspect on this occasion it will be a tough choice this time around because both have their strengths. In the end, it all depends on what you want, so if a compact SUV is affordable, smooth, quiet and efficient around town, the new Brezza is a great choice. On the other hand, the Venue has a nicer cabin and effortless performance without sacrificing a lot of efficiency and driving comfort. So in some ways, it feels like a much rounder car, although I wouldn't blame you if you went for either because they are really good compact SUVs, after all.
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