Heading For Extinction: The Hyundai Veloster – Dubai Car News

Did want a sports coupe with two doors on one side and one on the other? It’s not really a purchase quality that jumps out at me. Designers have toyed with identity from time to time, but it has rarely been successful. Details like the Ferrari Testarossa’s single mirror or the Porsche 924 Turbo’s offset bonnet NACA duct add visual tension, but the asymmetrical door thing? Against all odds, Hyundai did the trick.

The problem with such stylistic curlicues is that they dominate the public perception of the vehicle. Underneath the sheetmetal the Veloster evolved into a very good driver’s car. But by then he had earned a reputation for style over substance.

When Wheels first tested the 103kW Atmo version in April 2012, it lost out to the Honda CR-Z.

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It was only when we got our hands on the punchier 150kW Veloster Turbo that things changed, with the Korean coupe easily rolling over the March 2013 Holden Astra GTC Sport.

The Veloster’s problem at this point is that the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ twins arrived, and by 2016 it had relinquished pole position on the sales charts to the Toyota, then the Ford Mustang, and then almost everything else.

In the US, the first-generation car moved a total of 169,411 units between 2011 and 2017. In contrast, in the same market for the same period from launch, the Toyota 86, Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S combined sold the most. of 106,580. The Mazda MX-5 shifted 51,854. Game, Set and Match, Namyang.

The second-generation JS Veloster arrived in 2018 and was a much better-resolved driver’s car than its predecessor, with a better cabin and a whole load of safety updates, but its Australian sales were modest.

It was a shame Australia missed out on the Veloster N, which won Road & Track’s 2020 Performance Car of the Year award, sending the Lamborghini Huracan Evo, BMW M2 competition and Porsche 992 Carrera S packing. After all, the Veloster Turbo was quietly transformed into a very capable corner carver.

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With 150kW on tap, a sub-7 second sprint to 100km/h is possible, and it’s a sleeper of astonishing elan. It would be fun to take it on a track day at the testing circuit and watch the supercar drivers tie themselves in knots trying to get away from it. It’s almost as good as the Honda Integra Type R in terms of resistance to understeer, which is quite a compliment indeed.

Unfortunately, the price hike was significant, and when we tested the Turbo against the Mini Cooper S five-door in July 2020, it felt like the Korean car was starting to erode its brand equity at just over $42,000. , especially when the i30 N was around. In becoming a better car, it redeemed itself at the cost of obsolescence.

With sales slowing toward the end of its life, the Veloster became a flagship for a company that was quickly gaining a reputation for making some of the most exciting, progressive, and ruthlessly targeted vehicles in the business. was No one asked the answer to the question? Think of it instead as something understated and surprisingly refreshing.

With 150kW on tap, a sub-7 second sprint to 100km/h is possible, and it’s a sleeper of astonishing elan.

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The one that got away.

The 202kW Veloster N was offered in the US with a choice of six-speed manual or eight-speed dual-clutch transmission with the overboost function lifting peak torque from 353 to 377Nm.

So equipped, it was capable of 0-100km/h times in five flat on a ready strip. It’s pretty much what we’ve come to expect from the i30 N hatch, but America didn’t get that car so it’s no wonder the Yanks got a little excited.

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Aussie Hyundai Veloster Sales