Lexus RX vs Hyundai Venue

The 2024 Lexus RX, following its recent redesign, presented a polarizing exterior with its oversized trapezoidal grille and large air inlets, which seemed awkwardly integrated into the bodywork. This design choice was particularly jarring in lighter colors, and the hood's prominent bump added to the bulky appearance. The side profile continued this theme with bulging body panels and a swooping chrome accent strip that suggested a floating-roof design, though it appeared somewhat out of place. The rear end, however, offered a more cohesive look with a tidy design connecting the taillights with a single light strip. Inside, the RX's interior was more conventional and inviting, especially in the top Luxury trim, which featured faux suede inserts and a large 14-inch infotainment touchscreen. Despite some mismatched materials, the cabin was well-appointed with premium leather and sturdy construction.

In contrast, the 2024 Hyundai Venue, available in SE, SEL, and Limited trims, offered a more mature and subdued appearance, especially in the Ecotronic Gray paint of the Limited trim. Despite its affordability, the Venue's design was appealing and stylish, with unexpected touches like seat stripes and white trim around the dashboard air vents. The interior, while featuring hard plastics, did not look cheap, and the digital instrumentation and 8-inch touchscreen infotainment display were well-executed. The Venue's controls exhibited typical Hyundai quality, and the overall design was thoughtfully detailed, making it a high-quality small SUV.

The 2024 Lexus RX offered a range of powertrains, starting with the base RX 350, which featured a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine producing 275 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. This engine was paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission and available in both FWD and AWD configurations. The RX 350h hybrid version delivered 246 hp and 233 lb-ft of torque through a CVT with standard AWD. The RX 500h F Sport Performance combined a turbo 2.4-liter inline-four with a hybrid powertrain, generating 366 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque, paired with a six-speed automatic transmission and AWD. The new RX 450h+ plug-in hybrid offered 304 hp and an electric-only range of up to 37 miles, with a full charge taking 2.5 hours on a Level 2 charger. While the RX 350 and RX 350h felt underpowered, the RX 450h+ was more responsive, reaching 60 mph in 6.2 seconds. The RX prioritized comfort over sporty driving, with a soft suspension that smoothed out road imperfections but resulted in noticeable body roll during cornering.

The 2024 Hyundai Venue was equipped with a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine producing 121 horsepower and 113 pound-feet of torque. Despite its modest power, the Venue's lightweight design and CVT allowed it to navigate city and suburban environments with ease. The Venue's small size, nimble handling, and excellent visibility made it ideal for urban driving. However, its suspension struggled on rough pavement, resulting in a busy ride quality. On the highway, the Venue could maintain pace with traffic, but the engine and CVT became noisy under hard acceleration. The Venue lacked AWD, but its 6.7 inches of ground clearance allowed it to handle snowy conditions with winter tires. The Venue achieved an EPA rating of 31 mpg in combined driving, though real-world testing yielded slightly lower results.

The 2024 Lexus RX offered spacious front seats with ample power adjustments, standard heating, and available ventilation. While a massage function was absent, the seats remained comfortable for long trips. The interior featured a rubberized wireless charging pad, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and well-designed storage solutions. The rear seats provided adequate space for average-sized adults, with good legroom and visibility. The RX's cargo space was 29.6 cubic feet behind the rear seats, expanding to 46.2 cubic feet with the seats folded. The load floor was slightly taller than competitors, but a power liftgate and hands-free operation were available.

The 2024 Hyundai Venue's increased ground clearance made entry and exit easy, and the interior offered decent comfort despite its small size. The driver's seat had manual height adjustment, and the steering wheel offered tilt-and-telescopic adjustment. The rear seat was better suited for two passengers, with limited storage and no air conditioning vents. The Venue's cargo space was 18.7 cubic feet with the rear seats up, expanding to 31.9 cubic feet with the seats folded. The Venue provided practical storage solutions, including a dashboard shelf for the front passenger.

The 2024 Lexus RX featured a new infotainment system with a touchscreen measuring 9.8 inches in lower trims and 14 inches in higher trims. The system offered logical menus, sharp graphics, and quick responses, along with natural speech commands. The steering wheel housed multi-function pads for easy control of phone, music, and cruise settings. The RX included a cloud-based navigation system, Wi-Fi hotspot, and smartphone app, though connectivity issues and subscription requirements made Apple CarPlay and Android Auto more appealing. The available 21-speaker Mark Levinson surround sound system provided excellent audio quality.

The 2024 Hyundai Venue's 8-inch touchscreen infotainment display featured modern graphics and simple operation. Standard features included Bluetooth connectivity, wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless Android Auto, and a six-speaker sound system. The Limited trim added navigation, SiriusXM satellite radio, a wireless smartphone charger, and Bluelink+ connected services. However, the Limited trim required wired connections for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, reducing the wireless charger's usefulness. Despite this, the Venue's infotainment system was sophisticated, with impressive voice recognition and seamless music streaming.

The 2024 Lexus RX earned five stars in overall and side collision protection from the NHTSA, with four stars in frontal and rollover tests. The IIHS awarded it a Top Safety Pick, despite a "Poor" rating in the moderate frontal overlap test. The RX came standard with the Lexus Safety System+ 3.0, including adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, and more. Some features were overly sensitive, but they could be adjusted or disabled.

The 2024 Hyundai Venue included Hyundai SmartSense, offering forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, and more. The SEL trim added blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, while the Limited trim included cyclist detection. The Venue lacked adaptive cruise control and lane-centering assist. The IIHS rated the Venue "Good" in three crash tests, with an "Acceptable" rating for the Limited trim's headlights. The NHTSA gave the Venue an overall rating of four stars.