Hyundai Veloster Turbo review

Wretched · 11-07-2012, 02:05 PM

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Hyundai Veloster Turbo: The Jalopnik Review

Hyundai can be thought of as a group of willful amnesiacs who happen to build cars. Outside of old fellows in Argentina with oddly Teutonic accents, I can't think of a group of people less willing to talk about their past. We all know Hyundai wasn't always a name associated with not-being-a-miserable-piece-of-crap, but they've clearly moved far beyond the days of the Excel/Pony and only want to look ahead.

The result of this is a car company completely unfettered by heritage or tradition, and that gives them the freedom to try some things other companies balk at. The Veloster Turbo is a great example of this.

(Full Disclosure: Hyundai wanted me to drive the Veloster Turbo so much, you guys, that they flew me out to this rich-old-golf-guy resort in San Diego, full of trees and wood and buffet tables brimming with food, including meats from every major phylum. I may have eaten fried planaria. Also, they gave us pens with an iPad/iPhone stylus at the top end. Neat, huh?)

Hyundai's big idea is to have their halo car at the bottom, not the top of the line. I personally adore this idea, as it gives a much bigger range of people the chance to own a marque's most personal and creative effort. You have to admit, the usual halo car concept is kind of a tease— you go in the Ford dealer to gawk at the GT, and come home in a Taurus? That's a letdown. I'd like to see more manufacturers take Hyundai's approach.

The Veloster Turbo generally feels like a real halo car— it's built on a bespoke platform, sharing many major components with other cars in the line, but the chassis itself is unique to the Veloster (well, and the Veloster Turbo). What's also interesting about the fundamental Veloster design is that, according to the product guys I spoke with, it's designed to compete with used cars more than anything else. The goal was to build something that a potential buyer simply could not find an analogue of in a new or used car lot, and I think they've largely done that.

The overall design does actually feel different than most of what's out there now. Not quite as different as Hyundai would like to think, but assuredly not boring. The three-door (plus a hatch), asymmetrical body style manages to be practical and fun at the same time, no mean feat. Hyundai is taking some style chances with this car, and though I think they could go even further, it's a welcome addition to the increasingly indistinguishable mass of cars on the roads today.

I got to drive the Veloster Turbo through normal city traffic, on wide-open toll roads, and, best of all, through a terrific route of twisty, hilly roads by the US/Mexico border. At one of the border patrol checkpoints I accidentally laid a bit of rubber on the way out, so I apologize if I impaired any international relations with my sloppy display of dipshittery. After the road course, we were able to take the Turbo through two autocross courses, one conventional, one technical.

Turbocharging the base Veloster was the right move for Hyundai. It's sort of like making foie gras, except instead of forcing food down a goose's throat and getting gross liver paté, they're forcing air down the throat of their 1.6 L four and getting an impressive 59% more power, 201 HP, with 195 lb-ft of twist. The fact they decided to make a Turbo variant is a little surprising, since I was told their target demographic "doesn't care about horsepower." Well, screw those tweet-addled safety kids — the extra power makes a huge difference.......

The rest of the review is covered in the article.

Yellow_Festiva · 11-07-2012, 02:30 PM

63 / 100? Hmmm

Thought that was a little harsh till I saw that they gave the Focus ST only 69. Suby BRZ got 76/100.

chevypower · 11-07-2012, 03:54 PM

I believe that engine will be added to the options list for the Elantra.

xisled · 11-07-2012, 04:47 PM

First time I seen one of these I was like WTF is that. It is so ugly.

Reminds me of a crossfire.

**DJM83** · 11-07-2012, 05:53 PM

Awaits all the haters from the old Veloster thread....

Well done Hyundai on turning an already decent car into something better again.

calais · 11-07-2012, 06:14 PM

^ no doubt the haters from the Toyota 86 thread will make an appearance too.

stevz · 11-07-2012, 06:20 PM

What a horrendously awful looking abomination of a car. If this is considered "style" then I feel very sorry for society.

JC · 11-07-2012, 06:20 PM

So is the turbo model called the Veloster-raptor? I've seen a few of the NA ones around, and they look great - a bit small but nice looking all the same.

Franco Cozzo · 11-07-2012, 06:21 PM

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Originally Posted by calais

^ no doubt the haters from the Toyota 86 thread will make an appearance too.

And the rest of the "wrong wheel drive" brigade.

Interested in this car, seen a bright green one in the flesh, quite nice cars, not the turbo variant though.

**DJM83** · 11-07-2012, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevz

What a horrendously awful looking abomination of a car. If this is considered "style" then I feel very sorry for society.

Well i owned an AU so i must have pretty bad taste, must also make my XR5 ugly aswell

Seriously though i do like the look of it, i like to own something that is a little different hence the AU and XR5 and this car fits that bill to only thing i dont like is it may be a little under powered. Guess a drive will answer that question.

stevz · 11-07-2012, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJM83

Well i owned an AU so i must have pretty bad taste, must also make my XR5 ugly aswell

Seriously though i do like the look of it, i like to own something that is a little different hence the AU and XR5 and this car fits that bill to only thing i dont like is it may be a little under powered. Guess a drive will answer that question.

Well if thats what floats your boat then good for you, but I'd rather have acid poured into my eyes than to have to look at one of those every day.

**DJM83** · 11-07-2012, 06:42 PM

Yeah each to their own, i can respect your opinion

Linkachu · 12-07-2012, 11:16 AM

Mate owns one, they are a nice car but it takes a little to get used to the out there looks of them. For what you pay you get a decent package though.

Quicksand · 12-07-2012, 11:32 AM

Not a bad looking car, and seems to have a bit of poke. It will take out some early B-Series XR6's and XR8's in a straight line and probably on the twisties based on those unofficial numbers. Not that that is really comparing apples with apples but still.

Good attempt by Hyundai; i like where they are taking this company.

BaraFGXR6 · 12-07-2012, 01:39 PM

i kinda like it.

mrs is in love with the thing tho..

Vesper Martini · 12-07-2012, 05:14 PM

Its a good looking little car, by a company thats doing things right.
comments to rather have acid in your the eyes?? You best stay at home because theres a lot of Hyundai's on the road and this one will add to them.

mcnews · 12-07-2012, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xisled

First time I seen one of these I was like WTF is that. It is so ugly.
Reminds me of a crossfire.

I saw one in yellow when I was filling at a servo the other week and asked the bloke what it was, I thought it was a brilliant looking car in the flesh.