The Road Tripp

I’ve always had somewhat of a repulsive reaction to the name Hyundai. Majority of the cars the company produces are underpowered, front-wheel driven, and always seemed a bit weak-in my personal opinion. I had a 2015 Hyundai Elantra for a few months. I was not a huge fan of the way it looked. The amount body roll and the fact that it was massively underpowered disappointed me. With all that said, I wasn’t expecting much as I made my way over to review the Veloster. But this Hyundai, is different.

For those who aren’t aware, the Veloster comes with three doors: one for the driver, and two for the passengers. This quirky, asymmetric design caught my attention as I approached the car. The front end of the car seems a lot more aggressive-as it should-than other models from Hyundai. On top of that, just the design language that is used throughout the car is very sporty and modern. The way the back end cuts off and the way the tail light is embedded into the rear end  is like none other. Even the cockpit has a very clean cut look-the instrument cluster is very symmetric and even the placement of the “On/Off” button is in the perfect location (though people who don’t know what they’re doing might mistakenly press the button while the car is running which would cause all sorts of trouble).

(I do apologize for the quality of the photos-only had my iPhone to take the photo with)

The Veloster Turbo comes with 201 horsepower and 195 lb/ft of torque from the factory. And for a car that doesn’t even weigh 3000 pounds, that is enough to get the car to 60 mph in under 9 seconds. Yes, if you really think about it, that isn’t as impressive as I’m making it sound. But, for something that is designed to be  a “boy racer” car from a company that is not particularly known for speedy cars, it’s quite impressive. One of my favorite things about the car is the fact that the 1.6L turbocharged engine has its peak torque at only 1750 rpm. The low end torque really makes all the difference in the initial launch. Whether its the turbo that is spooling at a very low rpm or the engine that is tuned so that the occupants of the vehicle don’t feel the turbo lag, I personally could not complain about the propulsion power of the little thing.

Lastly, the way the Veloster handles itself through corners and fast change of direction was a lot better than how I thought it would be. I was somewhat worried as I first stepped in the car as I was expecting there to be at least some understeer as it is a front wheel drive hatchback. Much to my surprise the Veloster actually dug into the corners rather well and shot out the other side. I would even go so far to say that the car handles almost as well as the GTi which I got to drive a few months back.

On paper, the Veloster can be very underwhelming. Most “sporty” cars these days come with at least 250 ponies, and compared to that, the power figures are a bit embarrassing; however, this car isn’t a car that is built to be outstanding on paper. This is a young boy’s dream. This is a tamed little Dachshund; though it may seem cute and cuddly, but it packs quite a punch.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my first ever car review-it’s rough around the edges, I will do everything I can to improve the quality of the content. Again, thank you so much for the support.