wasrecentlycontactedbyan
acquaintancefroma formerworkplaceabout
buyinga car.therequirementswereseemingly
simple,andI quote:‘a petrolautomaticsUV
aroundrs 15lakhwithamplerearspace,fuel
economyabove 18 km/litre,andif sevenseats
comeinthatbudget,nothinglikeit!’sure.that’s
doable.exceptthatthere’snothingthatcombinesallthose
parametersthat’savailablehere.or prettymuchanywhereelse.the
thingis,though,fuelefficiencyisalways aparameterthathas earned
seriousconsideration.yet,theentireworldis gravitatingtothesUV
body stylewhichtakes thebasic needsofefficiencyandthrows
themouta considerablylargewindow.they’retallerandless
aerodynamicthanhatchbacksorsedans,nottomentionheavier—
often much,muchheavier.Allthatmeanslessfuelefficiency,simply
put.evenso,theepidemiccontinuesworldwideanddoesn’tlookto
endanytimesoon.
so,whatwehaveherearecompactversionsofsUVswithouttwo
ofthethree key elementsthatmake definitiveSUVs whattheyare:
noladderframeandnofour-wheel-drivesystem.Groundclearance?
yes,theyhaveenoughofthat.andthey’reallfront-wheeldrive.
whytheymakesensehereis becausethey’reessentiallybigger
hatchbacksthatcandealwithatrociousroadsandabysmalsurface
conditionseveryday;thelikesofwhichwoulddismembera low-
ridingsedanovera periodofdays.
Forthistest,wepickedthenewermembersoftheparty.theFord
ecosportrecentlyunderwenta faceliftandgota loadofnewkit.
theMahindraXUV300,whichis anadaptedssangyongtivoli
fromglobalmarkets,shonebrighterthananyrecentMahindraand
hasgota lotofattentionforalltherightreasons.theother
competitorsareinvariablytheMarutisuzukiVitarabrezzaand,to
someextent,theHondawr-Vandtatanexon.thenewHyundai
Venue,then,surehasitsworkcutout.
regardless of the fact that the future of diesel fuel for the vast
majorityalmostliesinlimbo,it undeniablyis stillthesoupofthe
dayformany cravingthatall-importantfuel-efficiencyfigure.
besides,themoreeffortlessdrivingcharacteristicsit inherently
bringssimplycannotbedenied.thus,we’vesummonedthelot.the
debutantpacksa familiar1.4-litreturbo-dieselenginewith 90 hp
and 220 nm,pairedtoa six-speedmanualgearboxdrivingthefront
wheels.Itsoppositionconsistsoftheblueoval’sformidable1.5-litre
tdci dieselwith 100 hpand 205 nmandtherisingbrand’s
immenselytorqueyanddrivable1.5-litrefour-cylinderturbo-diesel
witha best-in-class 117 hpand 300 nm.theVenueandtheXUV
packsix-speedmanualboxeswhereastheecosport gets one ratio
less; although that doesn’t necessarily make much of a difference
unless you use the highway often.Outside
styling,asalways,issubjective.beautyliesintheeyeofthe
beholder.eitherway,allthreecarsaremodern-lookingcrossovers.
Keepinmindthatwehavethethreehighesttrimshere:theVenue
sX(o), theXUVw8(o), andtheecosporttitaniums.as such,
theypackseveralelementsoutsideandoffera significantlylong
listofequipmentinside.all three,inthesetoptrims,getprojector
headlampsandsomeformofleddaytimelights,roof-rails,and
skid-platesforthatburlyappearance.thebonnetsarehighand
sortofsquaredoffontheXUVandVenue,makingit easiertoget
accustomedtotheproportions.thegroundclearanceishigheston
theecosportat 200 millimetres,followedbytheVenuewith 10
mmless,andtheXUVa further 10 mmlower.thewheelsare
stand-outelements,especiallytheXUVwithitsdiamond-cut
17-incherswrappedin215/55rubber.theecosportgets
blacked-out17swithnarrowerandlower205/50rubber.the
Venuemakesdowith16-inchwheelsand215/50tyres.
the Venue borrows its family styling from the largersanta Fe andI
96Shootout | HyundaiVenuevRivals
carindia August 2019 http://www.carindia.in