Hyundai Venue BS6 to get more features

We’d reported on the Hyundai Venue getting a BS6-compliant 1.5-litre diesel engine way back in August last year. Now, we can confirm the current model’s BS4-compliant 1.4-litre diesel engine will be replaced by a BS6-compliant, 1.5-litre unit next month. Sources say the BS6 Hyundai Venue will also get more features with the update.

The BS6 Venue will be available in the same number of variants (including dual-tone colour options on the higher-spec SX, SX+ and SX(O) trims) as before. The entry-level Venue E and the mid-spec S variants will get an Alternator Management System (AMS) meant to increase battery life. The higher-spec SX will get a tyre pressure monitoring system, while the SX+ (which is automatic only) and SX(O) will get an additional 12-volt power outlet as well.

As we’d reported earlier, the Venue BS6’s 1.5-litre diesel engine – and the 6-speed manual gearbox it comes paired with – is borrowed from the Kia Seltos. However, the Seltos’ mill puts out 115hp and 250Nm of peak torque thanks to a variable geometry turbocharger (VGT). The engine in the Venue will get a fixed geometry turbo, which means that outputs will be lower – expect it to match the 1.4-litre unit’s 90hp and 220Nm of torque.

In this state of tune, the 1.5-litre diesel engine is also expected to power the next-gen Hyundai i20 (the current-gen Elite i20 will continue as a petrol-only model until June when the new premium hatchback arrives), and potentially also on the lower variants of the Hyundai Verna facelift.

Its rivals will continue unchanged – the Mahindra XUV300 already comes with a BS6 petrol unit and will get a BS6 diesel soon, while the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza has become a petrol-only model with the facelift. The Ford EcoSport and Tata Nexon facelift are the only compact SUVs on sale right now with BS6-compliant petrol and diesel engines, though deliveries for the Nexon BS6 diesel will only begin in a few weeks.

An automatic transmission is not expected to be offered with Hyundai’s compact SUV, which will mean that rivals such as the BS6 Tata Nexon, and the soon-to-arrive BS6 XUV300 and Kia Sonet will have an advantage as they will all offer a diesel-automatic option.

It will be interesting to see how the shift to BS6 and addition of equipment will affect Hyundai Venue diesel prices. The current BS4 diesel retails between Rs 7.80-10.89 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).