We’ll be honest from the get-go – Hyundai left us in a state of shock when yesterday it announced the Venue’s pricing. Although introductory in nature, for the time being, it starts at Rs 6.5 lakh and tops out at Rs 11.105 lakh (ex-showroom India). What’s more, its pre-bookings began on May 2, 2019. Considering Hyundai received 2,000 bookings in a single day, people looking to reserve the Venue now might have to wait a bit longer than expected.

The Hyundai Venue is available in a total of four main trim levels – E, S, SX and SX(O). The SX trim has two more derivatives – SX Dual Tone and SX+. Before we unravel what each of those trim levels packs, let’s get the generic stuff out of the way. In the powertrains department, a choice of four engine-transmission combinations are on offer with the Venue. Two out of those – the 1.2-litre petrol (83PS/115Nm) with 5-speed MT and the 1.4-litre diesel (90PS/220Nm) with 6-speed MT – are lifted from the Elite i20.

The other two are brand-new. The debuting 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder turbo-petrol engine is good for 120PS/172Nm and can be had with either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission. As far as mileage figures are concerned, the new engine with MT and AT can return up to 18.27kmpl and 18.15kmpl, respectively. The other petrol-MT combination has a claimed mileage of 17.52kmpl, whereas the diesel-MT setup is good for 23.7kmpl.

Over to the colour options for the exterior and the interior. The former consists of seven single-tone shades – White, Silver, Red, Blue, Orange, Stardust and Deep Forest – and three dual-tone ones – Blue with White roof, White with Black roof and Orange with Black roof. The dual-tone shades, of course, are reserved for the SX Dual Tone trim. For the interiors, you could have an all-black theme, a dual-tone khaki theme or a dual-tone denim theme. While the Khaki theme is not available in the entry-level E trim level, the Denim theme is reserved only for the SX Dual Tone trim.

Time to unravel the list of main features that each of the Venue’s trim levels brings to the party. As always, we’ll be focusing only on those features which can potentially make or break a deal.

Trim: E

Powertrain Options: 1.2-litre Petrol MT and 1.4-litre Diesel MT

Here’s what the Hyundai Venue gets as standard:

Dual airbags | ABS with EBD | Rear parking sensors | High-speed warning | Seatbelt reminder for front seats | ISOFIX anchorages | 15-inch wheels with full wheel covers | Front power windows | Front power outlet | Adjustable headrests for front seats.

Basic safety features – check. And that’s it. The Venue in its base trim will only attract two kinds of customers – one, who is on a tight budget and just doesn’t want anything else but the Venue; and two, someone who doesn’t mind losing out on factory-fitted toys as he/she believes more in aftermarket stuff.

Trim: S

Powertrains options: All four

Out of the lot, it is only the S trim that is available with all four engine-transmission combinations. Here’s what it gets over the entry-level derivative:

Headlamp escort function | Foldable key | Rear defogger with timer | Body-coloured and electrically adjustable ORVMs | Roof rails | Micro antenna | Double-din audio system with four speakers, Bluetooth/USB/FM/AM | Multifunction steering wheel | Hyundai iblue | Rear power windows | Rear AC vents | Cooled glovebox | Front centre armrest with storage | Rear power outlet | Rear parcel tray | ESC, VSM, HAC (AT only).

Do we think that the extra Rs 70,000 you need to pay for S over the E trim is justifiable? In a word – yes. The S trim has more than enough gadgets to satisfy most of the customers. Sure, the much-talked-about stuff, such as the electric sunroof, BlueLink and an HD touchscreen infotainment system are not available here.

Trim: SX (including sub-derivatives SX+ and SX Dual Tone)

Powertrain options: All except 1.2-litre petrol MT

Listed below are the main set of features that the SX (costs Rs 1.33 lakh more) trim gets over the S:

Rear-view camera with dynamic guidelines | Projector fog lamps | Auto headlamps | 16-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels | Projector headlamps | Cornering lamps | LED DRLs and positioning lamps | LED taillamps | Electrically folding ORVMs with turn indicators | Shark fin antenna | Height adjustable driver’s seat | Adjustable headrests in the second row | 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system (SX+ gets HD screen) | Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, voice recognition | Electric sunroof | Automatic climate control | Driver rear-view monitor | Cruise control | USB charger.

Additional features with sub-derivatives:

SX+ (costs Rs 1.755 lakh more than S)

Smart key | Burglar alarm | Hyundai BlueLink | Push button start/stop | Air purifier, wireless phone charger | IRVM with telematics buttons.

SX Dual Tone (costs Rs 1.48 lakh more than S)

Denim dual tone interior theme | Front centre armrest | Leather plus fabric seat upholstery | door armrest.

As we are sure you’ll agree that the gap between S and SX trim levels is just too wide, both in terms of features and the cost. Hyundai could have used the space to carve out another trim level. For some, the Rs 1.33 lakh price difference will be a lot to digest. And those who want all those features but with an automatic transmission will have to shell out Rs 1.755 lakh more than the S trim. But the story does end here because there’s another trim level.

Trim: SX (O)

Powertrain options: 1.0-litre Petrol MT and 1.4-litre Diesel MT

This one costs Rs 1.06 lakh more than the SX trim. Here’s what you get for it:

Six airbags | All features from SX+ trim | All features from SX Dual Tone except the dual-tone exterior colour options | 60:40 split rear seat | Sliding front armrest | Rear armrest with cup holders | Rear wiper with washer.

If you want all the bells and whistles in your Venue, this is the trim to go for. The only downer here is the absence of AT option. It is also absurd to see Hyundai holding on to features like the rear wiper with washer and split rear seat with armrest for the top-end trim.

So, there you have it. You can now make an informed decision on which trim or variant suits your needs the best. There is no doubt that Hyundai has priced the Venue extremely competitively. It will compete with the Tata Nexon, Ford EcoSport, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Honda WR-V and two Mahindra SUVs – the TUV300 and the XUV300. Here’s the complete price list of the new entrant:

Hyundai Venue Introductory Price List (Ex-Showroom India)