irish44j said:WD ovciously has its disadvantages in weight, drivetrain loss, and certain performance aspects - most of which are made up for when it gets slippery out, but obviously we don't usually rate "performance cars" based on how they do in the rain and snow :)
Maybe YOU don't 
A lot of power in a front driver can be maddening when it is raining. Or just damp. Good tires can only give you so much.
My opinion, if I wanted a car that I could only take out when the weather was nice, I'd get a vintage car. If I want a NEW car, that thing had better be able to pull its weight (so to speak) no matter what the weather feels like doing that day.
G_Body_Man said:
I've spent some time in a Veloster N and I can confirm that it feels more special more of the time than a Civic Type R. The chassis is playful, the e-LSD in the Performance Package is phenomenal and the pops-and-bangs in N mode are actually functional, as they're audible signals of pulled timing to keep the turbo spooled, sort-of a form of anti-lag. As far as smiles-per-dollar, it has every new car I've experienced this year beat.
That's pretty much all antilag is - open the throttle so more air goes through the engine, retard the timing so the engine isn't trying to run at 4000rpm.
Everyone has their opinion and there are no losers in this group. Can you imagine having to pick a winner out of this lot?
Feedyurhed said:
Everyone has their opinion and there are no losers in this group. Can you imagine having to pick a winner out of this lot?
x2
I think the thing people are missing is that every single car selected already "won" since they are considered some of the best driving vehicles out there.
Dave M
HalfDork
11/7/19 9:29 a.m.
I just think it's great that there's another car this cheap that is this fun. I love the Miata but I'm much more likely to go for another hot hatch. To have another one that is a pretty smoking deal is fantastic.
goingnowherefast said:
Feedyurhed said:
Everyone has their opinion and there are no losers in this group. Can you imagine having to pick a winner out of this lot?
x2
I think the thing people are missing is that every single car selected already "won" since they are considered some of the best driving vehicles out there.
That's an excellent point.
In reply to Knurled. :
You do know the throttle pedal isn't an on/off switch, right?
I've driven high powered FWD cars for most of my driving life, very rarely has an open diff caused an issue and most of those are while racing or similar which would be resolved with the e-diff many newer cars have today.
I thought the N had an actual, mechanical LSD? Not an e-diff?
Not sure what it is about the Corvette - the dimensions, seating position, length, what - but I was much more comfortable caning a Cayman, Ford Focus or Miata on Mines road between San Jose and Livermore. Long sections of that road are one lane for two-way traffic, so it's a tight squeeze, and I never got a good feel for where passenger side of the Corvette ended. For what it's worth, a 986 Cayman and the new Veloster are the same width. Nobody who's driven a Cayman and a Corvette would argue they feel like a similarly sized vehicle from the driver's seat.
The Veloster N has a mechanical LSD that can be electronically controlled. Think of it as an enhanced mechanical LSD.
The R or the Focus ST have a 'simulated' E-diff that uses your brakes.
Stefan said:
In reply to Knurled. :
You do know the throttle pedal isn't an on/off switch, right?
My experience with turbo cars says it IS an on/off switch. Turbos make for a highly nonlinear power delivery as the turbo wakes up and throws air past the throttle plate.
I don't have a boost gauge in my S60, but I did have one in my S40, and it would happily build maximum manifold pressure at quarter throttle. The accelerator pedal mostly determined what gear the transmission would select, not how much power the engine made.
It was "interesting" to drive. I fed it good tires on a regular basis and turned the boost all the way down to 4psi when it was snowy, at which point it made roughly as much power as a Ford Zetec engine. The S60 feels the same way but it has all wheel drive, so I just have to deal with the explosive acceleration. Poor me.
ProDarwin said:
The Veloster N has a mechanical LSD that can be electronically controlled. Think of it as an enhanced mechanical LSD.
The R or the Focus ST have a 'simulated' E-diff that uses your brakes.
"AIR-LOCKER" is how I always thought of it.
In reply to bobzilla :
Does anyone make clutch type diffs for any Hyundai/Kia products.
I found myself intrigued by a 2.4l Forte that I had to drive.
Knurled. said:
In reply to bobzilla :
Does anyone make clutch type diffs for any Hyundai/Kia products.
I found myself intrigued by a 2.4l Forte that I had to drive.
So we all know I loved my big block Forte. But the gear ratios were terrible for actual performance driving. there is a mountainous gap between 2nd and 3rd. I think my ideal combo is the 2.7V6 6-spd ratios and hte 2.4 Theta.
In reply to bobzilla :
For my interests, I only need 2nd.
2800lb with a 170ish horse midrangey engine is almost perfect for front wheel drive rallycross.
In reply to Knurled. :
165whp and tq, with 140ftlbs from 2k-6k with the peak right at 4k.... it's pretty awesome. And 2nd is good for 69mph when tuned with the extra rpms.
FYI, I spent some time with a bunch of journos at the Proving Grounds shoot. The day before they shot our car, they had a Veloster N. Every single one of them loved it, said it was a real riot. They did not say that about some of the other cars there despite what might have shown up on the show. But there was a lot of genuine love for the N in that crowd.
I also saw it do the most spectacular FWD drift over and over around one of the sweepers.
BMW sent an M2 Competition with no spare rubber and no plan for what would happen if journos did too many powerslide dorifto shots. Hyundai sent what looked like three full sets of spare wheels and tires. Let's just say that Hyundai showed a lot more forethought than BMW did.
Keith Tanner said:
FYI, I spent some time with a bunch of journos at the Proving Grounds shoot. The day before they shot our car, they had a Veloster N. Every single one of them loved it, said it was a real riot. They did not say that about some of the other cars there despite what might have shown up on the show. But there was a lot of genuine love for the N in that crowd.
I also saw it do the most spectacular FWD drift over and over around one of the sweepers.
BMW sent an M2 Competition with no spare rubber and no plan for what would happen if journos did too many powerslide dorifto shots. Hyundai sent what looked like three full sets of spare wheels and tires. Let's just say that Hyundai showed a lot more forethought than BMW did.
None of this surprises me. They're putting a LOT of forethought into a LOT of their products more than the competition lately. For that I'm proud to be a HyundaiHumper
Knurled. said:
In reply to bobzilla :
For my interests, I only need 2nd.
2800lb with a 170ish horse midrangey engine is almost perfect for front wheel drive rallycross.
I just sold this car^
Seriously, if thats what you need, a Sentra Spec V will get you there (or more) and it already has a LSD. You'll be spending a lot more time in 3rd though :P
Just traded my ND1 RF on a Veloster N Performance Package. The seating position in the N is much better than the RF for me and it seems like it will be better for my commute comfort wise.
