The Hyundai N-Line Venue: oomphy, raspy, sporty

The first in the range was the i20 N-Line, which has proved very popular, so it’s not surprising that more models are being brought under that umbrella.

The Venue N-Line gets a number of exterior upgrades to distinguish it from the ‘regular’ Venue. The grille has a dark chrome finish and gets an N-Line badge, and the bumper now has a split skid plate. The alloy wheels, although they’re still 16-inches, are of a new design. Red accents (and N logos) abound all over the car – on the brake callipers, fenders, bumpers, roof rails and side skirts.

Head to the back and the standout elements are the two exhaust tips and the black spoiler. The car is now also available in grey, along with dark blue and white, with a combination of dual-tone / mono-tone roofs. The changes aren’t earth-shaking, but they do help the car stand out on the road, which is the whole point.

The cabin gets a slick all-black theme, which I quite like although some buyers may find it monotonous. For some design relief, there are red accents on various components – the A/C vents and controls, the seat piping, the gear lever, and so on.

The 3-spoke steering wheel is new and looks great with paddle shifters, and goes well with the N-branded gear knob. There are no changes to the seats, though they now come with a chequered flag motif on the black faux leather. In all other aspects, the cabin stays the same and is well specced out.

Since the N-Line is essentially a top-end Venue SX(O), there are loads of features – touchscreen infotainment, powered driver's seat height adjustment, connected car tech, electric sunroof, digital instruments, ambient lighting, the aforementioned dash cam, a sliding centre armrest, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror, among others.

You also get six airbags, ISOFIX anchors at the back (to securely attach car seats for children), and disc brakes all around (the last feature should be standard on all cars).

All these features are in the fully-loaded N8 variant; the N6 misses out on things like side and curtain airbags and for that reason alone you should give it a miss, even though it costs a good lakh less than the N8. Safety first – always.

As I mentioned earlier, N-Line cars don’t have any changes under the hood, so the familiar 1-litre, 3-cylinder, turbo-petrol from the regular Venue is at work here too; the power and torque figures remain untouched as well – 118 bhp and 172 Nm, respectively.

This is a lively engine and would go very well with a crisp manual gearbox, which is why Hyundai offers it with… only an automatic transmission. It’s a 7-speed DCT and is an efficient unit, but a manual (or even Hyundai’s clutchless iMT manual) would be so much better. Still, the paddle shifters let you go into the semi-boy-racer mode, and you get Eco, Normal and Sport driving settings.

There’s not much I can say about this engine that hasn’t been repeated ad nauseum. Nevertheless, it’s a very likeable one – very quiet and refined for a 3-cylinder. It lacks a little initial shove, and you need to rev it to 2,000 rpm for the turbocharger to join the party, at which point you smile.

You can flog it to 6,000 rpm and it’ll fly along the road happily as you do. The gearbox is an able ally, and shifts are crisp and timely. How fast does it go? Do you really care? It feels reasonably rapid, which should suffice for most. If off-the-line sprints are your thing, you’ll be disappointed because the gearbox is designed to give the clutch some TLC rather than let it participate in drag races.

Mechanically, there are minor changes in three principal areas – suspension, brakes, and steering. Hyundai has been coy about exactly what has been done to the suspension, but it certainly makes the Venue feel a little sharper and better planted.

In a straight line, there’s a greater feeling of assurance, and around corners there’s most definitely a more precise character to this car, with the slightly heavier steering feel adding a notch of sportiness. The disc brakes further add to that feel.

The ride quality over ruts and bumps has been very slightly compromised, but not enough to be a deal-breaker. Under hard acceleration, the twin exhausts now emit a raspier note, and at lower speeds, there’s a booming character to the sound. Nothing of the level of a proper sportscar, but just about enough to tickle your senses more than the standard Venue does.

For an additional outlay of Rs 58,000 / Rs 1.2 lakh [over the S(O) / SX(O) Venue for the N6 and N8 respectively], the N-Line offers more visual pizzazz, marginally sportier handling, a handful of extra features, and a nicer engine note.

Is the flash worth the extra cash? I have to admit that it is. Leaving the engine untouched and not offering a manual gearbox are demerits against Hyundai’s name, but there’s no doubt that the N-Line offers more street cred – and who doesn’t want that?