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'13 Hyundai Veloster Turbo test drive (for those who care)

7K views 29 replies 11 participants last post by  06wrx4me 
#1 ·
Short drive today (maybe 10 miles) in a Vitamin C Veloster Turbo. First off I dig the color (I like Orange) with the black leather & silver accents. Dash is pretty awesome as Hyundai has a nice set up in this car. As mentioned in another thread, shifts are pretty close & tight for a "not overly expensive" sports hatch. Although the one I drove stickered at almost $27k with a ton of goodies. The 450 watt audio system is one of the better ones I've heard in a stock vehicle. I have a decent little set-up in my 4 Runner with an Alpine head unit, 2 amps and 2 12" JL Audio subs linked together with Phoenix Gold wiring. I base ALOT on the sound system as if its crappy, theres another $2 - $3g your gonna spend for an upgrade.

I'll use a post from XRedJar:

I drove the Veloster Turbo back in Oct. when I was car shopping. It's a nice car, it ran well....enough power to be fun. There was some torque steer, but it was not horrible.
The interior is a nice place to sit, but then again I have no complaints with the WRX interior so I may not be the best judge there. The Veloster interior did seem smaller than the WRX, not cramped....but noticeable.
couple points I noticed to ... torque steer once again not as bad as the wifes PT Turbo H/O, then again no FWD Dodge/Chrysler car has ever driven worth a damn. On the Veloster you really ONLY know its there on full throttle blast, not something that you notice during normal everyday driving. Suspension actually felt really good for a smaller car, no issue there.

"My" biggest complaint comes from having two soon to be 10 year olds. The single 3rd door is a HUGE drawback, but I knew going in it would be something I'd be letdown with. If it was a traditional 5 door hatch it would be much more appealing to adults with a family.

Its no racer, but the 201hp in that size of a car makes it more than capable as a daily driver. And you sure as hell can't beat that warranty.
 
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#2 ·
My girl friend has a 2012 Veloster, nonturbo. It is a really nice car, and the 450 watt system is a hell of a lot better than the stock WRX's. Great economy, and a sharp looking car. Hyundai and KIA make a really respectable car anymore.
 
#7 ·
Honestly NO, neither of them really appeal to me although they do have good performance. As I mentioned I have 2 kids, so some space is something I really need to be aware of. I asked the wife, "how about a Cadillac CTS-V wagon"? She was cool with that until she saw the sticker. I may drive a Mitsu Lancer EVO R as the dealer right beside my local Subie dealer has one on the lot. Pretty sure Mitsubishi will be going away soon so this vehicle may be on its last hoorah.

When you want halfway decent gas mileage, space, performance, ability to haul stuff there are very few options. Halfway decent gas mileage to me is something that can get over 20mpg on the highway. My supercharged 4 Runner gets about 16-17 highway, in the city you can knocked that down about 4-5mpg more. I've considered a used Volvo V70 R wagon, but after 13 years of driving a Volvo its time to go somewhere else.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the writeup!

I might have considered one too (well, only as much as I considered any other car than the WRX ;) ) but like you, the size turned me away. I crawled around in one at the Philly auto show a couple years ago and it was just too tight in that back seat from what I remember.
 
#12 ·
You want electrical problems buy a mid 80's to mid 90's Volvo, I couldn't tell you how many issues I've had with mine. They ran all the electrical thru the hatch hardware, even though the tailights aren't in that part of the car (only the 3rd brake light). From years of opening and closing the rear it basically breaks every wire that controls every light in the rear of the car, plus the wiper and rear window washer. There is no wire protection at all, so I've spent countless hours over the years splicing them back together .... on more than a few occasions.

Volvo also has a main wiring harness for the transmission on the underside of the car. When you live in the midwest with snow & salt it just eats the electical connections, to the tune of a $600 harness. I've also replaced it within the last 4-5 years.

Motor wise you can't beat these things, but I think my 9 year old could come up with a better wiring scheme.
 
#16 ·
Idk I have been at Sac Speedway and watched a 70's bug with about $5k into it (worth about $3k) tick of consistent 12.1's in the 1320. That's damn respectable, and even hard to come by for the cars you rattled off, and for much lower price tag. Plus if it gets hurt, you can buy a new one for nothing, they made them new into the 2000's in Latin America still.

I worked at a Hot Rod shop for 6 months and do all my own paint, body, and fabrication. While all those 60's era cars are nice to drive on Sunday, they lack in creature comforts, and the biggest thing; are hard to repair when hit by a moron, because factory parts are becoming unobtanium.

I guess my engineering brain takes over and while cool, both lots are old engineering, wrapped in an old package and not something I'd DD. We've come a long way in 50 years.
 
#17 ·
.... 'OH you can make those cars crazy fast, with not a great deal of coin. My cousin use to stand his up on the back bumper. Of course 99% of the weight is in the rear.

If you owned one of those 60's Bugs in a location where it snowed, you had to start the car 2 hours before you went somewhere just to get the frost off the windsheild. Back in school there were 3 of us in our buddys, went around a corner to fast and that SOB rolled right on its side. We crawled out the door, flipped it back on 4 wheels and drove away like it was no big deal.
 
#19 · (Edited)
So the Veloster has a decent interior, huh?

I sat in one at the auto show when they first came out, and I remember being astonished that a company had managed to create a cheaper interior than my WRX... This was before the Turbo was offered, though. Is that nicer than the standard model?

In general, though, I quite like Kia/Hyundai interiors. The Sonata and Santa Fe in particular feel very upmarket and refined. My Korean friend has a topped out Sonata Hybrid with comfy, heated/cooled leather seats with great bolstering, a kickass stereo/nav unit, thoughtful control scheme, and great soft touch materials. It's genuinely a nice place to be. Not to mention the hybrid is tuned more for power than economy, so it's quite a lively car to drive.

I won't even discuss what a Genesis Turbo is able to do on an empty Korean Expressway at 2am. (I was in the back seat praying I'd see my wife again mostly).
 
#20 ·
My biggest gripe about the Veloster was the interior. Plus the one door in the rear. If you have a child seat it will be really hard to get a child in there. Plus I like to be able to see out of the rear windshield. For me at least the interior,especially the rear seat was claustrophobic & I don't suffer from claustrophobia.
 
#24 ·
I would say your generalization is true on a "micro" scale inherent to your immediate environment. But not necessarily a universal truth.

This became apparent to me in college when I had friends from cities far away.

For instance:

When I was in high school, anyone with a job lusted after a lifted 4x4 truck, newer the better. No one cared about going fast because that didn't get you to where 50% of the fun happened.

Fast forward to college and I became friends with a bunch of guys who's micro cultures were "mini trucks" and another groups was "imports".

Since we were all car guys and ME's we spoke a common language.

Once I was two years into my metropolis experience, I traded the lifted truck for an import and never looked back. The mini truck guys soon followed suit.
 
#25 ·
I'd agree with that, though my micro scale was a little different. I grew up in a southern city environment; we had people from widely different car cultures. And somehow...though there was the requisite trash talk at the local Burger King parking lot, everyone got along. There were V8 guys, import guys, VW guys, Jeep guys, whatever, and I was never aware of one group looking down on another.

I'll give CHOPS credit, though...if I could have somehow swung paying for both college and a V8 hot rod, I probably would have done that. The cars he has described here sound really awesome. I'd love to see pics. :)

I was never into the lifted truck thing. In Charlotte, that was for ******** that lived out in the sticks. :tongue:
 
#29 ·
That's some crazy density. Charlotte (now, at least) is somewhere in the 2400/mile^2 range, I think. Where I live, in a town north of Charlotte, is more like 800.

Just kidding about the ******* thing. I loved my (ever-so-slightly) lifted 4Runner. :wiggles:
 
#30 ·
Just kidding about the ******* thing. I loved my (ever-so-slightly) lifted 4Runner. :wiggles:
Oh no offense taken. It was a function of the micro culture I belonged to at the time. When I moved to college and was exposed to other settings it helped make me a more well rounded person.

It's hard to relate to the world when you stay stuck in one spot, it warps and construes your perspective/ sense of reality, which as a well traveled man, I'm sure you can relate to.
 
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