UPDATED VELOSTER A DELIGHTFUL HOT HATCH
Oh, to be young again. To drive something flashy, sporty and red and not look like some silly old codger desperately trying to hang on to some vestige of his youth. I failed, of course, though the recalled memory of driving slow cars fast — my first taste of mobile freedom coincided with the Sucking ’70s, the years that followed the death of the original muscle car era — was a pleasant respite from daily realities. Thank you, Hyundai Veloster Turbo, you weird little three-door sport hatchback, for jump-starting the retrospective.
Yet, to be fair to the newly redesigned Veloster Turbo, it isn’t that slow. The perky 1.6-litre turbocharged and direct-injected fourcylinder, a carry-over from the first-generation model, pumps out a mighty — for its diminutive size — 201 horsepower.
The fresh-faced sportster isn’t nearly the strange, bug-like creature its predecessor was, though its retained asymmetrical three-door layout still puts it in a company of one. But the Veloster is now flashy, thanks to an eyeball-searing shade of red called Ignite Flame, its blacktopped roof and colour-coordinated wheels. And it makes muted burbling tones from its dual exhausts, especially when in Sport mode. While it is clearly a young person’s car, there was much admiration from the Baby Boomer camp.
The original Veloster Turbo, which debuted in 2013, a couple of years after the base version, was more an odd amusement than a serious sporty hatchback. Generation 2 is the real deal, one that actually has one comparing it against more established players such as the Honda Civic Si and the Mini Cooper S (though the soondeparting, pocket rocket Ford Fiesta ST might be more in its wheelhouse). Zipping along a back road, running up and down the gears, and booting around corners find the Turbo is in its element.
The Veloster Turbo’s engine is also shared with the Elantra GT Sport, itself a promising almosthot hatch that would really shake up the status quo with an upsized 2.0-L turbo under its hood. So would the Veloster Turbo, though its boosted 1.6 L — which runs on regular unleaded fuel — only has to contend with a car tipping the scales at a lightweight 1,350 kilograms, so it’s not like the motor is overstressed.
The design mandate of the Veloster, according to Hyundai, is to merge sport coupe appeal with the versatility of an additional passenger-side rear door “in an asymmetrical two-plusone configuration for easier rearseat access.” And, while you can enter the back from the driver’s side, it’s far easier to get in using the stubby rear door.
Beyond that unique selling point, the Veloster’s major redesign — a product of collaboration between Hyundai designers in Seoul and the U.S. design centre in Irvine, Calif. — is certainly a step up, with a far more planted stance. The numerous exterior changes — revised grille, flared fenders, lowered roofline, recontoured windshield pillars, LED lighting, aerodynamic aids, etc. — all contribute, the end result being a sleek and sporty runabout.
That theme defines the cabin as well, with leather-trimmed seats, steering wheel and shift knob, and red accents throughout. The front seats are comfortable and there’s plenty of head room and leg room up front.
The rear window is about the size of a mail slot, with blind spots that would hide an elephant. Fortunately, all models come with a rear-view camera, plus blind-spot monitoring with lane-change assist and rear-park assist.
To say the new Veloster Turbo surprised and delighted would be a huge understatement, considering how underwhelmed I was with its predecessor. Though I would never refuse a little more power, the secondgeneration model is a tight and tidy package, one that genuinely puts as big a smile on one’s face as the best budget-based sportsters. And the news that a 275-hp Veloster N is coming to our shores later this year has me hopeful that the sun has yet to set on hot hatches.