Veloster turbo double-take
A dual-clutch gearbox aims to give the strange Veloster a bit more sporting purpose reports David Linklater
It’s good for a car to have a unique selling proposition and for the Hyundai Veloster, that’s always been weirdness.
It’s not just the strange door configuration (two on the passenger side, one on the driver’s plus a hatchback), it’s the styling (no clear relationship to anything else in the brand’s range) and generally amorphous identity. Hyundai calls it a sports car, it’s really kind of a coupe but it could also be a family hatchback.
One of the issues with this weirdness is that the Veloster is a bit of a Jack of all trades, master of none. It’s not especially sporty for the enthusiast driver, the styling is awkward from some angles (not to mention asymmetrical) and it’s not that spacious or practical; notwithstanding the fact that you do get 60/40-split rear seats.
The flagship Veloster turbo aims to sharpen up the sporting identity a little with a 150kW blown-direct-injection engine and a new (well, since last year) dualclutch automated transmission (DCT). Just so you don’t miss it, there’s a turbo-specific exterior body kit and interior additions that a special ‘‘sports cluster’’ for the main instrument panel and front seats embroidered with a ‘‘turbo’’ script.
All the ingredients are there, but it’s still a bit hit-and-miss. The Veloster turbo has power that approaches hot-hatch levels and a DCT should provide impressively quick shifting, but it all still seems curiously lethargic.
The DCT suffers from quite a bit of clutch-slip in urban driving and it doesn’t deliver the furious cogswapping pace or dynamic character that we know this type of technology is capable of. It’s nowhere as lively as a Volkswagen DSG for example, nor do you get the same kind of exhaustcrackling up and down-shifts when you’re pressing on.
Ironically, Hyundai’s DCT seems to work brilliantly with diesel family cars like the i30 and i40, with crisp and quick changes.
You can also have the Veloster turbo as a six-speed manual (with $1500 change) and that may well be the gearbox that liberates more engaging (excuse the pun) performance from the car.
Just don’t expect Toyota 86 levels of involvement from the chassis. It’s a front-drive machine with pretty decent handling balance courtesy of some extra suspension calibration by Hyundai Australia, but think more family- hatch-with-attitude than genuinely driver-focused machine.
The cabin styling has character, but there’s more hard plastic than you might expect from a car that aims to blend quirkiness with
$50k quality.
You do get Hyundai’s excellent sat-nav system with Suna traffic information and a few genuine luxury items, such as a panoramic glass top that slides back to simulate the look of a weird kind of roof spoiler.
What you think of the Veloster turbo will very much depend on which angle you approach it from and what you expectations are. As a specialist vehicle it’s strangely unsatisfying. But then it’s certainly not dull, either.
Price: $51,490.
Powertrain: 1.6-litre turbopetrol four, 150kW/265Nm, 7-speed automated dual-clutch transmission, FWD.
Performance: Combined economy 7.1 l/100km.
In a sentence: Best brisk-hatch/ coupe/family-car thingy you can buy.