2025 Hyundai Venue N-Line Driven: Is The Premium Worth It?
Once upon a time in India, 100 Bhp was the magic number. Crossing this number meant hitting high-performance territory. Any car that put out 100 Bhp or more was revered by enthusiasts, and envied by buyers.
Times have changed. Most mid-size SUVs are now easily sailing past the 150 Bhp mark. 118 Bhp, the amount of power the all-new Hyundai Venue N-Line makes, may not sound like much. On paper!
A summary on what the 2025 Venue N-Line drives like...
But this much power in a tight, twisty Goa can be a lot of fun. Sample this: a lovely exhaust note bouncing off walls, a rev-happy engine racing to its redline, a twin clutch automatic gearbox waltzing through the rev band, a comfortable yet sporty suspension and steering egging you to go faster and finally, all this in a car that can handle all kinds of roads is what tells you that there's more to a car than just the numbers.
Welcome to Hyundai's latest sporty SUV - the all-new 2025, 2nd generation Venue N-Line. It's a beautifully engineered sub-4 meter SUV that can take the rough with the smooth. While at it, it will keep you very comfortable and also make you smile every time you want to get a move on.
Now for the specifics...
This car loves to be revved. The 1 liter, triple cylinder turbo petrol engine that it's fitted with makes 118 Bhp-172 Nm. And this much power in a relatively light, tight car is more than ample to bring out the grins.
Hyundai is using the reinforced K1 platform, which the new Venue shares with the 5 star-rated Kia Syros. This means that noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) are very well taken care of.
There's no vibration, a minor shake when revved to the redline at standstill, and a raspy note that tells you that sound-deadening under the hood is well, missing.
You also know that there's a sporty engine underneath thanks to the twin tip exhaust note that sounds quite fruity and fun. Finally, there's the 7 speed twin clutch automatic gearbox that is smooth, precise and blazingly quick when you mash the fast pedal. What we really loved was the fact that the engine blipped and growled while downshifting, adding to the sporty feel.
Hyundai steerings are getting better and better...
Hyundai's steerings - in the past - haven't really had the reputation of being sporty. But that's the past. Cut to the present, the N-Line trims (N stands for Namyang - the birthplace of Hyundai's performance car line up in South Korea) have changed this.
It helps that the 2025 Venue N-Line, like its predecessor, comes with multiple drive modes - Eco, Normal and Sport. And this time around, the drive modes and traction modes are controlled by F1-style buttons on the newly designed steering wheel specific to the N-Line trim.
Sport mode is where you want to be, all-the-time!
Shifting into Sport mode does many things. The steering gets heavier and feels more direct. Gearshifts get more rapid and gears are held all the way up to 6,200 rpm. And throttle response gets much sharper. The engine also holds revs up, staying in the meat of the powerband, and delivering instant power as soon as the right foot asks for it!
Sporty yes, but still a SUV!
Or a tall, butch hatchback depending on where you're coming from. Talking about tall, there is body roll. Remember, you have about 190 mm of ground clearance to enjoy.
While this much clearance means that you can stop bothering about speed breakers, steep parking ramps and potholes, tight corners will remind you how high this car rides.
The Venue N-Line will roll a bit when the corners get tight. However, the slightly stiff suspension set-up and sharp-ish steering make you feel fairly confident even while attacking corners at speed.
And in time, you'll learn the car's limitations and yours, enough to know when to back off. To sum it up, this is a car that's more enjoyable while going fast from signal to signal than on a Go-Kart track.
Ride quality?
Gets better as your drive faster. Hyundai's done a good job with the Venue N-Line's suspension. The low speed ride is on the stiffer side but most potholes and bad roads are dispatched with ease.
And as speeds go up, the suspension comes into its own and flattens most bad roads. Only the really sharp-edged potholes are felt in the cabin with a jolt. This is in line with expectations. Overall, this is a comfortable car that very few will complain about.
Handling!
The Venue N-Line is composed at triple digit speeds, and direction changes are fairly quick. The electric power steering - especially in Sport mode - weighs up really nicely and makes one feel in control as speeds go up.
There is body roll but quite controlled. The car holds its line confidently on long sweepers, even when there's a mid-corner bump or pothole. And overall, the handling complements the rev-happy engine and the fast-shifting gearbox.
Jekyll-And-Hyde behavior
The fast-shifting 7 speed twin clutch automatic gearbox, in all three driving modes, will shift up quickly. In fact, we saw 7th gear at speeds as low as 57-58 Kph. The engine was spinning at a leisurely 1,200-1,300 rpm.
What this also means is that the Venue N-Line can be supremely efficient. Remember, triple cylinder engines are known for fuel efficiency, and when they are operated at low rpms, return excellent fuel efficiency numbers.
In fact, the 2025 Hyundai Venue N-Line comes with an ARAI certified fuel efficiency figure of 20 Kmpl, which makes it second only to the diesel-manual, which delivers 20.99 Kmpl. Yes, the DCT equipped Venue is more fuel efficient than its manual trim!
But when you really want to get going, and keep the gearbox in manual mode, the paddle shifters will let you upshift and downshift very aggressively. And reward you with a gnarly blip during downshifts and a sporty exhaust note while you upshift at 6,200 rpm. This Jekyll-and-Hyde behavior of the Venue N-Line is particularly enjoyable for this car has a dual personality.
What does it feel like, on the inside?
Plush, very plush! In a nutshell, the 2025 Hyundai Venue N-Line plushest and most luxurious-feeling sub-4 meter SUV that money can buy you in India. The interior quality is top-notch, and even feels better than the Creta.
No, there's no panoramic sunroof but it doesn't need one., for the cabin is compact enough to make do with a regular, single pane sunroof. All touch points have soft materials. The dashboard has a nice texture. The colours - all black including the headlines - makes the car feel very snug and sporty.
As for features, you have a new, massive curved display - 12.3 inches for the driver and 12.3 inches of touchscreen for infotainment. Hyundai's done well to include advanced ADAS Level 2 features, the steering is a sporty unit with paddle shifters, drive modes and traction control buttons. The seats feel well bolstered, and sporty thanks to the contrast stitching. There's ambient lighting, and a lot more. This is a typical Hyundai, which in other words, translates to loaded-to-the-gills with features.
Size matters!
In terms of size, the 2025 Hyundai Venue N-Line has gotten 30 mm wider, 47 mm taller and has a 20 mm longer wheelbase (2,520 mm) while retaining the sub-4 meter footprint.
These dimensions, and the baby-Creta like styling make the new Venue look significantly larger than the outgoing model. It also helps that the car has actually gotten bigger on the inside.
It feels wider than before and front seaters will be happy with the plushness and feeling of luxury. Back seaters will appreciate the scooped out roof that liberates plenty of headline, the large-ish windows (with newly introduced sun-blinds) that make the car feel airy despite a black/dark grey headliner. The seat is reclinable, with a central arm rest that holds cups, and there are AC vents and Type-C usb ports.
But the Venue N-Line, despite the additional width, is a great four seater than a comfortable five seater. This is because of the fact that the overall width is still limited, and there's a transmission tunnel on the floor (no flat floor).
The boot capacity is now rated at 375 liters, and will be ample for most people. It helps that the seat has a 60:40 split and can also be folded flat to increase carrying capacity should the need arise. To sum things up, the 2nd generation Venue has grown significantly over the first-gen model, and feels like a full size larger than the outgoing model.
The elephant in the room
Which now brings us to the proverbial elephant-in-the-room, the pricing. Hyundai, in our opinion, could have priced the Venue N-Line more aggressively.
Yes, it's the first software defined vehicle (SDV) for Hyundai in India's mass market, is built well, feels a lot more sturdy than before and our exclusive has even reported that it will soon get a 5 star rating. It gets all the features under the sun, and is more importantly, big fun to drive. It also feels much larger than the older Venue, and gives off distinct baby-Creta vibes.
Still, 19.57 lakh rupees, on-road Bangalore (India's priciest city to buy cars) for the top-end 2025 Hyundai Venue N-Line N10 trim feels a little steep. And considering that these are introductory prices, it does feel like the Venue could have been priced a little more aggressively to make a big dent on rivals rather than buyer pockets.