A random test drive in the 2019 turbo Veloter

Hey, what's up ladies and gents?! So today I was stuck in traffic in front of my neighborhood dealership and there sat the new 2019 Veloster. My affinity for the Veloster has faded over the years,  but there was something about this white turbo that just called out to me. I decided to pull in and just take a look, but little did I know that not even ten minutes later I would be out on a test drive. This is by no way a full review but a quick snip it of my first impressions. And sorry, I do not have any pictures. Shout out to Nick over at Major Hyundai here in northeast PA for tossing me the keys. Looking forward to my phone call when the N comes in...

So without further ado, my quickie review.

Exterior...

Lets get to right to it...this is a gorgeous car! This is the second generation of the quirky asymetrical hatch. Everything on the outside is complete different from the previous generation. Walking around to the front of the car you can see the sharpened headlights, better proportioned grill, and very large crooked H. The bumper also has vents on the sides to help aid air to the brakes. Down the side of the car are indented body lines that make the car look bulkier and wider than it actually is. The sided skirts are also more integrated into the body lines then the previous model with "turbo"in red at the rear of the skirt. It is pretty sharp! The rear is large and appears wide. The tail lights help with this perception because they are stretched out on the rear. Gone are the rounded all in one tails of the previous gen. The stand out feature for me was the two tone roof. Being that I had a white car and black roof, it make the difference that much more dramatic. The car I drove was the ultimate and the moon roof is huge. Overall, vast improvement over the last generation.

Interior...

I need to start this by saying that I am not a fan of leather and really not a fan of Hyundai's leather. I am a fan of the older style cloth seats, sort of like the the GK Tiburon. I will say that the seat was very comfortable with good lateral and lumbar support. I wish the lumbar support was adjustable though, I normally like it extended fully. The dashboard is very appealing with the center console angled and facing the driver. The display was nicely laid out and very easy to read. All buttons were satisfying to the touch and you know you turned on or off something because you would get a satisfying "click". Did I mention it has a huge moon roof? damn near the whole roof I glass. Visibility was good, save maybe out of the small rear window. A quick look over your left shoulder and you can see everything same goes for the right shoulder as you look out the rear door window. This does have the normal electronic wizardry that we have all come to expect with new cars. Lane assist, which beeped at me when clipping the apex or if you put a tire even near the yellow line. Heads up display. Eh, not a fan. I turned it off almost immediately. Roll assist, back up camera with cross traffic warning system, and the usual power everything. The materials were nice to the touch and felt more expensive than the previous generation and gone are the cheap silver accents that just simply chipped or rubbed away after time.

Drivetrain...

So the turbo is using the gamma 1.6 turbo. making 201 hp and 195 lb/ft of torque. Essentially the same motor from the previous generation, though I have a feeling that the ECU as been reworked because it felt much better than other turbo's I have driven in the past. The 6spd was slick with pretty short throws. One odd thing was the reverse ring seems to be placed too far up the shifter and it feels weird while rowing through the gears. The ratios appear to be on point and the motor is happy to rev. I dare say that I hit redline atleast once due to the rpms getting away from me on a couple of spirited pulls. The electric differential was on point and the traction control was discrete. Save the light coming on, I would have never known it was coming on.  Though perhaps it is because I had it in "sport mode". Turbo lag was minimal and really it should be with such a small turbo. It will show its ugly head if you short shift it and then get back on it again but for the most part you are almost always in boost when you foot goes down to the floor.

Suspension...

This is definitely where the new car out shines its older generation. The front is using the stardard Macpherson strut with spring. The rear however, *rubs hands together* is an independent rear set up with separate spring/ damper combo. This makes the car more stable in the twisties and under hard braking especially on bumping PA backroads. The car is will sprung and dampened. It is very stiff but not punishing. Body roll is kept to a minimum. The improvement here is insane. This is how it should have been when the car was released the first time. I don't even hate the new 18 inch rims especially since they are wrapped with Michelin pilot sport tires. Yum.

Overall...

This car in short is a marked improvement in handling and driving impression. It does have me looking forward the release of the N edition. While the engine and tranny are a nice combo and definitely a capable pair, the chassis is screaming for more power. The additional 75 hp will be very welcomed and should scoot this sub 3000 lbs car along very nicely. This would be a nice commuter car for sure, but the thought of a 2.0 turbo stuffed in the engine bay from the factory is he thing of every Hyundai fan boy's dreams. Me included.

To be continued.