Subcompact sedans and hatchbacks have fallen out of favor, but that doesn’t mean value-conscious brands like Hyundai and Chevrolet have stopped making affordable cars. The Hyundai Venue and Chevrolet Trax have the lowest starting prices in their respective brands’ SUV lineups, and they both offer a lot of bang for the buck.
The 2024 Hyundai Venue and Chevrolet Trax offer buyers an abundance of style, technology, and fuel economy. They do it while providing plenty of interior space in the cabin and good driving manners.
Let’s check out these two subcompact SUVs.
2024 Hyundai Venue
The Hyundai Venue stands out with a boxy exterior and unique paint colors drawing attention. Colors like Denim or Green Apple and a two-tone scheme with a bright white roof help the small SUV project a fun vibe while carrying up to five passengers.
Powered by a 121-horsepower 4-cylinder engine, the Venue provides good fuel economy, although it is not all-wheel drive (AWD). The SUV offers plenty of technology, including a proximity key and a new second-row dual USB charging port for 2024. Pricing begins at $21,275, including the destination fee.
Hyundai Venue Highlights
Budget-friendly: The Hyundai Venue is our reigning champ for the Lowest 5-Year Cost to Own Award for a subcompact SUV, based on factors like purchase price, depreciation, insurance, maintenance costs, and fuel costs.
Top warranty: Hyundai vehicles are covered by an industry-leading 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty and a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. That’s much better coverage than what you get with the Chevy Trax.
SmartSense: An impressive list of standard driver assistance features includes automatic emergency braking, driver attention warning, lane-keeping assist, rear occupant alert, and automatic high beams. Additional features include blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and cyclist detection.
Check this week’s Fair Purchase Price or see the Venue models near you.
2024 Chevrolet Trax
Chevrolet hit a home run with the latest version of its Trax subcompact SUV. With exterior styling inspired by the Blazer, the Trax catches the eye quickly. Like the Hyundai Venue, it’s incredibly inexpensive, but it comes in five trim levels — LS, 1RS, LT, Activ, and 2RS — with prices starting at just $21,495, including a destination charge.
For that money and a wheelbase that is six inches longer than its predecessor, you get a spacious cabin, including best-in-class rear-seat legroom. Standard equipment includes automatic emergency braking, front pedestrian braking, lane-keep assist with lane departure warning, and more safety tech.
The Trax’s power comes from a 137-hp turbocharged 1.2-liter 3-cylinder, which is quite a bit stronger than the engine in the Hyundai Venue.
Chevrolet Trax Highlights
Chevy Safety Assist: Standard on the Trax, it bundles driver assistance features like automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keep assist with lane-departure warning, a following distance indicator, forward collision alert, and automatic high beams.
Lots of space: The Trax boasts best-in-class rear-seat legroom and plenty of headroom. With 25.6 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, it is ranked among the roomiest in its class.
Bigger screens: Chevy boosted the size of the standard touchscreen in the LS and 1RS to an 8-inch display, while the upper trims feature an 11-inch screen.
Check this week’s Fair Purchase Price or see the Trax models near you.
Similarities
The Hyundai Venue and Chevrolet Trax feature attention-getting exterior styling, an abundance of new technology, and plenty of room inside a subcompact shell. They also both come exclusively with front-wheel drive.
Conclusion
These two give “entry-level transportation” a good name. Each represents a chance to get a good vehicle with ample convenience and safety technology and a surprising spark from the accelerator. Their starting prices and EPA-estimated fuel economy ratings are almost identical, and we love the warranty coverage of the Hyundai Venue. However, we prefer the roomier, faster, and more high-tech Chevy Trax overall.
| 2024 Hyundai Venue | 2024 Chevrolet Trax | |
| Starting Price | $21,275 | $21,495 |
| Popular Powertrains | ||
| Engine | 1.6-liter 4-cylinder | 1.2-liter turbo 3-cylinder |
| Horsepower | 121 hp @ 6,300 rpm | 137 hp @ 5,000 rpm |
| Torque | 113 lb-ft @ 4,500 rpm | 162 lb-ft @ 2,500 rpm |
| Transmission | CVT | 6-speed automatic |
| Fuel Economy | 29 city/33 highway/31 combined mpg | 28 city/32 highway/30 combined mpg |
| Specs | ||
| Basic Warranty | 5 years/60,000 miles | 3 years/36,000 miles |
| Powertrain Warranty | 10 years/100,000 miles | 5 years/60,000 miles |
| NHTSA Overall Safety | 4 stars | N/R |
| Max Seating Capacity | 5 | 5 |
| Wheelbase | 99.2 inches | 106.0 inches |
| Overall Length | 159.1 inches | 178.6 inches |
| Width | 69.7 inches | 71.7 inches |
| Height | 61.6 inches | 61.4 inches |
| Turning Diameter | 33.2 feet | 37.4 feet |
| Headroom, Front | 39.4 inches | 39.6 inches |
| Headroom, Rear | 38.6 inches | 38.1 inches |
| Legroom, Front | 41.3 inches | 41.9 inches |
| Legroom, Rear | 34.3 inches | 38.7 inches |
| Shoulder Room, Front | 53.9 inches | 55.7 inches |
| Shoulder Room, Rear | 53.7 inches | 54.3 inches |
| Cargo Volume | 18.7 cubic feet | 25.6 cubic feet |
