Compare the2022 Kia NiroVS 2022 Hyundai Venue

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Kia Niro are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Hyundai Venue doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Niro are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Venue doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Kia Niro has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Venue doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Niro has standard Active Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Venue doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Both the Niro and the Venue have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, rearview cameras, available crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Kia Niro is safer than the Hyundai Venue:

	Niro	Venue
	Driver
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	139	335
Neck Injury Risk	27%	32%
Neck Compression	37 lbs.	182 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	74/269 lbs.	769/350 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Kia Niro is safer than the Hyundai Venue:

	Niro	Venue
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	138	154
Chest Movement	.9 inches	1.1 inches
Abdominal Force	196 lbs.	215 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	170	223
Spine Acceleration	77 G’s	82 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	11 inches	12 inches
HIC	214	343
Spine Acceleration	31 G’s	42 G’s
Hip Force	712 lbs.	790 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Niro is 2.2% less likely to roll over than the Venue.

Reliability

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Niro’s reliability 11 points higher than the Venue.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia 6th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 2 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked 8th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia third in reliability, above the industry average. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked 7th.

Engine

The Niro’s 1.6 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 18 more horsepower (139 vs. 121) and 82 lbs.-ft. more torque (195 vs. 113) than the Venue’s 1.6 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Kia Niro is faster than the Hyundai Venue:

	Niro	Venue
Zero to 60 MPH	8.9 sec	9.4 sec
Quarter Mile	16.8 sec	17.2 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	83 MPH	80.7 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Niro gets better mileage than the Venue:

		MPG
Niro
	LX 1.6 4-cyl. Hybrid	53 city/48 hwy
	LXS/EX 1.6 4-cyl. Hybrid	51 city/46 hwy
	Touring 1.6 4-cyl. Hybrid	46 city/40 hwy
Venue
	1.6 DOHC 4-cyl.	29 city/33 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the Niro’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Venue doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stop lights the Niro’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. The Venue doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Kia Niro higher (7 out of 10) than the Hyundai Venue (5). This means the Niro produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Venue every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The Kia Niro has standard four-wheel disc brakes for better stopping power and improved directional control in poor weather. Rear drums are standard on the Venue. Drums can heat up and make stops longer, especially with antilock brakes that work much harder than conventional brakes.

The Niro stops shorter than the Venue:

	Niro	Venue
60 to 0 MPH	122 feet	125 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Niro has larger standard tires than the Venue (205/60R16 vs. 185/65R15). The Niro Touring SE’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Venue (225/45R18 vs. 205/55R17).

The Niro LX/LXS/EX Premium’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Venue’s standard 65 series tires. The Niro Touring SE’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Venue SEL/Denim’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Niro LX/LXS/EX Premium has standard 16-inch wheels. Smaller 15-inch wheels are standard on the Venue. The Niro Touring SE’s 18-inch wheels are larger than the 17-inch wheels on the Venue SEL/Denim.

Suspension and Handling

For superior ride and handling, the Kia Niro has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Hyundai Venue has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

The Niro has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Niro flat and controlled during cornering. The Venue’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Niro’s wheelbase is 7.1 inches longer than on the Venue (106.3 inches vs. 99.2 inches).

The Niro Touring SE handles at .82 G’s, while the Venue Limited pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Niro Touring SE executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.4 seconds quicker than the Venue Limited (27.3 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.7 seconds @ .56 average G’s).

Chassis

The design of the Kia Niro amounts to more than styling. The Niro has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .29 Cd. That is significantly lower than the Venue (.34) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Niro get better fuel mileage.

Passenger Space

The Niro has 9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Venue (100.9 vs. 91.9).

The Niro has .7 inches more front headroom, .4 inches more front legroom, 1.6 inches more front hip room, 2.1 inches more front shoulder room, .5 inches more rear headroom, 3.1 inches more rear legroom, 4.8 inches more rear hip room and 1.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Venue.

Cargo Capacity

The Niro has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Venue with its rear seat up (19.4 vs. 18.7 cubic feet). The Niro has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Venue with its rear seat folded (54.5 vs. 31.9 cubic feet).

The Niro’s cargo area is larger than the Venue’s in almost every dimension:

	Niro	Venue
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	31.8”/64”	25.4”/57”
Max Width	48.2”	47.5”
Min Width	41”	42.5”
Height	36”	28”

Ergonomics

The Niro’s standard front power windows open fully with one touch of the switches and its driver’s window also automatically closes, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Venue’s standard power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully. Only its driver’s window opens automatically.

Consumer Reports rated the Niro’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the Venue’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

When the Niro with available tilt-down mirrors is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Venue’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Niro EX Premium keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Venue doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

On extremely cold winter days, the Niro EX Premium’s standard heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the vehicle heater warms up. The Venue doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

The Niro LXS/LXS SE/Touring SE/EX Premium has a standard center folding armrest for the rear passengers. A center armrest helps make rear passengers more comfortable and it can provide a boundary between children. The Venue doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

The Niro’s standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The Venue doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

Both the Niro and the Venue offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Niro Touring SE/EX Premium has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Venue doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

To keep a safe, consistent following distance, the Niro Touring SE/EX Premium has a standard Advanced Smart Cruise Control, which alters the speed of the vehicle without driver intervention. This allows the driver to use cruise control more safely without constantly having to disengage it when approaching slower traffic. The Venue doesn’t offer an adaptive cruise control.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Kia Niro Touring SE/EX Premium has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Venue doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Kia Niro and the Hyundai Venue, based on reliability, safety and performance.