With the Venue, Hyundai has a strong offering in the value-oriented subcompact crossover SUV market. The Venue stands out thanks to its efficiency and intuitive technology, competing against vehicles like the Kia Seltos, the Nissan Kicks, and the Mazda CX-30.
2026 Hyundai Venue Pricing, Specs, and Release Date
- What’s New for the 2026 Hyundai Venue
- Design
- Powertrain
- Interior
- Technology
- Safety
- Pricing and Release Date
- Further Research
What’s New for the 2026 Hyundai Venue
The 2026 Hyundai Venue carries over mostly unchanged from 2025. Hyundai has dropped the top Limited trim level and added a new version of the SEL trim with a two-tone roof. With that, some Limited features—wireless device charging, heated seats, and heated side mirrors—have been shifted to the SEL model. The Venue has seen only limited updates, such as similar minor changes to the trim and features lineup, since its introduction for the 2022 model year.
Design
Like most subcompact crossover SUVs, the Hyundai Venue is, essentially, a hatchback with a higher ground clearance than a comparably sized car. Its design is cute but otherwise unremarkable. The SEL trim comes standard with a sunroof, and for 2026, the new top-end SEL with a two-tone roof trim applies this somewhat dated, yet still popular trend as a styling update. The base model gets 15-inch alloy wheels, while the two SEL versions get 17-inch alloys.
Powertrain
The Venue comes with just one powertrain and is not available with any performance upgrades. It produces 121 horsepower and 113 pound-feet of torque from the 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, which is paired with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and front-wheel drive (FWD). The CVT and engine work well together to make the most of the modest power, but all-wheel drive (AWD) is not available. It’s becoming more common as an option in the subcompact crossover class, so if you need it, you should look elsewhere. Hyundai hasn’t yet confirmed EPA fuel economy ratings for 2026, but don’t expect much deviation from the 2025 ratings of 29 mpg city, 32 mpg highway, and 31 mpg combined.
Interior
The Hyundai Venue officially seats five, though the second row is a better fit for two. The design is basic and hard plastic trim abounds, but the first row is reasonably spacious and comfortable. Cloth upholstery comes standard. Options are minimal and include a combination of synthetic leather and fabric upholstery, heated front seats, a leather-trimmed shifter, and a leather-trimmed steering wheel. There’s a decent 18.7 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row, and a maximum of 31.9 cubic feet with those seats folded down.
Technology
The Venue comes standard with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system that features wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. A quirk of the 2025 Venue is that the top Limited trim, oddly, downgraded from wireless to wired smartphone integration, but the new top SEL version eliminates that issue for 2026. However, you’ll still need to trade up to the SEL to get wireless charging, and that’s the only real upgrade available for infotainment.
