Hyundai marked their entry into the sub-4 meter compact SUV segment with the introduction of their Venue sub compact SUV in the Indian market last month. The bookings for the vehicle prove that it has been an instant hit among the customers in the country. Now the sales figures have revealed that the latest from the South Korean maker has gone on to dethrone Mahindra XUV300 top surge to the second spot in the sales charts. Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza still continues to lead the segment with a large margin. The new offering from the brand locks horns with Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport, Mahindra XUV300, and Honda WR-V. Talking figures, one finds that the latest from South Korean maker sold 7,049 units in May while Mahindra sold 5,113 units of the XUV300 in the same month.
Although Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza still is the segment leader, the sales of the SUV from India's largest maker for May have seen a sharp decline when compared to the sales of the same month of 2018. However, this was bound to happen as two feature loaded rivals to the SUV -- Mahindra XUV300 and Hyundai Venue -- have been launched in the market in the meantime. Whereas, Maruti has not made any significant upgrades to the Brezza ever since it was launched in the Indian market. To top it all, Brezza still does not comes with the option of a petrol engine in the market. That being said, the Venue was only launched in the market last month and one will get a real picture of the sales of the SUV once the SUV spends more time in the market.
Talking of the latest offering from the brand, the segment leading features on the Venue are 3 year/unlimited Kms warranty, 7 speed twin clutch automatic gearbox and air purifier function for the air conditioning. Safety features are also a aplenty on the SUV with the Venue coming with push button start, keyless entry, LED DRLs, cruise control, 6 airbags on the top-end variant, ABS, EBD, ESP, hill hold and traction control.
As far as the mechanicals of the Venue are concerned, the South Korean maker is offering a new 1 liter 3 cylinder turbo petrol engine rated to deliver 120 PS and 175 Nm, this engine has been developed by the company in-house. This new engine comes with a 7-speed twin clutch gearbox and a 6 speed manual. As far as the other engines are concerned, there are two more options with the first one being a 1.2L petrol rated for 82 PS and 114 Nm and mate to 5 speed manual gearbox. The second one is a 1.4L turbo diesel engine rated for 90 PS and 220 Nm and mated to a 6 speed manual gearbox. The SUV will be sold as a front wheel drive car and there will be no all-wheel drive on offer, even as an option.