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
The Veloster Turbo Is The Super-Rare Hot Hyundai That Didn't Quite Work

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.

The Veloster Turbo Is The Super-Rare Hot Hyundai That Didn't Quite Work

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.

The Veloster Turbo Is The Super-Rare Hot Hyundai That Didn't Quite Work

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…

Comments

Anton 3

It’s like a new Honda CRX.

And before someone has something against my opinion: No, the CR-Z didn’t do it for me.

09/28/2017 - 09:35 |
10 | 0
BenPaye(JDMSquad)(MX5Squad)(LFAsquad)(Subie Squad) (Rotary F

Ugly af tho

09/28/2017 - 09:40 |
8 | 8
Anonymous

Just a few upgrades tho! (HYUNDAI PLS MAKE A NEW VELOSTER “N”)

09/28/2017 - 09:42 |
12 | 0
Anonymous

These things are very underrated. Fifth Gear did a team test of one years ago and they generally liked it

09/28/2017 - 09:45 |
0 | 0
Tomislav Celić

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

But in the end. Would you take it over a Fiesta ST? Probably no. The car is not a problem, the problem is fantastic rivals, that are just, better.

09/28/2017 - 09:50 |
8 | 8
Tomislav Celić

The problem of the Veloster and i30N is the same. Hyundai is known for the poor reliability. Which is unfortunate becouse the Elantra is a nice model, aswell as the i40. The problem is, do you really want a Hyundai over a Ford, or a VW, or a Honda????

09/28/2017 - 09:49 |
22 | 20

Where did you get that info about poor reliability? I really think otherwise.

09/28/2017 - 09:59 |
56 | 2
  • High Five *

In my country, Hyundai is rubbish with terrible dealer etiquette

Sold the i20, got a Ford. Smiling since

09/28/2017 - 10:49 |
2 | 0

Is it really that bad? I know a few Hyundai owners and none of them mentioned this
Build quality is not the best (but not bad either), but reliability is quite good
Plus you get a minimum of 5 year warranty (some models get 7 as standard) so even if there are problems, shouldn’t cost you anything

09/28/2017 - 11:02 |
0 | 0

Hyundai’s quality is decent nowadays. Not really great, but acceptable. They had huge quality problems in the 1990s and early 2000s, but they really improved it by now. It’s mid-table.

Regarding your question, yes, I would want a Hyundai over a Honda. Over a Ford not so much though.

09/28/2017 - 11:51 |
2 | 0

At least in my country there are hyundais at least 15 years old that never made it to the service building for anything other than oil - sparks - breaks - tires changing.
Where did you get your intel for poor reliability? Koreans are sick people with extremely talented mechanics.

09/28/2017 - 12:51 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

I just suddenly recalled about CT made a parody music video about the Veloster.

09/28/2017 - 10:01 |
4 | 0
Anonymous

Its because of the fact that it has those stupid doors! (Ok thats an over reaction but why on earth does it have 3 doors?!)

09/28/2017 - 10:21 |
80 | 2
Tomislav Celić

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

So I quote “people from the other side of the road would admire the 2 door styling, while the third door is on your side of the road, so you can let your children out”

09/28/2017 - 10:25 |
32 | 6
Unknown

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

I poked around one for a while at a car show when these first came out, such a bizarre thing that didn’t help it out at all

09/28/2017 - 11:35 |
10 | 0
Malaysian Boyracer

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

there are a few here in malaysia…sat in one and it felt like a prison if ure stuck on the side with no doors….then again mini was also guilty of this weird setup…

09/28/2017 - 13:18 |
6 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

then explain the Forte5 SX

09/28/2017 - 18:16 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

WOW, WTF. Never noticed that. That amazing, and ugly

09/28/2017 - 18:43 |
2 | 0
TheRealBouss

Hey, one of those are in my neighbourhood! It’s bright yellow, and makes serious brap noises

09/28/2017 - 10:26 |
2 | 2
Anonymous

I live in Dubai and they are everywhere

09/28/2017 - 10:34 |
2 | 2
Anonymous

My dad has one. It’s certainly a sporty little car, but you can’t fit anyone larger than Richard Hammond into the back.

09/28/2017 - 11:18 |
0 | 0
Constantine C.K.

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

thats the point for buying a sporty little car

09/28/2017 - 12:56 |
0 | 0

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