2024 Hyundai Venue vs 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe presented a bold departure from previous designs, embracing a boxy aesthetic that contrasted with the sleek, futuristic look of the Ioniq models. This design choice, as explained by Hyundai’s design chief SangYup Lee, aimed to optimize storage capacity while maintaining an elegant and premium appearance. Despite its boxy shape, the Santa Fe achieved impressive aerodynamic efficiency, turning heads with its upscale look and sophisticated color palette. The interior offered premium styling, with the XRT and Calligraphy trims showcasing a mix of soft and decadent materials, enhancing the overall luxurious feel.

In contrast, the 2024 Hyundai Venue, available in SE, SEL, and Limited trims, offered a more compact and affordable option. The Limited trim, with its Ecotronic Gray paint, provided a mature and subdued appearance. Despite its affordability, the Venue’s design was stylish, featuring appealing fabric inserts and artificial leather bolsters inside. The interior, though filled with hard plastics, managed to avoid looking cheap, offering unexpected style elements like striped seats and white trim. The Venue’s compact size made it ideal for city driving, with decent comfort and practicality for its class.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe featured a robust 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, delivering 277 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque. It offered front-wheel drive as standard, with all-wheel drive optional, except for the XRT trim, which included AWD. The Santa Fe provided various driving modes, including Normal, Sport, and Snow, with the XRT adding off-road capabilities. Fuel economy varied, with the FWD base version achieving 20 mpg city and 29 mpg highway. The Santa Fe Hybrid, available later, promised improved efficiency with 36 mpg combined. The XRT trim offered enhanced towing capacity and off-road prowess, making it suitable for adventurous trips.

The 2024 Hyundai Venue, powered by a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine with 121 horsepower, excelled in urban environments. Its lightweight design and CVT allowed for nimble handling and easy maneuverability. However, the Venue’s suspension struggled on rough roads, leading to a less refined ride. While it managed highway speeds with ease, the engine and CVT became noisy under pressure. The Venue lacked all-wheel drive, but its 6.7 inches of ground clearance provided some advantage in snowy conditions. It achieved an EPA rating of 31 mpg combined, though real-world tests showed slightly lower efficiency.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe boasted a longer wheelbase and body, enhancing cargo space significantly. Inspired by the Korean concept of “chabak,” it offered a spacious cargo area with an extra-wide tailgate, ideal for camping and tailgating. The interior accommodated up to seven passengers, with the first and second rows providing ample space. Various trims offered different upholstery options, from stain-resistant cloth to plush Nappa leather. The cargo area provided 14.6 cubic feet of space, expandable to 79.6 cubic feet with seats folded. Additional features included roof rails and a UV sanitization compartment in the glovebox.

The 2024 Hyundai Venue, with its increased ground clearance, offered easy access to its interior. Despite its compact size, it provided decent comfort, with adjustable front seats and heated cushions. The back seat, though technically for three, was more comfortable for two passengers. Storage space was limited, and the Venue lacked rear air conditioning vents and privacy glass. Cargo capacity was comparable to a compact car, with 18.7 cubic feet available, expanding to 31.9 cubic feet with the rear seats folded.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe featured a curved panoramic display, enhancing the cabin’s luxurious feel. The touchscreen offered intuitive controls, wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and a 12-speaker Bose stereo. Higher trims included additional features like wireless charging and Hyundai Pay. The BlueLink system allowed for remote vehicle access, and the Calligraphy trim introduced a biometric fingerprint scanner for added security.

The 2024 Hyundai Venue came with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment display, offering Bluetooth, wireless Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. The Limited trim added navigation, SiriusXM, and a wireless charger. However, it required wired connections for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, limiting the wireless charger’s usefulness. Despite this, the Venue’s infotainment system was sophisticated, with a native voice recognition system and streaming capabilities.

The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe included a comprehensive suite of safety features, such as adaptive cruise control, forward collision-avoidance assist, and blind-spot monitors. Higher trims added advanced features like a 360-degree camera system and remote automatic parking. The Santa Fe was the first Hyundai with driver monitoring, enhancing safety by tracking driver alertness.

The 2024 Hyundai Venue offered Hyundai SmartSense, including forward-collision warning, lane-keep assist, and a driver monitoring system. The Limited trim added cyclist detection. While lacking adaptive cruise control, the Venue provided decent safety features. It received Good ratings in IIHS crash tests and a four-star rating from NHTSA.