By all rights, we wouldn’t have faulted Hyundai for giving up on the Veloster. Even after the manufacturer added an optional turbocharged engine partway through the model run, the original Veloster failed to make much of an impact on the enthusiast world. Have you seen many at autocrosses, track days and club races? Exactly.
Another nail that should have sealed the Veloster’s asymmetrical coffin: The market has largely shifted from sporty driver’s cars to trucklike things. Even Ford announced plans to all but abandon the segment.
But for the 2019 model year, Hyundai is giving us an all-new Veloster, the brand’s budget-friendly, fun-to-drive hot hatch. It’s like the Reagan years all over again.
In today’s dollars, that’s about $20,111. What does a new GTI retail for these days? At least $26,415. The Golf R, Volkswagen’s super-duper hot hatch, starts a few bucks south of $40,000.
How much for the Veloster Turbo R-Spec, one that gets the turbocharged engine, six-speed manual transmission and Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires? MSRP is $22,900, and there are no options available—not even a sunroof. That’s $1400 less than the summer tire-equipped Honda Civic Si, which has always come with a glass sunroof.
The standard Veloster receives the company’s non-turbo, 2.0-liter engine. It’s expected to make 147 horsepower, which is fine for 1992. The upmarket choice is Hyundai’s 1.6-liter Gamma engine: 201 horsepower, 195 lb.-ft. of torque, and an over-boost function ups that second figure to 202 lb.-ft. under max acceleration. Those numbers place the Veloster squarely in competition with the Civic Si and Fiesta ST.
That turbo engine comes in three Veloster flavors: R-Spec, Turbo and Turbo Ultimate models. Where the R-Spec is the down-and-dirty, enthusiast-focused model, the other two add niceties like power sunroof, head-up display, leather seating surfaces, navigation system and wireless charging pad.
More big news: The torsion beam suspension found in the original Veloster is no more, replaced by a multi-link setup.
Limited-slip differential? We knew you’d ask, and so did we. Like the Fiesta ST, the Veloster Turbo R-Spec doesn’t get one. The Civic Si does, but again, that car costs a few bucks more.
Instead of a limit-slip, the Veloster gets something called Torque Vectoring Control–call it an e-diff if you’d like. “TVC uses wheel-speed sensors coupled with ESC algorithms to apply precise braking force to the inside front wheel during spirited cornering,” the Hyundai release explains. “This active braking redirects power to the outside-front wheel in the turn, reducing wheelspin for enhanced cornering grip and corner-exit acceleration.”
What else? Like the original Veloster, the new one still features one door on the driver side and two on the other. Business up front and party in the back? Sure, that kinda works for us. Like the Mazda RX-8 and the old Saturn SC2, this one injects some practicality into what is usually a slightly cramped package. You can also say that adds some personality. The rear hatch, of course, returns.
Okay, driving impressions. During the press intro, we got in about 40 miles with the Turbo R-Spec through the hill country in and around Austin, Texas. Sorry, no track or autocross time.
Still, our findings: really, really good seats. They weren’t flat, nor did they feature a ludicrous amount of bolstering. (We’re looking at you, Nismo Juke.) In fact, everything we touched—including the steering wheel, pedals and factory-installed B&M shifter—had a nice heft to it. Heel-toe downshifts are easy, while the steering wheel isn’t too thin or too fat.
Know what you’ll find just aft of that B&M shifter? A real handbrake–like one that operates a cable, not a robot.
The interior itself looks attractive, and it feels good. Despite the price, it’s not a cheap-o economy car interior. It’s nicely trimmed, too. Hyundai could have left everything in raw plastic, and most people probably wouldn’t have noticed. Up by the rear-view mirror there’s a little fold-out pod for your glasses. Even the glovebox is roomy.
In fact, the Veloster recalls another past favorite of the hot-hatch wars: the Honda CRX. Like the CRX, the Veloster’s interior feels larger than its exterior dimensions let on. Put two big people up front, for example, and they’re not knocking shoulders.
Forward visibility is good, but it’s less than good toward the rear. That rear window is small, and the rear headrests do encroach. If we’re not carrying around any passengers, we’d stow those headrests, in fact.
Even with three people in the car–yeah, welcome to the world of media ride-and-drives–performance is what we’d call well within the norms for this class. It’s not a Type R-killer, but it’s a worthy member of today’s 200-horsepower club. The chassis feels capable and stable, two things we like in a car. It didn’t push like a pig, and it didn’t do anything weird. The ride feels firm but not punishing. We see some real potential here.
How much potential? We’re going to assume that, like the original turbocharged Veloster, this one winds up in the SCCA’s H Street autocross class. At 2833 pounds, the Veloster carries around about a hundred pounds more than the Fiesta ST yet sits more than 2 inches shorter.
Could be a close fight. How close? We’re looking at tires for the Veloster right now. While the stock size is 225/45R18, the BFGoodrich G-Force Rival S 1.5 in a 245/40R18 may be the hot tip. It adds seven-tenths to the overall diameter, along with nearly an inch and a half of tread width.
We may have to order a set. Color us very intrigued—just as we were after our first drive with the Subaru BRZ, Mazda MX-5 and Focus RS.
Soon, hopefully, we’ll get some more time with this one.
