2020 Hyundai Venue vs 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe

The 2020 Hyundai Venue was introduced as a more affordable option in the subcompact SUV segment, filling a gap in Hyundai's lineup. Despite the presence of the Kona, the Venue distinguished itself with a more upright design and a focus on affordability. Its exterior featured unique touches like a contrasting white roof on the Denim trim and a large chrome grille reminiscent of Hyundai's larger SUVs. Inside, the Venue offered a modern and clean cabin with ample space for both front and rear passengers, providing excellent visibility due to its upright layout and large windows. The Venue was available in SE, SEL, and Denim trims, with the SEL trim recommended for its additional features and optional Premium package.

In contrast, the 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe presented a bold and experimental design that might not appeal to everyone. Its exterior featured a distinctive grille shape, stacked lighting elements, and asymmetrical fender stampings. Inside, the Santa Fe offered a dramatic dual-cowl dashboard design with high-contrast interior colors and diamond-textured speaker grilles. While the materials quality didn't quite match the high-style design, the build quality was exceptional, and the controls operated with refinement. The Santa Fe's daring design was a standout feature, appealing to those who appreciated a unique aesthetic.

The 2020 Hyundai Venue was powered by a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine producing 121 horsepower and 113 pound-feet of torque. This engine was paired with a manual transmission on the base trim, while most trims featured a continuously variable automatic transmission (IVT). The Venue was front-wheel drive only, lacking an all-wheel-drive option. Despite its SUV aspirations, the Venue's performance was more akin to a compact hatchback, with underwhelming acceleration and a noisy engine. It offered drive modes like Normal, Snow, and Sport, but struggled to reach highway speeds quickly. The Venue's fuel economy was commendable, with the CVT achieving 30 mpg city, 34 highway, and 32 combined.

The 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe, on the other hand, offered a more powerful option with its 2.0T trim, featuring a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine producing 235 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. This engine provided a significant performance boost over the standard 185-horsepower 2.4-liter engine. The Santa Fe's eight-speed automatic transmission delivered power to the front wheels, with an optional all-wheel-drive system available. The Santa Fe's towing capacity was 3,500 pounds when properly equipped. Fuel economy for the 2.0T front-wheel-drive model was rated at 23 mpg combined, with our test model achieving 22.1 mpg. The Santa Fe offered a smooth ride, decent handling, and a quiet highway experience, making it a competent daily driver.

The 2020 Hyundai Venue, while not particularly fast or sporty, offered a practical interior with ample head- and legroom in the front seats. Despite its compact size, the Venue provided decent rear legroom, even with the driver's seat pushed back. However, its cargo space was limited, with only 31.9 cubic feet available with the rear seats folded. The Venue's control layout was intuitive, with traditional buttons and dials for essential functions, although the automatic climate control display could be confusing.

The 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe excelled in interior comfort and functionality. It featured eight-way power-adjustable, heated, and ventilated front seats, along with a heated steering wheel. The dual-zone automatic climate control system included a Clean Air ionizer, and the panoramic sunroof added to the spacious feel. The Santa Fe's rear seats were comfortable, with air conditioning vents, sunshades, and heated cushions. However, its cargo space was somewhat limited for a midsize SUV, with 35.9 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 71.3 cubic feet with them folded. The Santa Fe's smart liftgate was a convenient feature, allowing hands-free access to the cargo area.

The 2020 Hyundai Venue came equipped with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system across all trims, featuring Bluetooth, USB ports, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. The system's layout was logical, with large icons and fonts, and redundant hard buttons for major functions. The screen placement was well-designed, allowing for easy use while driving.

The 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe's infotainment system was a standout feature, with stereo control knobs, main menu shortcut buttons, and a programmable button for custom functions. It included Bluetooth connectivity, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. The SEL trim added SiriusXM satellite radio and Blue Link connected services with three years of free service. The Limited trim featured a larger 8-inch display, navigation, a surround-view camera, wireless smartphone charging, and a 12-speaker Infinity surround sound system. The Santa Fe also offered a head-up display and a sophisticated voice recognition system.

The 2020 Hyundai Venue came standard with a reversing camera, traction control, a tire-pressure monitoring system, and a full array of airbags. It also featured impressive driver-assistance technology, including forward-collision avoidance with pedestrian detection, lane-keeping assist, and a driver-attention warning. The SEL trim added blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, which were standard on the Denim trim.

The 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe earned a five-star overall crash-test rating from the NHTSA and a Top Safety Pick rating from the IIHS. It came equipped with adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, and lane-keeping assistance. The SEL trim added blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic warning, and a safe exit assist system. The SEL Convenience Package included an ultrasonic occupant alert system, while the Limited trim featured a Blind-Spot View Monitor.