Life may become boring after a certain point, and I would never mind if a car creates some drama and makes it a little interesting to deal with. And I guess this is what Hyundai is trying to do by launching the Venue N-Line. They are trying to add drama and excitement to their model portfolio.
With the addition of the N-line badge, they made the regular plain-jane i20 into something more desirable. The Venue is the next recipient of this treatment. What they have done now makes me a little curious, so let’s find out.
Design
The design remains more or less the same as the regular Venue but there are cosmetic changes which differentiate the N-line from the regular Venue. At the front, you now have the bulged-out N Line badge on the front grille, an aggressive front bumper with red accents on the lower section and blacked-out outside rear-view mirrors.
The side profile gets some red treatment on the roof rails, the side skirts and the wheel arches. A very noticeable change is a new set of 16-inch alloy wheels and to complement them, the front callipers are painted red. The rear of the car matches the aggression of its front. There are inserts on the rear bumper and now gets a subtle blacked-out spoiler but the most dramatic change has to be the twin-tip exhaust.
The cabin of the N Line is a good place to be in where you have a black interior with red sporty inserts everywhere. The three-spoke N Line badged Steering wheel with devil horn paddle shifters as I would like to describe it, with the N badged gear knob wrapped in leather feels premium. In comparison to the top-spec SX(O), the N8 trim gets an addition of the dashcam with a dual camera. Besides this, it gets all the regular features like the 8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, connected car tech, ambient lighting, a powered driver’s seat, an integrated air purifier, voice commands, and a digital instrument cluster.
In terms of safety, the Venue N Line is equipped with ESP, hill start assist and brake assist as standard; the N6 trim gets dual airbags, while the N8 trim gets six.
Powertrain
Powering the N Line is the 1.0L 3-cylinder turbo petrol engine producing 120 horses and 172 NM of torque mated to a 7-speed DCT or a 6-speed iMT gearbox. It is the same engine that does duty on the regular i20 turbo, i20 N-line, venue turbo and Verna turbo. I haven’t driven the car yet so can’t talk much about how it does duty on the Venue N-line. But nevertheless, from my past experiences with the engine, it is a very peppy motor once you get into the sweet spot. As far as handling is concerned Hyundai says the suspension has been tweaked for more stiffness and it gets 34 per cent more damping force. We will get back to the part handling once we get our hands on the car.
Verdict
The Venue N-line is priced between Rs 12.16 lakh-13.15 lakh. Where the entry-level N6 costs Rs 1.19 lakhs more than the S(O), and the top-spec N8 costs Rs 58,000 more than the top-end SX(O). What do you think of the N-line Venue? Would you buy one? Let us know in the comments below.
