SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Desirable: 2020 Hyundai Venue Limited Edition

Stop and take notice

Pics supplied
Posted: November 12, 2020

The numbers
Prices range from R335 500 to R393 500
Engine: 998 cc, three-cylinder, DOHC 12-valve turbopetrol with gasoline direct injection
Power: 88 kW between 5300 and 6000 rpm
Torque: 172 Nm between 1500 and 4000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: See text
Maximum speed: See text
Real life fuel consumption (auto): About 7.6 l/100 km
Tank: 45 litres
Luggage: 350 litres
Standard tyre: 215/60R16
Spare: 195/65R15 on steel rim
Ground clearance: 195 mm
Turning circle: 10.2 metres
Maximum towing mass (braked): 1100 kg (man), 800 kg (auto)
Warranty: 5 years/150 000 km, with drivetrain extension warranty of 2 years/50 000 km
Roadside assistance: 7 years/150 000 km
Service plan: 3 years/45 000 km at 15 000 km intervals

Five Hundred: It’s a number that makes you stop and take notice, as in the Fortune 500 listing of the world’s top companies ranked by income. In case you’re interested, Walmart tops the list for 2020.

Then there are very rare, but still legal, 500-dollar bills in the USA. Originally issued by two Confederate states in 1780, them Yankees issued their own from 1861 and kept some in general circulation until 1969.

The number tugs at heartstrings too; like the railroad man’s lament, “500 miles away from home.” Pretty well every Folk singer and group covered this in the 60s. Then there was the quirky romantic comedy, “500 Days of Summer” that debuted in 2009. And how about 500 Level, a company dealing in branded sports shirts?

Almost at the end of our list is “500 Error”, something you don’t want to see but can’t do much about because it indicates internal server failure. The company you’re trying to visit online has that problem.

Finally 500 is how many units of Venue Denim, a model available elsewhere, that Hyundai South Africa imported and renamed Venue Limited Edition.
 
What makes them special, apart from relative scarcity, is the colour scheme – white roof, navy blue body, blue leather seats with blue denim inserts and a predominantly blue and off-white interior. Apart from that, they remain feature-for-feature the same as the Venue Fluid and Glide models on which they’re based.

They’re eye-catching, in a good way, and everyone who peeked inside agreed. Most would buy one of the three variants on looks alone even if they hadn’t considered a Hyundai Venue before. Humour Alert: It was only a small sample and therefore insignificant, but they do look good.

Versions available are Fluid six-speed manual, Fluid seven-speed DCT and Glide seven-speed DCT. Price premiums on the Fluid cars are around R5000 each but there’s no surcharge on the Glide.

The manual car accelerates slightly quicker than the automatics, zero to 100 km/h in 11.3 seconds vs. 11.5, but tops out four km/h slower at 183 km/h rather than 187. It also boasts lighter fuel consumption; a claimed 6.5 litres per hundred against 6.9.

All share alloy wheels with 215/60R16 tyres, roof rails, cruise control, trip computer, ABS brakes with EBA, EBD and hill assist, manual driver’s seat height adjustment, automated halogen headlights with escorting function, six airbags, speed-sensitive locking, six-speaker infotainment centre with CarPlay, electric mirrors, powered windows with jam protection and one-touch for the driver and rearview camera with parking alarm.

The Glide model earns its bigger price tag with chromed door handles, a split rear seatback that boasts an armrest with cup holders, front fog lamps with cornering function, projector headlights, keyless starting, automatic air conditioner and LED running lights.

Our test ride was a Fluid with dual clutch transmission. This box works very well; always in the right gear and kicking down easily. Performance-wise, it isn’t a rocket but for a little SUV it goes well. The view outward is good and it turns and stops nicely. The manual equivalent we drove a few months ago easily shrugged off our local, gravel test road: “…soaks up speed humps comfortably and tracks confidently over ripples and embedded stones when the going gets dusty,” we said back then.

Although we’d prefer the manual version for its undercover grin factor, this one comes a very close second. And the colour scheme is gorgeous.

Test unit from Hyundai SA press fleet



What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.