And another one bites the dust.
Shame, I always really liked the styling of these. Before I bought my Mk7 GTI I looked really hard for a 3-pedal example but the local Hyundai stealers were beyond unhelpful.
I think this means the Veloster is now the only sporty Hyundai product you can get with a manual transmission, since they axed the manual from the Elantra Sport sedan earlier this year. I like the Veloster, but the uncompromised hatch and rear seats of the Elantra GT were much more my speed.
Figured this was coming after Kia killed the Forte5 with the bodystyle change.
I'm convinced there is no saving the Small car in the US just like there is no saving the Manual.
In the past 6 years I have spoke with My wallet numerous times buying a New Off the Lot, Subaru Outback Manual (DEAD), Elantra GLS Manual (DEAD), Toyota Tacoma Doublecab Manual (Barely Alive), And the Elantra GT Sport Manual (Now Dead). It doesn't make any difference. Manual's are only going to be available on dedicated performance and special interest vehicles and probably only for another generation or so.
Same thing will happen to small cars. And electrification.. what a time to be alive...
This is terrible news. I was just praising Hyundai/Kia on twitter for being what Honda was in the 90s. Apparently that mantra is falling to the wayside.
I wouldn't be surprised if the next generation Honda Civic Si and Type R have options for a DCT. Honda has been the last bastion of offering manual-only in their performance vehicles. The only thing they have on their side is that CTR and Si models don't sit long on lots.
I just sold the 6mt equipped GTI after 10 years of ownership, and am most likely buying a new Civic Si sedan go replace it, if the one I have a deposit on arrives in good condition. Who knows, if the Si turns out to be another 10 year car for me, will there be any mt equipped cars to pick from in 2030?
pointofdeparture said:I like the Veloster, but the uncompromised hatch and rear seats of the Elantra GT were much more my speed.
You are missing the most important part: the extra door. IMO, all of the Veloster efforts should have been tunneled into this car, including the N.
ProDarwin said:pointofdeparture said:I like the Veloster, but the uncompromised hatch and rear seats of the Elantra GT were much more my speed.
You are missing the most important part: the extra door. IMO, all of the Veloster efforts should have been tunneled into this car, including the N.
Fully agree. The Elantra GT was a nice-looking car and I considered it 2 years ago when buying new, but the bottom line was it simply didn't match up with the features of a GTI (a car which is resembles in many ways). The lack of LSD eliminated it from my choices, and I ended up with a GTI. I had no interest in the Veloster.
nocones said:I'm convinced there is no saving the Small car in the US just like there is no saving the Manual.
I do tend to think the GTI may be the outlier. At least in this area there are a TON of them, most of them late-models. I probably see a dozen Mk7s on my daily commute (including a couple Golf R's). In fact, I'd have to say it's one of the more common commuter cars in this area (along with 3-series BMWs and the usual Accord/Camrys). It's not a huge market, and so far nobody has put out a car that can really compete with the GTi and Civic Si for the small-performance-car-with-practicality market. Like the Focus ST, the Elantra GT was a "good" car. The Elantra simply didn't have much that made it a superior choice to the GTI, which is a really good car overall.
As far as the manual transmission thing goes, I suspect the only affordable cars you'll be able to find one on a decade from now is possibly the GTI, Civic, and WRX. I suspect those three will keep a manual available until the cars themselves are killed off by electrics. While M/T sales are a small percentage of overall car sales, it is still a pretty big number in an absolute sense. Once the field is pared down to a few models with M/T, it will proabably be profitable enough for those few models to keep being offered with a manual, since the whole M/T market will basically have to come to them. At least that's what I'm hoping.
In reply to ProDarwin :
Had Hyundai brought the I30N here to the states, id be a current owner. I cant get on board with the 3 door Veloster.
I absolutely loved driving the Veloster N but couldnt get over the door or space issue. Bring the I30N with the performance pack and im sold. Ill be first in line for one.
In reply to nocones :
Me too.
2008 Focus SE Manual- Dead
2011 Ranger 4x4 Manual- Dead
2013 Focus ST - Dead
2014 Fiesta ST- Dead
2020 Genesis G70- Dead after 2021
I guess there just aren't enough of us who actually go out and buy them. I imagine GRM is a unique place in that there are probably a lot of us who have been clamoring for manual transmissions and actually go out and buy them.
This is America, we love new for the sake of new because we're well-trained consumers. Driving is a chore and they are doing their best to insulate the poor driver from the unenviable task of driving when they could be TikToking. Further, manuals aren't compatible with glorious electric power so I'm not expecting many manual options to make it to 2030 as they push us into an electric tether. I'm a pessimistic auto-luddite, though.
It's a bummer to see another reasonably sized car canceled, that's gonna mean even more over-sized trucks and crossovers clogging the roads.
I just bought a 2020 EGT N-Line manual base model in Velocity Blue after cross-shopping the GTI and Veloster N.
It was the best value for the money, and all that I want/need for a long-term daily. It's just a bonus that I prefer the infotainment setup and think it looks better than the GTI.
If I had the ability to work from home, I would've went for the Veloster N though...it's just so much fun to wring out.
I've said this in other threads.
I praised Honda on their "manual transmission day" celebration for all their offerings.
The next day they killed the Fit, the manual accord, and the Civic Coupe.
I proceeded to praise Hyundai/KIA/Genesis for their manual offerings.
They've now killed the G70 manual and the Elantra GT hatch.
These companies want a healthy bottom line and they could care less if they irk a few enthusiast here in there. It doesn't help they give us watered down versions of what they offer in other markets and then wonder why the sales number sucked.
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