Compare the2024 Subaru ImprezaVS 2024 Hyundai Venue

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Impreza have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Hyundai Venue doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Impreza 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.

The Subaru Impreza 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 Impreza has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Venue doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The Impreza has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Venue doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

Both the Impreza and the Venue have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The Subaru Impreza weighs 429 to 711 pounds more than the Hyundai Venue. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts. Crosswinds also affect lighter cars more.

The Subaru Impreza achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Venue is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Impreza has a standard 130-amp alternator. The Venue’s 110-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Impreza has a standard 530-amp battery. The Venue’s 410-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru above average in initial quality. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 5 places higher in reliability than Hyundai.

The Impreza’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 31 more horsepower (152 vs. 121) and 32 lbs.-ft. more torque (145 vs. 113) than the Venue’s 1.6 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Impreza RS’ standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 61 more horsepower (182 vs. 121) and 65 lbs.-ft. more torque (178 vs. 113) than the Venue’s 1.6 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Impreza RS 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder is faster than the Hyundai Venue:

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Impreza lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability (That’s why Porsche uses boxer engines.). The Venue doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Impreza’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. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Venue doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Impreza has 4.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the Venue (16.6 vs. 11.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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

For better stopping power the Impreza’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Venue:

The Impreza’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Venue SEL/Limited are solid, not vented.

The Subaru Impreza 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.

For better traction, the Impreza has larger standard tires than the Venue (205/55R16 vs. 185/65R15). The Impreza Sport/RS’ tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Venue (225/40R18 vs. 205/55R17).

The Impreza’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Venue’s standard 65 series tires. The Impreza Sport/RS’ tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Venue SEL/Limited’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Impreza has standard 16-inch wheels. Smaller 15-inch wheels are standard on the Venue. The Impreza Sport/RS’ 18-inch wheels are larger than the 17-inch wheels on the Venue SEL/Limited.

For superior ride and handling, the Subaru Impreza 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 Impreza has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Impreza 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 Impreza’s wheelbase is 5.9 inches longer than on the Venue (105.1 inches vs. 99.2 inches).

The Impreza RS handles at .81 G’s, while the Venue Limited pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Impreza has 8.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Venue (100.5 vs. 91.9).

The Impreza has .4 inches more front headroom, 1.6 inches more front legroom, 3 inches more front hip room, 2.9 inches more front shoulder room, 2.2 inches more rear legroom, 9.7 inches more rear hip room and 1.6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Venue.

The Impreza has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Venue with its rear seat up (20.4 vs. 18.7 cubic feet). The Impreza has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Venue with its rear seat folded (56 vs. 31.9 cubic feet).

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the Impreza easier. The Impreza’s trunk lift-over height is 26 inches, while the Venue’s liftover is 30 inches.

The engine in the Impreza is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Venue. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

The Impreza’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch. The Venue has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

The Impreza’s front power windows open or close fully with one touch of the switches, 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.

The Impreza’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Venue’s standard projector halogen headlights and light instantly. LED lights also last over twenty times longer than halogen.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Impreza’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Venue’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Marginal.”

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Impreza has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Venue doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Impreza’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Venue offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Impreza Sport/RS 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 Impreza’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.

To keep a safe, consistent following distance, the Impreza has a standard Adaptive 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.

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

The Subaru Impreza outsold the Hyundai Venue by 24% during 2023.