Ashburton Courier: August 20, 2020

MOTORING
30 Ashburton Courier, August 20, 2020
www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz
Fun plus in Hyundai’s Velostar
BY ROSS KIDDIE
Iknow life often means
disappointments but it will take
me abit of time to get over
missing out on adrive of
Hyundai’s new i30 Nfastback –
ahigh­performance car based
around its hot­hatch
stablemate.
See, the turbocharged 2­litre
manual was acasualty of the
coronavirus Level 4lockdown, I
was due to have it within that
period but it has since been
seconded to duties in other
parts of the country.
That aside, the other
Hyundai models Iwas
scheduled into have arrived,
and aweek with the latest
generation Hyundai Veloster
almost made up for not
stepping into the i30 N.
The Veloster has been
around since 2012, and has just
undergone amajor
transformation. Saying that, the
one element that makes the
Veloster stand out from the
crowd hasn’t been changed.
What appears to be a
traditional two­door coupe is
actually athree­door. Yes,
there are two doors on the
passenger side and just one on
the driver’s side.
The concept was first
introduced with safety in mind,
the rationale being that when
children are seated in the rear
they can only exit from the
footpath side of the vehicle,
egress to the road is denied.
Bear in mind, too, that the
Veloster is only afour­seater.
Some might say the design of
the Veloster is outlandish, I’d
say it is bold yet trendy, it is
fresh and with an aggressive
body and with vivid colours to
choose from, the Veloster
certainly makes astatement.
The evaluation car was finished
in amatte gun metal grey, it
drew alot of attention during
the time it was in my care.
The Veloster arrives with two
engine options –a2­litre
naturally aspirated unit that
develops 110kW. Or else there
is a1.6­litre turbocharged
option –the 150kW engine that
powers several other Hyundai
and Kia models.
The evaluation car was the
latter, and it is an engine I’m
quite familiar with, it is no
outright powerhouse like the
engine in the i30 N, but it is a
feisty little unit and stands out
for its honesty and fuss­free
behaviour. Although it must be
said there is genuine exhaust
The Hyundai Veloster is abeautifully­made car and one which is both fun and exciting.
sound, there’s aconstant throb
under load and an enticing
crackle between gears.
When the Veloster first
appeared, it was Hyundai’s first
full­production vehicle with a
dual clutch gearbox; that type
of transmission is still used,
although it now gets seven
gears that can be manipulated
through steering wheelmounted
paddle shifters. In
terms of driving, DCT units can
be treated much like anormal
automatic transmission, the big
difference is that in itself it
works like amanual but
without amanual clutch and, of
course, there’s no powerrobbing
characteristics of
traditional torque converter
system.
The result is aquick shifting
unit that doesn’t load the
engine, power is clean, and
with astrong torque figure
(265Nm) and available low, and
all of the way between 1500 to
4500rpm, the Veloster turbo is a
quick­reacting car which is no
slouch against the stopwatch.
It will lunge to 100km/h in
7.5sec, which will satisfy those
who are happy with moderate
performance, but for me the big
surprise is the mid­speed
performance, it will scorch
through ahighway overtake
(80­120km/h) in 4.2sec, made
possible through solid turbo
boost and quick­shifting ratios
which are ideal for the wide
cross­section of our driving
styles and journeys.
On the subject of figures, the
Veloster turbo is rated by
Hyundai with a7.1­litre per
100km combined cycle fuel
usage average. At 100km/h I
recorded an instantaneous
readout of 5l/100km with the
engine working over freely at
2000rpm.
Iguess if you explore the
turbo boost frequently it will be
hard to match Hyundai’s claim,
and with just a50­litre fuel tank
you need to be mindful fill­ups
may come around quicker than
expected.
Nevertheless, Ienjoyed the
power and strength of that wee
engine, it is delightful and
provides the fun factor when
you feel the need for aquick
burst, taking into account that
several drive modes allow the
driver to choose how the car
behaves, from economical to
sport.
In terms of handling, the
Veloster feels sharp up front
with definite turn­in. Sport
specification Michelin tyres
(225/40 x18in) have high­grip
properties and combined with a
fully independent suspension
the car feels well attached to
the road.
The Veloster turbo is only
available in one fully­specced
level –Limited. It is loaded with
goodies such as full leather,
heated and cooled seats, heated
steering wheel, head­up
display, satellite navigation,
keyless entry and ignition, and
all the other bells and whistles
that make up Hyundai’s top
level trim spec. It also gets afull
safety suite of technologies.
Hyundai has had along
history of producing two­door
coupes, even though you could
argue the Veloster is
essentially athree­door. When
Ifirst started writing about cars
in 1988, one of the first Idrove
was the Scoupe, Hyundai’s first
sporty car, that transformed
into what Hyundai called
simply Coupe around 1996, the
Tiburon followed, then in 2012
the Veloster first landed in New
Zealand.
That history has served
Hyundai well, the Veloster is a
beautifully­made car and one
which is both fun and exciting.
It dares to be different with its
styling, but that is part of its
appeal, at $52,990 ($45,990 nonturbo),
it’s an affordable way to
make astatement.
Rating
Price –Hyundai Veloster,
$52,990
Dimensions –Length,
4250mm; width,
1800mm; height,
1409mm
Configuration –Fourcylinder,front­wheeldrive,1591cc,
150kW,
265Nm, seven­speed dual
clutchautomatic
Performance –0­100km/
h, 7.5sec
Fuel usage–7.1l/100km
Restoration Rust repairs Insurance claims -Your vehicle your choice
Deal directly with the owner, Bill Johnson
Panel beating and painting on all vehicles, including horse floats, caravans and small boats
2300982
16 -18Cass Street, Ashburton l E: johnsons.panelpaint@gmail.com