Hyundai Venue v Mazda CX-3 v Mitsubishi ASX 2020 Comparison

The small SUV segment gets a lot of attention in Australia, where it was one of just two sales sectors not to decline last year and closed in on small cars, utes and even medium SUVs in terms of popularity.

According to VFACTS there are now 30 competitors in the sub-$40,000 compact SUV segment, which continues to be led by the Mitsubishi ASX, Mazda CX-3 and Hyundai Kona.

The latter was recently joined by the smaller and cheaper Venue in Hyundai’s range, where it replaces the long-running Accent as the Korean brand’s most compact and affordable model – such is the importance of small SUVs to mainstream car-makers these days.

So here we compare three of the newest or most recently revised models in the class: the Hyundai Venue, Mazda CX-3 and Mitsubishi ASX.

All are the entry-grade variant within their respective range, as well as petrol-powered, front-wheel drive and equipped with an automatic (or equivalent) transmission.

Each of the small SUVs tested is closely matched where physical size is concerned and is equipped with a level of driver assistance and safety technology we expect for the price.

The models tested here range in price from $21,990 to $25,990 (plus on-road costs).

The Hyundai Venue Go auto is the least expensive small SUV on test at $21,990 plus ORCs. It asks an additional $495 for metallic paint but is otherwise standard as tested.

Hyundai backs the South Korean-built Venue with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, roadside assistance and capped-price servicing program. Service intervals are 12 months or 15,000km and total $1575 over five years.

At the middle price-point in this comparison is the Mazda CX-3 Neo Sport auto. Priced at $24,710 plus ORCs, the Thai-built CX-3 includes metallic paint in its purchase price, and like the Venue is otherwise standard as tested.

Matching Hyundai, Mazda offers a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty with included roadside assistance and capped-price servicing. Service intervals are shorter (in terms of mileage) at 12 months or 10,000km and scheduled maintenance costs more ($1738 over five years).

Finally, at the higher end of the price spectrum, is the Mitsubishi ASX ES. The Japanese-built ASX is priced from $25,990 (plus ORCs) and asks $740 to $940 for metallic paint depending on the hue.

Warranty provisions extend to five years or 100,000km with 12 months’ roadside assistance. Capped-price servicing applies for only three years with service intervals set at 12 months or 15,000km. Servicing adds up to $725 over the three-year period.

At the time of writing Mitsubishi was offering a seven-year warranty and two years’ free servicing on the ASX range. See Mitsubishi’s public website for details.

All three of these small SUVs are powered by four-cylinder petrol engines and fitted with an automatic transmission (or equivalent) driving the front wheels.

The Hyundai Venue Go features the smallest and least powerful engine on test. Paired to a six-speed automatic, the 1.6-litre unit makes just 90kW/151Nm and the multipoint-injected engine runs on 91 RON regular unleaded fuel, consuming 7.2L/100km on the ADR Combined cycle.

For the Mazda CX-3 Neo Sport there’s a 2.0-litre direct-injected engine that outputs 110kW/195Nm. Like the Venue it is matched to a six-speed automatic transmission and requires 91 RON regular unleaded. The ADR Combined fuel consumption figure is lower at 6.3L/100km.

Just as the recently updated Mitsubishi ASX ES has the highest price tag of the group, it also has the most powerful engine.

The 2.0-litre multipoint-injected engine in the ASX runs on 91 RON unleaded, makes 110kW/197Nm and is married to a continuously variable transmission (or CVT), but it also has the thirstiest ADR Combined figure at 7.6L/100km.

The terrific thing about small, high-riding SUVs like these ones – and indeed the reason behind their popularity – is the breadth of their appeal.

Young or young at heart, single or coupled, with or without children; the small SUV has a seemingly unlimited draw in the type of buyer it engages.

Mostly, this attraction comes down to two critical points: value for money and practicality; and it’s that second point we’ll take a look at now.

Buyers want their small SUV to be compact outside and large on the inside. For the Hyundai Venue Go we find a 4040mm-long body that’s 1770mm wide and 1592mm tall. The turning circle is listed at 10.2m while boot space stretches from 355 litres with the seats in place to 903 litres all told.

For the Mazda CX-3 Neo Sport those measurements are a longer 4275mm, narrower 1765mm and lower 1535mm respectively, with an accordingly larger turning circle of 10.6m.

Despite its longer body the CX-3 has the smallest ‘seats up’ cargo area at 264 litres; but this grows to 1174 litres with the seats folded down.

The Mitsubishi ASX ES is the biggest small SUV on test here. Against the tape the ASX is a lengthy 4365mm long, a broad 1810mm wide and a lofty 1640mm tall.

It also has a larger turning circle, matching the CX-3 at 10.6m. In the boot the ASX offers a best-on-test 393 litres with the seats up and 1193 litres with the seats down.

In terms of cabin space we see the three SUVs on test as comfortable four-seaters with part-time space for a fifth passenger. The rear centre seat is tight in all three of our competitors, but elsewhere there are notable differences in the amount of inner space.

Up front it’s the Hyundai Venue that offers the best accommodation for adults while the Mitsubishi ASX has the largest back seat. We found the ASX slightly easier to get in and out of while outward visibility was clearest from the Venue.

In terms of comfort and ergonomics the decision was a little trickier. Each of the small SUVs is very well thought out in terms of the way it cossets its occupants, but in the end it was the Mitsubishi ASX that felt most comfortable on longer trips.

Another important point is the level of amenity offered inside the cabin. Storage for odds and ends like your keys, phone, wallet or purse are imperative for busy owners running errands – as is the crucial matter of where to place your morning latte or water bottle.

Looking at map pockets, console bins, glove boxes, cup-holders, door pouches and phone trays and it’s obvious the Hyundai Venue takes the lead.

Our trio of small SUVs are all fitted with cloth upholstery, tilt-and-reach adjustable steering columns, air-conditioning, four-wheel disc brakes, electrically-assisted steering, power windows and remote central locking.

All three SUVs feature MacPherson strut suspension up front while the Hyundai Venue and Mazda CX-3 ride on a torsion beam rear-end. Only the Mitsubishi ASX includes a more sophisticated multi-link rear suspension arrangement in this company.

The Hyundai Venue Go and the Mazda CX-3 Neo Sport ride on steel wheels (15- and 16-inch diameter respectively) where the Mitsubishi ASX ES is the only one of the three to score 18-inch alloy wheels.

Hyundai and Mitsubishi offer a four-speaker stereo where the Mazda is fitted with six-speaker sound. The Hyundai Venue includes a large 8.0-inch colour touch-screen backed with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and includes a reversing camera and Bluetooth telephony.

Mazda’s CX-3 is yet to receive Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (it’s on the cards for a late-2020 update) and displays its reversing camera through a smaller 7.0-inch MZD Connect dash-top system. Bluetooth telephony, push-button start and acoustic reversing sensors are also standard in the Mazda CX-3 Neo Sport.

The ASX matches the Venue with an 8.0-inch touch-screen array equipped with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity and a reversing camera, plus digital radio. It’s also the only model on test to score single-zone climate control and a self-dimming mirror.

At this price point there is a large discrepancy in the level of safety equipment offered as standard. Importantly, all three small SUVs gathered here feature three-point seatbelts for all five seats and include top-tether and ISOFIX child-seat anchor points.

However, it’s the Hyundai Venue Go that is the best equipped when it comes to standard safety features, with Mitsubishi asking a $2500 premium for many of the safety technologies fitted as standard in the Hyundai.

The cheaper Hyundai Venue Go comes with safety items including autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane keep assist, driver attention alert, auto high-beam, tyre pressure monitoring, dusk-sensing headlights and six airbags.

The Venue scored a four-star ANCAP safety rating when tested late last year, but we should point out that it is the first model to undertake Safety Assist performance testing in Australia.

On face value, the result – partly due to its AEB system’s lack of cyclist detection – might seem to place the Venue at a disadvantage to the five-star rated ASX and CX-3, but as we’ll point out in a moment, these vehicles were tested over five years ago.

The Mitsubishi ASX ES is a bit of a mixed bag where safety is concerned. Like all the models tested it features low-speed AEB as standard, alongside cruise control and hill-start assist, and is the only SUV here to feature a driver’s knee airbag.

But Mitsubishi does ask a $2500 premium to include lane departure warning, lane change assist, blind-spot monitoring, reversing sensors, rear cross-traffic alert, auto high-beam, rain-sensing wipers and dusk-sensing headlights.

You’ll need to move to a higher grade variant to find any of these driver assistance and safety features on the Mazda CX-3.

The Mazda CX-3 and Mitsubishi ASX scored five stars when tested by ANCAP in 2015 and 2014 respectively. However, this result is age critical and may not necessarily be reapplied if the test were conducted today. Click here to find out more about this important process.

With small SUVs it’s that ‘city focus’ most buyers prioritise. The cut and thrust of inner-urban traffic quickly emphasises dynamic shortfalls: a responsive engine and nimble handling paramount in conquering the concrete jungle.

Driving the Hyundai Venue, Mazda CX-3 and Mitsubishi ASX back to back over an identical urban loop showed there were as many similarities as there were differences from behind the wheel.

Despite the aforementioned differences in power output we found real-world performance comparable, but the smaller 1.6-litre engine of the Hyundai Venue was particularly zippy in city traffic.

Hyundai’s localised suspension tune gives the Venue agile manoeuvrability that doesn’t compromise ride quality or driver feedback. It’s a blend that suits the proportions of the Venue beautifully, and makes parking an absolute cinch too.

Having said that, there is no discounting the effortless and accessible torque on offer in the CX-3 and ASX. Hill climbing and freeway passing is fuss-free and the six-speed automatic in the Mazda is a more co-operative and quieter pairing than the Mitsubishi’s CVT.

There’s no hiding the fact the ASX is the biggest SUV on test, and you feel that behind the wheel. The ASX is dull dynamically and although the numbers suggest it’s the most powerful SUV on test, it doesn’t feel as brisk as the CX-3.

The Mazda might feel a little dated in some respects, but on the road it’s the more agile and responsive of the three. Around town it’s quicker off the mark, while on the open road it has the best transmission of the three, making undulations and overtaking a doddle.

As we’ve mentioned earlier, the Venue feels more energetic than its figures suggest, but you do have to work the engine harder for your reward. It’s a little coarse at higher revs too, and it’s here that the Venue loses out to the more refined CX-3.

There were fuel economy variances too, obviously. Over a week at the wheel it was the Mazda CX-3 that shone brightest, sipping 8.2L/100km over the Hyundai Venue’s 8.9 and the Mitsubishi ASX’s 10.6. Given the price of petrol lately it’s the CX-3 we’d recommend to frugal drivers.

Running costs, practicality, driveability, safety and technology – they’re all important to the small SUV buyer – and they’re all particularly well covered in the three models on test.

But on balance, and in sorting through the finer details of the Hyundai Venue, Mazda CX-3 and Mitsubishi ASX, there was one model that stood tall.

It was a tough call. All three small SUVs on test have a lot to offer and suit the needs of different buyers in their own way. But in meeting the expectations of the majority of modern small SUV buyers, it was the Hyundai Venue that we feel places potential owners in the box seat.

Simply, the Venue offers the best value for money of this trio and also delivers the most liveable interior and feels the most secure dynamically.

Yes, the four-star ANCAP rating is a blight on its otherwise exceptional score card. But as we mentioned earlier, but we doubt the CX-3 or ASX would achieve a five-star rating if tested against ANCAP’s more stringent 2018 protocols.

The Hyundai Venue is a pleasure to live with and offers a combination of road manners and confidence lacking in the other two. If there’s a new model that’s likely to continue Australia’s love affair with small SUVs in 2020, the Hyundai Venue is it.