This weeks review is the 2019 Hyundai Veloster Turbo with the performance package the approximate MSRP is $35,799.53 CAD this includes sales taxes delivery and destination fees. Our car was assembled at the Ulsan plant in South Korea home to the most significant automotive assembly plant in the world with an annual capacity of over 400000 vehicles.
Fun Factor:8
Can it Family: 5
Fuel-Friendly: 7
HWY-warrior: 8
Karaoke Friendly: 7
Baby friendly: 4
City Cruising: 7
5 years ago we drove the original Veloster, at the time, we didn’t expect a refresh as it was somewhat quirky for its time, nor did we expect the refresh would be as stylish as the 2019 Veloster. Hyundai really up’ed their game, not only did the exterior styling get an update, the driving dynamics were updated to give it a sportier feel. We even dare to say that the Veloster has surpassed the GTI when it comes to its driving dynamics. Thanks to the lower stance, stiffer suspension and the torque vectoring control that gives the Veloster cornering capability similar to a sports car that is double or even triple its value. The test car Hyundai provided us was fully equipped. Our Veloster was equipped with the Turbo 1.6 liter engine and had an output of 201hp giving it a respectable 195 lb-ft of torque. All of this power is transferred to a 6-speed manual transmission. The manual transmission is simple to use and could be a great car for people to drive/learn manual. One thing we dislike is that even in sport mode the heads up display advises you to shift way too early for sporty driving. If you follow the gear shifts to the letter provided by the onboard computer you can arrive at 6th gear when reaching 70-80km/h. Hyundai announces an acceleration from 0-60 mph in 6.7 seconds, in our real-life test we’ve reached 100km/h in 7.9 seconds with winter tires. The winter tires installed on our test car were 18inch Hankook I Cept Evo 2 (225/40R18).
Can the Veloster be a family car? If you do use it as a family car, it will have limited use. The Veloster is a quirky little sporty 4 seater with rear seating that is more adequate for smaller adults or kids than taller adults, especially for a long road trip. This doesn’t mean the quirky 3 door hatch doesn’t offer comfort, the front leather seats engraved with the word Turbo will show that you’re not playing around. The front seats are well bolstered and hug you nicely when taking corners. Now going to the rear seat from the driver side is simple enough by engaging a leaver. The seat does push forward enough to gain access to the rear seats quickly & easily. As for the passenger's side back door, you can enjoy a faster entry thanks to the 3rd door even if the roof line is lower than what we would like to see.
We were astonished about the fuel consumption, we expected higher results especially since we drove it as it should be driven, in a very spirited fashion! Hyundai announces the following consumption 9.4L per 100km in the city, 7L per 100km on the HWY and the combined fuel economy 8.3L with the manual. Those results can be lowered with the automatic transmission to 8.5L per 100km in the city, 6.9L on the HWY and a combined total of 7.8L per 100km. In our real-life testing, we’ve achieved 9.6L per 100km in the city, 6.4L on the HWY and a combined results 7.6L. Those results are better than those announces by Hyundai except city driving. On top of that in case that you can tame yourself and drive the speed limit with your Veloster, we did a separate test run, and we were even able to achieve consumption under 6L per 100km on the HWY.
The Veloster is pleasant to drive on the HWY and will not break your bank on longer drives, as the gas consumption is very low. On top of that Veloster is a fun little cruiser on the HWY. It will overtake effortlessly and keep a stable road tenure on the HWY. However on the downside when traveling with the family, you’ll have to keep in mind road noise coming into the cabin will make conversation with back seat passengers less than ideal. On the flip side, you’ll all be able to enjoy the exhaust note while driving away to your destination.
The sound system of the Veloster is of decent quality it will not blow your ears away if you’re an audiophile; however for the price of the car, it is unbeatable. As for the infotainment, we found that the touch screen panel doesn’t respond as quickly as we would have liked. Especially when driving the manual variant, you want to have the touch screen to respond promptly to your inputs. The integration of Apple Car Play and Android Auto is well executed. In case you don’t want to use your data on your phone the stand-alone maps provided by Hyundai are of good quality and are even display directly into your heads up display to give you turn by turn directions. The HUD visibility can be adjusted within the steering wheel menus, making it very useful for a magnitude of different driver heights and can be used daily giving details such as when to shift up RPM levels and current speed.
Now going to the part where the Veloster doesn’t necessarily shine. How baby friendly is the Veloster? Car seat installation is simple on the side that has the additional door. However, when installing it there, it will make it difficult for another person to access the car unless they access the rear seats via the driver's door. It isn’t impossible to attach 2 car seats as Veloster offers ISOFIX ports on all rear seats, however, installing the seat behind the driver will bring out the inner acrobat you never knew was there. The ISOFIX ports are sandwiched in between the leather seats making fiat time installation difficult. Now as for the elephant in the room. The trunk large enough for your daily shopping and even for larger boxes. It can also fit 2 medium suitcases; however, carrying a stroller will be a feature of the impossible. Unless the stroller is very compact and then again you might need to push down a seat so that it fits as the trunk opening is high and it’s opening is rather small too.
As for driving experience in the city it will be pleasant & fun. Its size makes it nimble to zip through traffic. The only 2 downsides we see, and even then one of it isn’t necessarily a downside. We live unfortunately in this age and day where everyone wants to buy SUV’s. While the Veloster is very close to the ground making it harder for larger SUV to see the Veloster. The second item will only be an issue if you’ve got a pothole-infested city, the results will be a harsh driving experience since the stiff suspension will make it less then pleasant driving over bumps. On a side note parallel parking is made simple thanks to the rear view camera even if the natural rear visibility is limited due to the sloping roofline. The size of the car made it simple to park in smaller parking spots. The only item you may want to watch is to make sure that the curb is not too high if you don’t have the desire to scratch the lower part of your doors.
What we've liked on our Veloster: Fun driving dynamics, simple to drive manual, great gas consumption
What we've liked less on our Veloster: The charm of the Veloster is being a 3 door car however we would either like to see it being a 2 door or a 4 door.
