Video: 2019 Hyundai Veloster: First Drive

The segment is shrinking and everybody seems to be flocking to compact SUV's but Hyundai says not so fast. There are still a number of people that like to drive and like to drive small cars. And for them, they've made this. This is the new 2019 Hyundai Veloster. It's all new, it's redesigned inside and out. And if you like a good value and you like cars that are fun to drive, you do need to check this out. The changes from the 2018 to the 2019 are subtle in terms of styling. It looks very similar to the outgoing one but it is a little bit different. You've got a wider grill up front, you have different headlights, standard led running lights and optional led headlights. You have something in the front they call air curtains. What are air curtains? I don't know what air curtains are. I think it's a word they've made up to now describe the fact that it's got vertical slats on the front bumper. Down the side we've got much more prominent fenders than you did before. It gives it a longer look despite the fact that it really isn't any longer than the old car, the wheel base is exactly the same. You get 17 inch tires and wheel standard, these are 18 inches. You have three different kinds of 18 inch wheels as options depending on the trim level that you have. The Veloster looks lower than before but the height really isn't any different, it's the same height as the outgoing car. They've achieved this through a little bit of a trick in design. The roof line slopes a little bit faster than it did before but that's led to this smaller rear window and tail lights that are up a little bit higher as well. So they've changed the proportions of the car but it still has quite a bit of cargo room. Back here you've got more cargo room behind the rear seats than you do in a Jeep Renegade or a Chevy Trax. So it actually can carry quite a bit of stuff and when you put this rear seat down, even more. While all of the styling is suddenly different, there is one element that is exclusive to the Veloster that has remained. There still one door on the driver's side and two doors on the passenger side. They've updated the Veloster's interior as well as the exterior and they've really rearranged what it's like in here. It's asymmetrical like the outside of the vehicle is. One door on the left, two doors on the right. One theme on the left different theme on the right. Front seat comfort is acceptable I'd say, the seats are mostly supportive. The backs, a little supportive. There's two different kinds of seats depending on what trim level you get. Some have cloth, some have leather, some that power lumbar just like this one in the turbo ultimate some don't but overall upfront, it's not bad. Headroom is a little bit limited when you get the sunroof but not bad at all when you don't have the sunroof. In the back, it's tight. There's really not a lot of headroom back there, it's meant for sometimes bringing people along or occasional friends or friends you don't really like that you're gonna take on a long drive and hope to never see again, frankly. Either way, it's really just meant for an occasional use. The third door on the right side is more about convenience. You can put things in a lot easier than you could in a two door. It's a cargo feature more I think than a passenger feature but it's definitely unique and it's a, I think a selling point for the Veloster. This being Hyundai's sporty coupe, they've given it a sportier option. You can still get a manual transmission in the Veloster. It comes in two of the models. You can either get it in the base model two liter or you can get it in the 1.6 liter turbo. Now if you do get into the turbo, you can only get it in the R-Spec which is the entry-level model for the turbo but that's actually kind of a really neat deal. For just under 24,000 dollars, you get a manual transmission, you get pilot sport, four tires. You get a sports suspension, you get all the racy details in here. That's a really decent price for that. Now the transmission itself, the manual is pretty good. It's pretty snickety, it's very precise, it's actually a lot of fun to shift. I only have a couple of issues with it, It's located on the center console pretty far forward. So anybody who's taller and who's sitting back from the steering wheel a decent way is in order to be comfortable, really has to stretch in order to get to fifth gear or even sixth gear. I mean it's a bit of a ways out there. The other issue I have with it is that there's not a whole lot of room in the footwell. The pedal box area is actually kind of small so, I keep hitting my foot on the bottom of the instrument panel when I'm transitioning from the dead pedal to the clutch and back, it's a minor annoyance. And if you don't have size 12 like I do, it probably won't be an issue. But this really is a vehicle for someone who is smaller in stature. Hyundai has priced the Veloster to be what they call their entry-level halo vehicle. It's a downward halo as they're calling it which I don't know what that's the circling on the anatomy but still it's something that's supposed to be aspirational for first time buyers. So if you can afford to get into something really cool and desirable, the base model has the two liter non turbocharged engine but for a few dollars more, you can get this turbocharged model which has considerably more horsepower and a lot more scoot to it. Now for the price of this one, this is the R-Spec model. It's just under $24,000, which is a pretty decent price for entry level sports coupe. You've got the more powerful motor, you've got the manual transmission, you've got aggressive summer tires, you've got all the looks and raciness. The seats actually look fantastic. You've got standard apple CarPlay or Android auto, depending on which system that you have, which personal piece of electronics you own. That's really an excellent deal quite frankly, it is a lot of fun to drive. The driving position is actually quite good. You've got decent forward visibility, the problem is the visibility out back. The low roof line means you've got it very low rear window and frankly, I don't think I can see anything more than about a hundred feet beyond the back of the car. Most vehicles behind you, you're gonna see the bumper and that's really pretty much it. If there's a cop coming up on you from the horizon, you're not gonna see it until it's actually on you. The car makes all the right noises too and it's kind of interesting in terms of the noise that it's generating because you can adjust how it sounds. Now the engine noise is piped into the interior but you can turn it off or you can turn it on, you can turn it louder if you really want to but not many cars out there that let you adjust just the noise. Usually that comes with adjusting the exhaust as well but it sounds pretty good. And the reason that they pipe these kinds of sounds in is because frankly, these engines don't make a whole lot of noise unless you put a great big exhaust on them. There are two possible powertrains for the 2019 Veloster. First you've got the base model engine. A two liter, four cylinder engine making 147 horsepower and the optional engine is a 1.6 liter turbocharged motor, making 201 horsepower. Now that's the one you want. The base model engine is fine but the 201 horsepower turbo engine, that is really a lot more entertaining. There are three possible transmissions. The base engine comes with either a six speed manual or a six speed automatic and the upgraded one comes with either that six speed manual or a seven speed dual clutch transmission like we see in this one here. Hyundai has thoroughly reworked the suspension in the Veloster. Gone is the torsion beam in the bag, now there's a multi-link suspension back there. It really does create a much more entertaining platform. Everything really feels very tight. The suspension is firm but not punishing, the steering is actually very direct. It's got a very quick ratio as well, so you'd get a lot of responsiveness when you're changing direction. It's also gotten adjustable steering field. You've got three different drive modes in the automatic, two in the manual transmission model. The ride on the more aggressive turbo model is firm, I mean it's a little bit bouncy but it's really not uncomfortable, It is appropriate really to the sportiness of the vehicle. The handling is really quite good. You've got a multi-link rear suspension now instead of the torsion beam and that really has enabled them to open up some options in terms of balancing the ride and the handling. This thing really is a proper little sports coupe. When you put this car on the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires that you get as part of the R-Spec package, that handling is even better. It is a little bit loud, this model does have quite a bit of road noise, tire noise, and out on the highway, you're gonna find yourself talking at louder than normal volumes but frankly, it's a sports coupe. If you didn't want a little bit of noise in the interior, you should have bought something a little bit more cushy. Acceleration from that 1.6 liter turbo is really quite enjoyable. 201 horsepower is nothing to sneeze at and it makes a lot of it's torque down low as well, right around 1200 to 1300 RPM which is really quite reasonable. There isn't really any turbo lag at all and the DCT really shifts quite quickly. There's no lag, there's no springiness. There's no rubber band style feel that we saw in the original DCT and the Veloster. They've really re tuned this well, they've created something that's frankly, A lot of fun to drive. I keep saying that the Veloster is fun to drive and it really is. It's frankly a lot more entertaining than the previous model. It's more comfortable, it handles better. The steering field is better. The brakes, they're firm, they're progressive. We haven't gotten too rough on them and would've been driving around Detroit and some of the suburbs but we'd have to take that onto the track to really see how they hold up under serious sport use. But overall this package, especially for the money it seems like a winner. So for all of you out there that still like to drive cars and find entertainment value in a small sports coupe, you need to check out the 2019 Veloster and Veloster turbo. They start at right around 19,000 dollars and fully loaded, you'll go up to just under 30 grand which is a heck of a lot of car for not much money these days. If you'd like to learn more about the Veloster, look us up at cars.com.