Hyundai Venue vs Hyundai Creta: How does it stack up?

After a long gestation period, Hyundai Motor India took the wraps off the Venue compact SUV in India last week. Hyundai Venue opens a new chapter in the South Korean carmaker's Indian innings. Until now, Hyundai only had the Creta as its mass market offering in the SUV space. With the Venue, the company aims to capture a more significant chunk of buyers. However, the Venue might cannibalize sales of the Creta. Here's a quick analysis of how the Hyundai Venue stacks up against its elder sibling, the Hyundai Creta.

Venue’s compact footprint

Hyundai Venue offers the comfort of a 5-seat SUV in a small footprint. While the car is almost similar in width compared to the Creta, it is significantly shorter in length and height. It will allow for excellent manoeuvrability in choc-a-block city traffic scenarios. Its design is refreshing and will bring the much-needed freshness to the segment. Add to that, the Venue will be one of the most feature-rich compact SUVs in its class. Some of the features include a sunroof, six airbags, wireless charging and 8-inch HD display among others. It will be India's first smart connected SUV that will get 33 connectivity features, including ten India-specific options.

Creta – The segment leader

If you think Hyundai Venue is more feature-rich compared to the Hyundai Creta, you are mistaken. In addition to the features offered on the Venue, Creta packs equipment like ventilated seats and six-way electrically adjustable driver seat, which add to the comfort and convenience. The SUV also gets 17-inch alloys (Venue features 16-inch) and combined that with the bigger overall size, it offers better road presence compared to the compact SUV.

The Creta is a benchmark offering in its segment and sells over 10,000 units every month. While the SUV is showing its age now, Hyundai is working on the next-generation model that will be launched in India in 2021. Earlier this month, the company took the wraps off Hyundai ix25 at the 2019 Shanghai Motor Show, which previews the next-gen Creta.

What’s under the hood?

The Venue, being a smaller SUV, is powered by lower-capacity petrol (1.0L & 1.2L) and diesel (1.4L) engines. That said, the 1.0-litre T-GDi turbocharged petrol engine and a 7-speed DCT make their debut in India on the SUV. The other two powertrains are a 1.2-litre Kappa petrol and a 1.4-litre turbocharged diesel. Moreover, an automatic transmission is only available on the turbo-petrol motor.

The Hyundai Creta is offered with a choice of two diesel powertrains and a solitary petrol motor. The oil burners include a 1.4-litre turbocharged engine and a 1.6-litre unit. While the former is available only with a six-speed manual, the latter also gets an automatic transmission. The gasoline motor is a 1.6-litre unit that comes with six-speed manual and automatic gearboxes.

Way ahead

Although the Venue might cannibalize some sales of the Hyundai Creta, we expect it to help the company to capture a broader spectrum of customers. Hyundai Venue will be the car of choice for those who want to buy a well-designed feature-rich SUV with a lot of connectivity options. On the other hand, the Creta will continue to attract buyers who wish to own a larger SUV that offers more comfort and convenience options.