Kind of like the RD2
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Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 32
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From: Galveston, TX
Vehicle: 2001 Tiburon
Kind of like the RD2
The Veloster Turbo Is The Super-Rare Hot Hyundai That Didn't Quite Work
The Hyundai Veloster Turbo never quite captured anyone's imagination, despite cool styling and an easy-going attitude that made it a great daily driver
Hyundai has finally got the hot hatchback right. The i30 N is staggeringly good, but it’s not the first time the Korean brand has tried to break the scene. Welcome to the world of the extremely rare Veloster Turbo.
We can’t speak for other markets but in the UK the Veloster Turbo is as rare as a finished project car. There are good reasons for that; the principal one being that it wasn’t really up to scratch against the likes of the Golf GTI. It was always intended to sit a step lower than the famous VW both in price and performance, but that left it in a no-man’s land. It was more expensive and less entertaining than the Fiesta ST, and simply not as good as a Seat Leon Cupra.
Hyundai stopped importing it into the UK pretty quickly because of poor sales. That was a shame, though, because while the hot Veloster, with its extremely fist-friendly exhausts, was never going to be a modern hot hatch legend, it was an unusual all-rounder with scarcity, good looks and modest practicality on its side, not to mention respectable speed.
There are just four for sale on Auto Trader at the time of writing, with fewer than 70 reportedly left on the road according to howmanyleft.co.uk. Our pick is the cheapest of the bunch, but for your £10,450 you get a metallic grey 184bhp car with a manual cog whisk, a suggested – and conservative – 0-62mph time of 8.4 seconds and a top speed of 133mph.
It has 55,000 miles on the clock and should have a full Hyundai warranty until March next year, but there’s also a 12-month backup plan with the seller – a franchised Honda dealer. There’s a bit of annoying kerbing on the wheel that we can see more closely in the (numerous) pics, but you can’t have everything. The quirky three-door layout is the correct way round for the UK, too, letting you regurgitate your rear passengers straight onto the pavement.
The four-seater has plenty of tech, from a reversing camera and parking sensors to climate control, Bluetooth, leather upholstery and the large touch-screen in the middle of the dashboard. You can charge your phone via USB, but we don’t think Android Auto or Apple CarPlay made it to this car.
The Veloster Turbo’s flaws help make it interesting, and any car this rare has to be worth keeping an eye on. Sure, it will probably depreciate hard until suddenly there are only a handful left, but at that point it might start to become something of an unsung classic. One day you might even get most of your money back…
Car Throttle
The Hyundai Veloster Turbo never quite captured anyone's imagination, despite cool styling and an easy-going attitude that made it a great daily driver
Hyundai has finally got the hot hatchback right. The i30 N is staggeringly good, but it’s not the first time the Korean brand has tried to break the scene. Welcome to the world of the extremely rare Veloster Turbo.
We can’t speak for other markets but in the UK the Veloster Turbo is as rare as a finished project car. There are good reasons for that; the principal one being that it wasn’t really up to scratch against the likes of the Golf GTI. It was always intended to sit a step lower than the famous VW both in price and performance, but that left it in a no-man’s land. It was more expensive and less entertaining than the Fiesta ST, and simply not as good as a Seat Leon Cupra.
Hyundai stopped importing it into the UK pretty quickly because of poor sales. That was a shame, though, because while the hot Veloster, with its extremely fist-friendly exhausts, was never going to be a modern hot hatch legend, it was an unusual all-rounder with scarcity, good looks and modest practicality on its side, not to mention respectable speed.
There are just four for sale on Auto Trader at the time of writing, with fewer than 70 reportedly left on the road according to howmanyleft.co.uk. Our pick is the cheapest of the bunch, but for your £10,450 you get a metallic grey 184bhp car with a manual cog whisk, a suggested – and conservative – 0-62mph time of 8.4 seconds and a top speed of 133mph.
It has 55,000 miles on the clock and should have a full Hyundai warranty until March next year, but there’s also a 12-month backup plan with the seller – a franchised Honda dealer. There’s a bit of annoying kerbing on the wheel that we can see more closely in the (numerous) pics, but you can’t have everything. The quirky three-door layout is the correct way round for the UK, too, letting you regurgitate your rear passengers straight onto the pavement.
The four-seater has plenty of tech, from a reversing camera and parking sensors to climate control, Bluetooth, leather upholstery and the large touch-screen in the middle of the dashboard. You can charge your phone via USB, but we don’t think Android Auto or Apple CarPlay made it to this car.
The Veloster Turbo’s flaws help make it interesting, and any car this rare has to be worth keeping an eye on. Sure, it will probably depreciate hard until suddenly there are only a handful left, but at that point it might start to become something of an unsung classic. One day you might even get most of your money back…
Car Throttle
I think it's the doors that killed it.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 2,615
Likes: 11
From: Denver Co
Vehicle: 1999 Hyundai Tiburon
They say the same with US sales. Saying it was was a flop. I see more and more on the road each week. I can see why it wasn't as successful in the UK though. They seem to have a bigger selection of hot hatches.
The refresh should help here in the US with sales, especially since they are upping the power to be more competitive with other hot hatches in the market. Love mine. I'll be keeping it for a long time. Unless..... they actually produce their mid engine variant. It's such a long shot they actually produce it. But if they do, my wallet will hate me...... unless.......they only release it IN the UK.....
The refresh should help here in the US with sales, especially since they are upping the power to be more competitive with other hot hatches in the market. Love mine. I'll be keeping it for a long time. Unless..... they actually produce their mid engine variant. It's such a long shot they actually produce it. But if they do, my wallet will hate me...... unless.......they only release it IN the UK.....
Super Moderator
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 5,735
Likes: 3
From: Vegas, Baby, Vegas!!!
Vehicle: '14 Ford F-150
I might be getting one cheap pretty soon. I have one at my shop that the owner hasn't picked up after I did some work to it. We've had it 3 months and I'm about to file for a mechanic's lean on it. It has a loan on it, so I'll probably just have to pay that off.
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 11,992
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From: Washington D.C.
Vehicle: Hyundai Tiburon FX
You know what, you can release a bunch of new plastic, aluminum gimmick tachometer, and a wider track, but the original Tiburon still looks better and is cooler than 100% of Today's cars and that was 20 years ago.
The Veloster is just not a good-looking car. It just looks like another ordinary box on wheels with bends and ordinary lights.
The Veloster is just not a good-looking car. It just looks like another ordinary box on wheels with bends and ordinary lights.
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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 10,795
Likes: 5
From: Pflugerville, TX
Vehicle: 2000 Elantra
I like them both. If the Veloster had 50 more horsepower it would be great. But the first review of a turbocharged one that I saw included something like "I stepped on the gas . . . and the car didn't notice?"
