Hyundai Venue for work ... road warrior

S

SwampSurvivor

Joined
Apr 9, 2008
Messages
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Location
Central NY
My work situation is going to be changing and I will be putting some pretty decent mileage for work starting shortly. Truck shopping is no longer on the table.

Nothing I own is reliable or fuel efficient enough to travel for work. Until I buy something, I'm going to be borrowing my fiancé's Sentra. Which is what I would buy if I could but that exact car brand new again.

2-3 year old used cars just don't seem to be a value at all. Plus you run into them starting to rust here in ny. People keep saying 2 or 3 year old Toyota ... but for the price of a 2 or 3 year old Toyota, I can buy a brand new Toyota. Even with that ... new toyotas all have electronic parking brakes (really do not trust them) and are DI which I would like to avoid. Cash deal unless I can get lucky and score 0% financing.

Years ago when I was a road warrior, I bought a base model Focus ... which was the cheapest car I could get new. It had a warranty and mileage reimbursements paid for the car, fuel and insurance.

Venues seem to be the cheapest car available now. I'm only considering base model. They seem to have a lot going for them.
- Port fuel injection ... seems this is a good engine and doesn't self destruct
- Beam rear axle - small car and independent rear suspension is a recipe for new tires every 10,000 miles (see: Ford focus)
- cable actuated parking brake

CVTs don't scare me. I would like to be able to drag the ATV or a load of trash to the dump but ... may not work out with one of these.

Seems like they're a decent little car for what they are.
 
Compare the Venue and Trax. Venue does have some things going for it (“simpler” engine) but IMO the Trax looks better inside and out. Trax is also more spacious. If you’re putting a lot of miles on it comfort should be a priority so take both for a test drive.
 
The venue was the best driving and most comfortable sub compact - by far - when I was test driving cars last year. The engine also has good power and personality. It's a very light vehicle and it is eager to turn and toss. Great forward visibility. Just enjoyable. Sadly they have gotten pricey. Only downside was the large steel roof panel drumming over certain pavement. Test drive it and listen for it.

I decided I needed AWD so I went another direction and into a lease at the local Jeep joint - as I had a Ram work truck trade. One stop dump and run. - Arco
 
It looks like twenty grand or so will buy you a new 2025 Nissan Versa. Yes, they're still available.
Take a look at these two Car&Driver reviews of these two vehicles. The Venue doesn't seem too pleasant for high miles use. OTOH, I know people who used to super-commute in Geo Metros.
The Versa appears to be more comfortable on the highway as well as being more economical to run.
The Venue:
https://www.caranddriver.com/hyundai/venue
The Versa:
https://www.caranddriver.com/nissan/versa
 
I think if I had to spend $20k, I would get the best used Civic, Corolla or Prius that $20k will buy. It can't be that hard to find one that isn't rusted to bits for $20k. I don't think I'd spend $20k to get a 32mpg cute-ute for a road warrior in the days of $5/gallon gas, even if I had to spend that much (still a lot of money).

Not to mention that it seems like an incredibly cheap car. I found an old Prius with fabric seats to be a very comfortable car for lots of hours. Whereas a bottom-dollar Hyundai just doesn't occur to me to be the right pick for that kind of thing.
 
I would do a bit of extended test driving. I do see a lot of Venue's around though. If you don't need a "wagon" $20k must get a pretty decent Civic with the 2.0 FI engine?
Anything can tow 1000lb of trailer and atv/cargo safely, so just get a hitch on whatever you get.
Something like this little Northtrails trailer tucks in out of the wind behind anything, maybe not a smartcar, but it's done many many ton/miles over the years with firewood, sand, and to the dump.
1779132907210.webp
 
Elantra has cvt, port injected engine and 10yr/100k warranty over 40mpg highway.
(no towing though)
the 2020 has a handbrake too on the value edition, I think the 1.6GDI models have the button e-brake.
 
The Venue is a penalty box. Maybe rent one or take a used one for elongated test drive . I returned my rental after half day for something slightly larger Tucson and wow what a difference.

Another cheap choice is Ford Escape and also slightly used Mazda CX-5 where resale is not the best.
 
I love how the Venue looks and was interested in buying one. Multiple reviews noted that it was twitchy and needed quite a bit of attention to drive at highway speeds; a deal breaker for me. Wound up in a Chevrolet Trailblazer (same platform as Trax).

The Trailblazer is a shockingly good highway cruiser. Comfortable and well-mannered, with active noise cancelation keeping it fairly quiet. From comparisons I've read from others, the Trax is better still.

Nissan Versa and Kicks should also be on the shopping list given your criteria. Seat comfort in my Versa Note wasn't all that good, but it was otherwise a competent (if unremarkable) highway car.
 
OTOH, if you're going to be doing a lot of miles maybe it would be better to spend another 10K to get out of the penalty box class?
That would get you a new Camry, a faster, more spacious, quieter better riding car that since it is a hybrid will also deliver better fuel economy.
Once you get to 150K probably trouble free miles on a Camry you can still sell it for a decent buck and buy another.
Maybe take a broader view than just what you can get cheaply that you may end up hating every hour you drive it.
 
zzyzzx said:
Have you seen the prices AND mileage on used Civic, Corolla's, or Prius lately???
Click to expand...
Yes - a 5-7 year old one should be well within budget and still a pretty nice car. I did some quick searching in central NY craigslist and found several good cars I would drive for hours every day and would get 40+ mpg. 4th gen Priuses seem to be the sweet spot -- they are a good combination of being unloved yet extremely reliable and economical.
 
New / nearly new Altima, having rented and driven them long distance i thought it was pretty good. Basically been production for >10 years should have no unknown issues.
 
fdcg27 said:
OTOH, if you're going to be doing a lot of miles maybe it would be better to spend another 10K to get out of the penalty box class?
That would get you a new Camry, a faster, more spacious, quieter better riding car that since it is a hybrid will also deliver better fuel economy.
Once you get to 150K probably trouble free miles on a Camry you can still sell it for a decent buck and buy another.
Maybe take a broader view than just what you can get cheaply that you may end up hating every hour you drive it.
Click to expand...
Yeah a new hybrid Camry would probably be far more enjoyable. Or a model 3 :)
 
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