Hyundai pumps up Veloster

quirky door-count.

More worryingly, it also puts it just $2000 less than the feral 202kW i30 N hatch, which, while firmer and more uncompromising, is still a perfectly liveable daily driver. Just one with searing performance and razor-sharp handling. It is manual only, however.

This means you have to really want the Veloster’s unique shape and the compromises that come with it (that are, admittedly, partially addressed by that little half door) when you can get all of its excellent qualities in i30 form for less money.

However, the Veloster Turbo does remain a remarkably good car with a unique presence in the new car market. Stradling that line between handling/ performance and comfort in that laser-precisely perfect way that Hyundai has become so good at of late, it has a bold and striking look, with a vast array of talents that just make it utterly appealing.

While there aren’t exactly any other extra-door style coupes on the market, widening the scope a little bit brings in other sporty coupes with automatic transmissions, like the $49,990 Toyota GT86 (Mazda’s $53,745 MX5 RF is manual-only), into the mix, which is more sportily focused, but way less practical and easy to live with on a daily basis.

Widening it even further to include sporty hatches – the other area the Veloster dabbles in – it is the obvious in-house competition mentioned previously that is the main hiccup in the Veloster Turbo’s argument for existence, as well as Kia’s cheaper, but not as well-sorted, $41,990 Cerato GT that shares the Veloster Turbo’s powertrain.

Of course, more powerful hot hatches like the $56,990 Volkswagen Golf GTI, $54,990 Mini Cooper JCW, $57,990 Seat Leon Cupra and Hyundai’s own $54,990 i30 N also sit tantalisingly close in price as well.