2023 Toyota Sequoia vs 2024 Hyundai Venue

The 2023 Toyota Sequoia was a striking presence on the road, with its bold design inspired by the Toyota Tundra pickup truck. The SUV's newly creased and kinked body gave it a more commanding appearance than its predecessor. Inside, the Sequoia shared many design elements with the Tundra, featuring an industrial theme with luxurious touches in the Capstone trim, such as leather, wood, and metallic finishes. The 14-inch Toyota Audio Multimedia infotainment system dominated the dashboard, and the interior was available in a cream white-over-black two-tone colour scheme. Despite its upscale appearance, some interior materials reminded drivers of its pickup truck origins.

In contrast, the 2024 Hyundai Venue offered a more compact and stylish design, appealing to those seeking affordable transportation with a touch of flair. The Venue's exterior, especially in the Preferred trim, featured a more mature and subdued appearance with Ecotronic Grey paint. Inside, the Venue's interior was characterized by hard plastics but maintained a sense of style with striped seat patterns and white trim accents. The digital instrumentation and 8-inch touchscreen infotainment display added to the Venue's modern appeal, making it a thoughtfully designed and high-quality small SUV.

The 2023 Toyota Sequoia was equipped with a powerful hybrid powertrain, featuring a twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 engine, a 10-speed automatic transmission, a 36-kilowatt electric motor/generator, and a 1.87 kilowatt-hour nickel-metal hydride battery pack. This setup delivered an impressive 437 horsepower at 5,200 rpm and 583 pound-feet of torque at 2,400 rpm. The Sequoia's towing capacity increased to 4,137 kilograms, and it achieved better fuel efficiency, with a rating of 11.7 L/100 km in combined driving. The SUV offered various driving modes, including Eco, Comfort, Normal, Sport, and Sport+, allowing drivers to tailor their experience. However, the Sequoia's steering was slow, and the regenerative braking system felt unresponsive at times.

The 2024 Hyundai Venue, on the other hand, featured a 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine producing 121 horsepower and 113 pound-feet of torque. While not as powerful as the Sequoia, the Venue's lightweight design and continuously variable transmission (CVT) made it agile and suitable for city driving. The Venue excelled in urban environments, offering nimble handling and excellent visibility. However, its suspension struggled on rough roads, and the engine became noisy under heavy acceleration. The Venue lacked all-wheel drive but provided 17 centimetres of ground clearance, making it capable of handling light snow with winter tires. Its fuel economy was rated at 7.5 L/100 km in combined driving.

The 2023 Toyota Sequoia excelled on highways, offering a comfortable cabin with soft leather upholstery, a JBL premium audio system, and a triple-zone automatic climate control system. The Sequoia's interior featured power-deploying running boards, a panoramic glass moonroof, and captain's chairs in the second row. However, the third-row seat was less comfortable due to its high floor and low roof. Cargo space was limited, with only 325 litres available with the third-row seat in place, expandable to 2,460 litres with the second-row seats folded down. The hybrid powertrain's battery pack reduced overall cargo capacity compared to the previous model.

The 2024 Hyundai Venue offered decent comfort despite its small size. The driver's seat had a manual height adjuster, and the steering wheel provided tilt-and-telescopic adjustment. The Venue's interior featured fabric inserts, artificial leather bolsters, and heated front seats. While the back seat could technically accommodate three passengers, it was more comfortable for two. Cargo space was competitive for a compact vehicle, with 528 litres available, expandable to 902 litres with the rear seats folded down.

The 2023 Toyota Sequoia featured a new Toyota Audio Multimedia infotainment system, with a 14-inch touchscreen in most trims. The system was intuitive and included wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Capstone trim offered a 10-inch head-up display and a surround-view camera system. However, the system occasionally experienced glitches, such as issues with Bluetooth pairing and glare on the display.

The 2024 Hyundai Venue came with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment display, offering modern graphics and simple operation. Standard features included Bluetooth connectivity, wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless Android Auto, and a six-speaker sound system. While the Venue's infotainment system was user-friendly, it could benefit from better stereo speakers to cater to its youthful audience.

The 2023 Toyota Sequoia came equipped with Toyota Safety Sense 2.5, which included forward-collision warning, pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, lane-centring assist, adaptive cruise control, automatic high-beam headlights, and a road sign recognition system. Additional safety features included blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and Safety Connect services. While crash test ratings were not available, the Sequoia's platform shared with the Tundra received high ratings from the IIHS.

The 2024 Hyundai Venue offered standard forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, and a driver monitoring system. The Venue Preferred trim added blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert. However, adaptive cruise control and lane-centring assist were not available. The Venue received Good ratings in three IIHS crash tests and an Acceptable rating for its LED headlights. The NHTSA awarded the Venue an overall rating of four stars.