Hyundai has launched the new Venue N Line in India, the company’s second N Line model for India, following the i20. The Venue N Line is available in two variants and is powered by a turbo-petrol engine paired solely with a dual-clutch automatic gearbox. We see how the compact SUV fares against the turbo-petrol iteration of subcompact SUVs from rivals as well as the standard Venue on paper. The Maruti Suzuki Brezza has not been included as it lacks a turbo-petrol engine option.
On paper, the dimensions of the Venue and Venue N Line are identical despite the cosmetic revisions made to the sportier derivative of the subcompact SUV. The Venue’s sister car, the Kia Sonet, is slightly wider and taller though both share identical wheelbases. Mahindra’s XUV 300 has the longest wheelbase – a full 100 mm longer than most of the segment while the Nexon’s wheelbase is marginally down on rivals here.
Coming to the engines, all models here use small displacement, 3-cylinder turbo-petrol mills with capacities ranging from 1.0-litre in the Venue, Sonet, Kiger and Magnite to 1.2-litres in the Nexon and XUV300.
While it is the more performance-focused derivative of the Venue, the Venue N Line uses the same engine with identical power and torque output as the standard Venue. It however lacks the iMT gearbox option of the standard model making do with only a 7-speed DCT. The XUV 300 is the torquiest subcompact here with 200 Nm on tap. The Magnite and Kiger CVT are the least torquey models, with the output reduced by 8 Nm over the respective manual.
