2020 Hyundai Venue Test Results; Buying a Car During the Coronavirus Pandemic | Talking Cars #252

We finished testing on the 2020 Hyundai Venue and discuss our test results, and which car category this compact people mover slots into. We talk about how the car purchasing experience has changed during these strange times, and share some of the options that we've encountered buying a car while social distancing. We also answer audience questions about the accuracy of the EPA estimated fuel economy numbers, why some electric vehicles have an additional 12 volt car battery, and whether or not tires are government regulated.

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SHOW NOTES
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00:56 - Car Buying Options During the Coronavirus Pandemic
16:16 - 2020 Hyundai Venue Test Results
23:03 - Question #1: Why are my fuel economy numbers different from the EPA’s estimated numbers?
27:19 - Question #2: Why some electric vehicles have an additional 12-volt car battery?
30:43 - Question #3: Are all tires regulated by the government?
35:20 - Question #4: Why is the inventory on the Kia Telluride low and the price higher than the MSRP?

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First Drive: Small, Affordable 2020 Hyundai Venue SUV

Coronavirus Is Pushing Car Dealerships Into Online Sales and Home Delivery

How to Buy a Car From Home and Spend Less Time at the Dealership

Some Automakers Are Offering Car Lease Extensions Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Coronavirus Resource Hub

2019 New York Auto Show: 2020 Hyundai Venue

2020 Kia Telluride Quick Drive

2019 New York Auto Show: 2020 Toyota Highlander

2018 LA Auto Show: 2020 Hyundai Palisade

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[dannyferguson]

"Maybe you don't need a car" This kind of honesty is why I love CR.

[ronniejaye]

Thank God in Canada it's against the law to sell above MSRP .

[cdkx]

On the Telluride, I look every now and again, and particularly the higher trims are always over MSRP. I know they are saying to wait, but it's worth noting it's coming up on a year now and it's been like this since day one. Also, with the covid stuff, seems like every manufacturer panicked and suddenly had 72 or 84 month 0% financing, and kia is included in that group... but not for the telluride. So it's the double whammy of them charging over MSRP and financing at a significantly higher APR. While I think it's the best vehicle in the segment, the famed 'value proposition' is overstated in the current environment. (which has kind of annoyed me on every car comparison video, they always pick telluride or palisade because 'bang for your buck' but the comparison is always based on MSRP.)

[stevewausa]

Re: Batteries, In the original Ford Escape Hybrid, there was a button under the dash you could press if you managed to totally drain the big traction battery, it would actually warm up and slightly charge the big battery from the 12v battery, since the big battery was responsible for stating the gas engine. According to the manual, you could try this button twice before you'd kill the 12v battery.

[Yormsane]

The Venue is a terrific little hatchback, the perfect replacement for my 2007 Honda Fit. Haggle hard on an SE base model, get it for ~$16k out the door. Winner!

[g-mang-man]

Love the waving cat Jake! I have been a viewer since the beginning, and absolutely enjoy the podcast. Thank you for putting on the show. We miss seeing Tom, hope he is doing well.
As a shop manager and technician, these are definitely different times. We are seeing delayed repairs and maintenance. Thanks for saying that folks should try and keep their cars a little longer.
I get the question a lot about repairs versus replacement of the vehicle. On the repair side, we usually say 5 average car payments. If the repair is $3, 000 or less, we usually recommend repairing the vehicle. It depends on the vehicle's predicted reliability (yes we use Consumer Reports research!) and history of vehicle.
Since I am a Technician, our personal fleet is an 01 Camry LE, 03 Lexus RX300, a 2011 Tacoma Double Cab 4X4, and a 16 Kia Soul. I also have a Honda Shadow Aero 1100 too. Thanks again for the podcast!

[jethrojackson]

One thing to remember when extending your lease, at least here in California, your vehicle registration is due for the entire year whether you extend for one day or one year. Something to keep in mind when extending your typical 24 or 36 month lease.

[lcarliner]

A few years ago the Firestone Company store was offering Kumho brand tires. It did not last the warranty miles, and the dealer replaced the with Firestone or Bridgestone brand tires. The company had discontinued offering that brand in its product line.

[rockford]

A year more of quarantine? I don’t think that will happen. I think the car deals are fantastic and people who need or want a car should buy or lease one. You guys will survive and continue to review cars ASAP.

[canadianpsychologist]

Love your show, gentlemen. Keep up the great work and stay safe.

[keithmiles]

I'm a Mercedes and BMW owner. Saw one of these on the road and it sparked my interest. All the reviews are so positive for its price point. Is the Venue the "New Beetle"?

[nsbioy]

Stability control and ABS are not necessary for a 2K car.

[jameswitte]

Jake, who’s that waving in the background?

[kdsewell]

Thanks for always giving us great content! And, is that 80s wood paneling? LOL! Love CR.

[davidm]

Buying a car is an emotional act.
No one's going to say, "Well, I was going to buy a Giulia, but since I'm working from home, I'll get a Yaris."

[facitenonvictimarum]

Should be a lot of low cost used cars out there now. Just be sure to spray all surfaces with disinfectant if they were last used on the way to the ER.

[stephenhendricks]

As far as the Telluride is concerned, several points. First, as noted in the video, a vehicle's MSRP is a SUGGESTED retail price. With the exception of Tesla no automotive manufacturer sells vehicles to consumers; their customers are dealers. Once a car is sold to a dealer the manufacturer has no control over the price the dealer charges. Manufacturers don't like price gouging. It hurts a brand's image but they are literally powerless to prevent it as a result of state and federal laws.

Second, the good news is that not all KIA dealers apply "market adjustment" stickers on their vehicles. My local KIA dealer in the Seattle/Tacoma metro area makes it a policy not to charge over MSRP on any vehicle including the Telluride. The dealer believes (correctly, I believe) that in the long run the practice of charging over MSRP undermines customer loyalty and hurts the dealer. The bad news is that for especially popular short supply vehicles like the Telluride refusing to charge more than MSRP results in longer waiting lines for customers. My local dealer has had a waiting list for top trim (SX-PP) Tellurides of at least five months since the day it was introduced in the spring of 2019. That waiting list has never shrunk; it has grown.

Third, KIA and their dealers initially severely underestimated the potential demand for the Telluride, especially the top trim models. KIA initially planned to produce 41, 000 Tellurides in its first calendar year. It was an optimistic estimate but it didn't come close to meeting demand. As that occurred KIA attempted to ramp up production but there's no magic wand that enables production to be radically increased in short order, especially when many components come from smaller third party vendors who don't have the flexibility to suddenly increase their production. At one point, for example, production of the top trim SX Tellurides literally stopped for weeks because the supplier of the second row captain chairs couldn't keep up with orders. All of this was before the COVID-19 crisis added additional bottlenecks. Despite these issues, KIA dealers sold almost 60, 000 Tellurides in the first 10 months after its introduction in early 2019. Over the first calendar year that's more than a 50% increase over what KIA planned for and set assembly lines to produce.

Fourth, much of the supply problem was the fault of dealers, themselves. Before production began KIA consulted with dealers about the mix of trim levels to be offered and the dealers' plans for orders. Never having experienced the demand for KIA's with MSRP's approaching $50, 000 the dealers ordered far too many lower trim vehicles and far too few top trim vehicles. KIA ordered components for and produced what its customers (dealers) asked for, at least at first. As it turned out that was a severe miscalculation. The top trim SX/PP models were in especially shot supply from day one.

By the way, I don't work for KIA or a KIA dealer. Never have. All of the information above is from publicly available sources. I sympathize with those shopping for a Telluride. It can be a frustrating experience that depends on a willingness to extend the geographic range in which a consumer is willing to shop, the price one is willing to pay, and simple luck. But the law of supply and demand ultimately trumps other factors.

[gene]

Jake was offered $1500 for Trade in ??? In Other words they were taking your car and giving you Nothing. That New Hyundai Venue is a cheap car for people who are use to $35K PLus cars. Someone that is use to driving a $2000 car and looks at this new Venue at $20K this is a great Car.

[sergest-pierre]

Your answer on why there is still a 12 battery in hybrid or electric car is pretty bad. Every manufacturer has different design but the main raison is that you can use of the shelf accessories like wiper motor, radio, ventilators... you recharge the 12v using a DC to DC converter (400 to 12V). Cars that don't have a 12V Battery have a more powerful DC -DC converter. You should consider hiring or train someone who understand electrified car. You have specialist for everything else.

[jrs]

for same price range as the venue, the 2020 sentra has better engine, independent rear suspension, and far less hard plastic interior with much better seats.