This little 6 speed took me back to my 20’s, which made it the perfect car on the eve of my 59th birthday. Driving it, I found myself instinctively down shifting into stops, and apexing around the cloverleaf’s on the highway exits. What better way to start the celebration of almost six decades, than to have a fun sports car to drive, which is exactly what the Hyundai Veloster is, and not what I was expecting!
Before this summer, I never put much thought into the Hyundai product line, thinking they were uninteresting, cheap, disposable, transportation, for people who did not enjoy driving. That all changed when I got to try out the Elantra during the introduction of the sport line to local journalists in July, and definitely changed after spending a week in the R-Spec Veloster.
First and foremost, I am impressed by the fit and finish as well as the materials used on the inside of Hyundai’s cars. What we often see on lower priced cars, and some pricier ones, is the use low cost materials, i.e. “cheap plastic.” Not Hyundai, the Veloster’s dash and door trim were well designed with a hint reminiscing of carbon fiber, and felt like something that should be on a higher-end vehicle. The center display screen for the radio is not only large at seven inches, it is full color, and a touch screen, with adult sized touch points. The screen is a true provider of infotainment, feeding you plenty of information, from the rear view camera, to the Blue Max app showing how fuel efficient a driver you are. The 450 watt Dimension Premium Audio, with 8 speakers provides high end sound through any of the radio channels and the XM Sirius satellite service, and easily connected to an iPod or phone. Steering wheel mounted audio controls make changing the volume or channels effortless.
Who would have thought this little Hyundai, would also be a performance car? The Veloster features fancy rubber studded pedals,bolstered front sport seats with matching sporty red seat belts, and a tight B&M Racing® Sport Shifter. And when you release the clutch and hit the gas the twin-scroll turbocharger hitched to the 1.6 dual continuously variable valve timed engine kicks it providing plenty of power, (201 HP with 195 lbs of torque @6k rpms,) mated to the 6-speed manual gearbox, there was an immediate response to getting off the line at any stop light. It is quite clear that the throaty growl of the exhaust is not just piped in performance driving music. Though I do have to admit I stalled it a couple of times, thinking that I was driving an economy car, instead of getting on it, like I would in a performance car. The Veloster wanted me to power it up!
It is an economy car! Just one that makes you feel like you are driving a HOT Sports hatch.There is the question, is the Veloster a coupe or a sedan? With it’s water drop in the wind shape, with a .32 coefficient of drag, it has an odd configuration of three passenger doors. The Veloster has doors where you need them, two on the right, (sedan-like), one on the left, (coupe-like.) Let’s just call it a sports car, a economy minded performance hatchback.
Inside the Veloster is spacious, not at all claustrophobic, the front has plenty of room for the driver and passenger, and there is leg room for two passengers in the back seats, though head room is limited. And when the rear seats are not in use, they can easily be put down to extend the already spacious deep trunk. Plenty of safety with front, front side impact and curtain airbags. A concern I heard was the driver’s visibility out of the rear window, I did not experience any rear visibility issues, and setting the exterior side mirrors correctly, blind spots were minimized.
Hyundai Veloster R-Spec with a 6 speed manual comes at a $22,425 delivered price, and runs on regular fuel. A Performance Car for economy car money.
The base Veloster starts at $18,000 and the top-of-the-line Turbo model with an automatic transmission tops out at $23,800, not including any discounts you may be eligible for. Only two option packages are available, each cost $2,100: Technology, (more gadgets,) and Style (includes a sunroof and more goo-gahs.) There are a number of dealer installed accessories you may want to add to make one your own.
You will not be in a boring transportation appliance, between enough power and G-forces to push you back into your seat, and a raspy exhaust note, all in a car that drinks regular grade gasoline, and gives you 27 mpg, as we experienced.
The Veloster will make you feel like a kid again, it did for me! And at a price that takes away any guilt about buying a play toy to make driving fun again. While it will not impress those in their Ferrari’s, McLarens, or AMG’s, you will not be paying the costs for to keep up with that level of ego either. Then when the teen driver in the family is ready, you can let them drive it, and then you will be the coolest Uncle ever!
Where the real story is for this little sports car is the price tag for the R-Spec we tested, $22,425 delivered (not including tax tags etc), which includes $825 freight and handling
William West Hopper with the fun to drive 2016 Hyundai Veloster R-Spec, that is also inexpensive to own and to operate.
Words and photos by William West Hopper
- Thanks to Hyundai USA for providing us the R-Spec Veloster to test out for a week.
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