[CrazySte]

I think the Title says it all... so let's Get Started:



THE 5 THINGS I LIKE IN THE VELOSTER TURBO

1) Interior Design: i don't know about you guys, but when i Drive a Car i do it from Inside and i like for the interior of my Car to make me feel cozy, in an ambient that is "soft" to the eye, without flat surfaces and pointy corners, the deinterior Design of the Veloster it's perfectly complete, all the lines are smooth and sinuously match together and when i look at the dashboard, i feel like i am in a SpaceShip;

2) Exterior Appearance: it is truly intense, when i look at it it gives a sensation of Madness/Meanness but it is clean, without bad details that make it look incomplete or patched up;

3) Engine Power: let's Remember that this Car has a 1.6 Liter Motor with just 4 Cylinders... it's definitely not a massive Motor, but the Power Output that it delivers is truly Great, and i have to say that i am happy Hyundai used a Single Geometry Turbo rather than a Variable Geometry... i love the Kick it gives when you stomp on the Throttle and you reach the "Magic rpm"

4) Sound System: the Dimension Audio System Sounds Astonishing, the Sound is greatly Balanced and the Sub-Woofer gives the right amount of Vibrations without overcoming the rest of the Sounds, truly one of the Best Audio Systems i have ever heard, and trust me, i have been in some very Expensive Cars that didn't have an Audio System as good as the Veloster's;

5) Software Interface: the Interface of the On Board Computer is great, very user friendly and also with a really nice appearance, the thing is that it's so fun to tap around it that you tend to get distracted while driving, so i had to make a vote to myself to not use it while driving;



THE 5 THINGS I DO NOT LIKE IN THE VELOSTER TURBO



1) Simple Suspension System: the Veloster is a Sports Car and like in Every Sports Car i would expect a pretty Sophisticated Suspension System, instead the Veloster uses a very simple McPherson Strut at the Front, used basically in 80% of Vehicles because of it's simplicity, so cheapness and reliability and it uses a Torsion Beam at the Rear, a system used in Small City Car... both good to contain costs, but with Performances that are pretty Low compared to Competitors that use Double Wishbone Suspension at the Front and MultiLink at the Rear... truly a Suspension Configuration of this kind would have been truly nice on the Veloster...
THAT SAID: i have recently started to push my Veloster Turbo to it's limits and i started to feeling it Slide, and it doesn't lose Grip in an Abrupt manner at all, it's a very nice and predictable loss of Grip tendentiously on all 4 Wheels and but whit a little Counter Steer you can keep the Car direction correct while the Tail get's a little happy and wiggles a bid while regaining directionality... so... VERY FUN, so i guess this Simple Suspension System was not all bad;

THIS IS WHAT I WISH FOR THE FRONT SUSPENSION ON THE VELOSTER

THIS IS WHAT I WISH FOR THE REAR SUSPENSION ON THE VELOSTER

2) Steering Feedback: on a Sports Car it is mandatory that the Driver feels the Wheels Steering, instead between the Steering Wheel and the Veloster and the Wheels there is no connection at all, it feels like i am Driving with an XBox Joystick... the Car goes where i want, but i don't feel it going there, i just see it... i wish the Hyundai Engineers used a common Rack & Pinion Motor Assisted Direct Drive like on most of the Sports Car rather than an Electronic Steering System... the part that truly bother me is that if you move quickly the Steering you can feel a sort of delay in the Wheel movement... it's very minimal, but it's there, and in some situations it can become frustrating and even dangerous, i truly hope in the future Hyunday switches to a Motor Assisted Rack & Pinion Steering System... the Veloster truly deserves it;


3) Delayed Throttle Response:this is plain weird, and many people complained about this... the Throttle has a delay, kinda like the Steering, but this time is much much bigger, especially if you do a quick start and quickly Shift from first to Second Gear, you release the Clutch and Stomp the Throttle and... the Power doesn't come, there is about a Half Second Delay before the Car starts Pushing... the weird thing is that if you change gear, release the Clutch and wait a half second to press the Throttle, you obtain the same result as before... it's like if the Throttle Pedal is turned off while the Clutch is pressed... this is not only annoying, but it can be dangerous, in some situations the Stability of the Car is guaranteed by the Traction, and pressing the Gas Pedal is your life line and you need it to work right away, that half second delay could cause the Car to lose Stability and could even cost your life... i truly hope that Hyundai will give us a nice ECU Update that get's rid of this issue;


4) Poor Exhaust Note: a Sports Car needs to sound Sporty, i am not saying that the Veloster should come with a Full Race Exhaust, the car needs to be drivable every day without losing your ears, BUT it should have some sort of a Nice Deep Tone to it... instead on the Veloster Turbo, on the first days i often forgot to change Gears because i didn't hear the Engine at all... i had to train myself to look at the RPM gauge continuously so that i know when is the proper time to change gear... i wish Hyundai at least offered the Option to install a Sport Tuned Muffler as an Option, but instead i will be forced to go buy an Aftermarket Muffler to give the Sound that you do expect from a Sports Car... Again, i am not talking about a Crazy Lound Exhaust, but something with a low deep Growl that when you step on the Throttle let's the Driver know that this Car means Business... instead if i keep the Windows Open i can hear this very thing, kinda metallic, spitting noise that makes me feel Stupid... i am driving an aggressive looking car, i need it to sound a little aggressive too... oh well, this problem will be fixed in a madder of weeks with an AfterMarket Exhaust;


5) Electronic Stability Control: normally is known as ESC or ESP or VDC and it helps maintaining Stability of the Vehicle, BUT it has a very bad Problem and it is that this System reacts based on Statistics, making Maneuvers that match with "most of the drivers" but they might not match some drivers reactions to some conditions, and in those cases, it causes a dangerous situation... it could even send you off road rather than keeping you on the road if you maneuver your car Properly... YES i said Properly, because the ESC Software assumes that you don't know how to Drive and it corrects the Mistake he expects you are going to do next, BUT if you are a skilled Driver and instead are in perfect control of the Situation, the ESC can not interpret your proper inputs and simply assumes you are doing a royal mess and corrects it the way he thinks it's right... which it has been demonstrated it can be a pretty dangerous situation:

VIDEO: ESC Causes a McLaren to Crash
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Fortunately on the Veloster Turbo there is a Switch on the Dashboard to Turn Off this System, BUT it would have been nicer if they gave an Option to keep the Traction Control Active without Stability Control, so that you could safely Drive the Car on Ice while having some help with the Traction but still have full control of the Car directionality.

~~~

Well this is it... this is what i think of my Veloster... i have to say that considering the price of this car (paid $25300) i am very happy with the Purchase, BUT i would have been willing to pay a little more if it had this qualities i just described as the main flaws.

CIAO

 

[Petey T]

I think your first mistake is thinking our cars are "Sports Cars." They should be viewed as the "Sporty" version of an affordable economy car. We get amazing standard features in a very fun and attractive package, but the VT is far from a true sports car.

Just my .02

 

[The Mackies]

yeah ya right petey. Sports car wasn't how this bad boy was designed, if it was it wouldn't be running on the same platform as the Accent.

 

[CrazySte]

Well... i guess i got Spoiled when i live in Italy and i had an "Alfa Romeo 147 Diesel MultiJet" (it was a 1.9 Diesel with 150Hp capable of getting from 0 to 60 in under 9 seconds and that did 55mpg) and it uses a Suspension System that has been used also on Ferrari's... that car handled like a champ!

ALFA FRONT SUSPENSION: High Deformable Quadrilateral

ALFA REAR SUSPENSIONS: MultiLink 5

Only thing was that those Suspensions where super crazy delicate, but damn it was a lot of fun to drive!

The Wheels where so well perfectly Flat to the Asphalt that it felt like there was no way to make it lose Grip... took Loops of Interstates at 70-75mph and Tires didn't even squeek ;-)


I truly wish the Veloster had Suspensions of this kind, BUT OK, these Geometries are just about the most extreme available on the Market, but there are many other things in between, and it would have not hurt to use one of those instead

 

[Stone Axe]

Great write up!

Your experience lines up well with mine.

But the #2 and #3 things that you don't like are not such a problem for me.

#2 The Steering - I like the steering overall but it does feel more "sprung" than giving actual feedback sometimes. I love the narrow deadband and how straight it tracks though.

#3 The Throttle - The VT is finicky about power delivery in general and it takes time to figure out when the ECU is going to turn the turbo on. I have not experienced throttle lag so much and I can keep the engine revving just fine between gears - even 1st and 2nd. There is definitely a unique "cadence" to the VT's pedal and shifter that took me some time to learn. The ECU does provide a soft rev limiter that keeps you from over-revving the engine when the clutch is in but it does not keep you from revving the engine. Try turning off the ECT and you will see what the ECU is doing. With the ECT off the turbo spools the engine very quickly when it is not under load and you will hit the actual rev limiter much more often.

Overall, I still consider the VT a sports car. But you get what you pay for and I think Hyundai hit a nice sweet spot with the VT in terms of price, style and performance.

 

[importmonkey]

So where does the vt fit? We know it's not a sports car. Definitely doesn't get the mpg most of us anticipated to be a tree hugger. I know most people would dissagree that it's uber affordable, so can't preface car with economy either. Family car? Not really.

So?

 

[btjetman]

So where does the vt fit? We know it's not a sports car. Definitely doesn't get the mpg most of us anticipated to be a tree hugger. I know most people would dissagree that it's uber affordable, so can't preface car with economy either. Family car? Not really.

So?

It's a fun little car that puts a smile on my face every time I see it and/or drive it.

 

[Stone Axe]

First, I am going to rule out the Alfa and Renault because they aren't available in America and are notoriously unreliable.

As an aside every BMW and Mercedes that I have owned has had a McPherson strut front suspension so I don't consider that to be a mark against the VT.

The VT is pretty much the cheapest 200hp that you can buy today - especially in a 2,800 lb car that has a 6 speed M/T. It comes with big alloy rims and a tightly sprung suspension that works great on smooth roads. On smooth roads my VT handles better than my old BMW's and Mercedes - even with the hard stock tires. On rough roads it does show its shortcomings.

I've owned a lot of sports cars and that term has been twisted around a lot lately. My previous sports cars included the FIAT 124 Spyder, both the FIAT and Bertone X1/9, BMW 2002 and the Volvo P1800ES. None of those cars had anywhere near the power to weight ratio of the VT, they all had similar handling to the VT and none of them had power steering. If you want a true sports car you normally need manual steering to get that actual steering feedback. Other than that the VT is a true sports car in my opinion.

Today the VT lines up against the Ford Focus/Mazda 3, VW Golf/Audi A3/A4, Honda Civic, Volvo C30, Subaru Imprezza, Chevy Cruze, Chrylser Dart and Kia Forte. When you cut that list down to 200+ hp you get the Golf GTI, Audi A3/A4, Ford Focus ST, Mazdaspeed 3, Honda Civic Si, Volvo C30R and the Subaru WRX. When you cut that list down to $25,000 you get the GTI, Mazdaspeed and the Honda. When you cut that list down to leather, sunroof and NAV you get only the VT.

 

[Petey T]

Today the VT lines up against the Ford Focus/Mazda 3, VW Golf/Audi A3/A4, Honda Civic, Volvo C30, Subaru Imprezza, Chevy Cruze, Chrylser Dart and Kia Forte. When you cut that list down to 200+ hp you get the Golf GTI, Audi A3/A4, Ford Focus ST, Mazdaspeed 3, Honda Civic Si, Volvo C30R and the Subaru WRX. When you cut that list down to $25,000 you get the GTI, Mazdaspeed and the Honda. When you cut that list down to leather, sunroof and NAV you get only the VT.

This part was perfectly written. When I was shopping I was looking for a sporty car that can average 30mpg, in the 200 hp range, and is available with a 6-speed. It just so happens that the one I chose has the best power-to-weight ratio, hp/liter, full leather, and an 8-speaker Dimension audio system. I've been able to get 38 mpg on a complete tank of fuel and also hit 140 mph in my 6M/T.

 

[The Mackies]

to me a sports car is mainly a 2 door coupe with RWD. The genesis coupe to me is the Hyundai sports car ( sadly we don't get it here ) I might go as far as calling this a sports orientated compact but that's it. Don't get me wrong for the money you get a great car with some personality and some go. but compared it to the BRZ/86 or the Genesis it falls far from sports car. like I said this is my opinion

 

[Stone Axe]

I really like this forum. It is refreshing to have interesting and civil discussion on the Internet.

You make 2 good points with the FR-S/BR-Z and the Genesis coupe.

First, the Genesis Coupe is a great car that is under-rated and I definitely considered it and drove it before buying the VT. For my taste it was too compact for my needs and I quickly got caught up in the escalating packages and price.

Second, the FR-S/BR-Z is one of the most exciting sports cars to come out in a long time. It was the last car that I drove before I bought the VT. It is really small and the retro useless rear seats were confusing. If it was a hatchback I might have bought it instead because with the rear seats folded down it has decent cargo capacity and I need the hatchback cargo capacity. The biggest surprise for me was that it is not that fast. The VT definitely feels faster - especially at speed and on the highway. The VT smokes that car when you just press on the throttle on the highway. I found myself shifting all the time with that car - much more than with the VT. So I didn't buy it.

If you notice all of my previous sports cars were RWD. So I get what you are saying. This is the first FWD car that I have owned that I consider a sports car. Most people consider the GTI's and Civic Si's produced over the last few decades to be sports cars as well.

Like you said, this is just my opinion.

 

[CrazySte]

First, I am going to rule out the Alfa and Renault because they aren't available in America and are notoriously unreliable.

As an aside every BMW and Mercedes that I have owned has had a McPherson strut front suspension so I don't consider that to be a mark against the VT.

Only reason why i brought Alfa in the picture was because i owned 2 Alfa's and i loved the Stability they have and the Steering Feedback... YES, Alfa Romeo still uses Rack & Pinion Steering... so technically speaking, the Steering Wheel is Mechanically Connected to the Wheels, what they do, they add an Electric Motor that helps the movement, but again: the Steering is still done Mechanically and if the Electric Motor goes bad, you can still drive the Car.

As far as the Reliability... YES, the Suspensions used by Alfa are delicate... crazy Delicate, as i said, the High Quadrilateral Suspension is used in cars like Ferrari 360 and Lamborghini Gallardo... trust me, if you hit a Speed Bump with one of those cars at 10mph, you have done big damages... same story for the Alfa's... when i got my 147, 2 weeks later i was braking while i hit a Hole... Steering went off balance by 45 degrees... they were nice to fix it under warranty, but i had to learn to avoid bumps and holes... YET, the feeling of Driving a Car with such a nice Suspension System is something to be tried.

BMW and other German brands don't use complicated Suspensions System just because of that: Germans prefer to give you a less extreme performance to maintain a high reliability, but in Europe BMW's have reputation of being very unstable cars (well works for most German brands anyway) especially when compared to the Alfa's:


BMW 3 series
ESC OFF = 18%
ESC ON = 88%
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Audi A4
ESC OFF = 19%
ESC ON = 71%

AlfaRomeo Giulietta
ESC OFF = 48%
ESC ON = 83%
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and since we are in this Forum, i have to post the Veloster too:

Hyundai Veloster
ESC OFF = 36%
ESC ON = 73%
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The Veloster, despite the Simple Suspensions, is one of the top performers in the mandatory stability test... the Alfa Romeo's win all the way when they have the Stability Control OFF thank's to the Mechanical Grip generated by the Suspensions they use, but the Japanese, as usual, beat every one in Electronics:

Honda Civic
ESC OFF = 42%
ESC ON = 91%
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That siad... i am not saying the Veloster should use the High Deformable Quadrilateral Suspension or a MultiLink 5, but at least, they should use a Double Wishbone, which is basically the same thing as a McPherson Strut but with a much better control of the Wheels, that reduced a lot the Camber Angle Changes... as far as the Rear, it would have been nicer to have at least an independent MultiLink 3 or even a more simple Dual Link which are both Suspensions that are known to be very reliable and offer a performance level that is quite higher to the usual McPherson Strut that is used a lot just because is Cheap and Simple and is just because it's Simple that is reliable.

CIAO

 

[The Mackies]

exactly mate, I would of bought the 86 hand over fist if we didn't require a back seat, and ya right it is slower in a straight line but that car was built with corners and drifting in mind. deliberately under tyred from the factory so it has that lovely over steer. I LOVE our VT but that because it does what we need, it is the wife`s company car and on the weekend our run about with out 2 toddlers. the thing reacts to bumps oddly and never feels comfy when pushing at ten tenths, I hope with a few simple mods that others have done it will get better but I am convinced finding extra performance in this car would be way more expensive than finding it in a BRZ/86.

 

[[email protected]]

you dont need a multilink rear or a double wish bone suspension to have a proper functioning suspension..

 

[CrazySte]

you dont need a multilink rear or a double wish bone suspension to have a proper functioning suspension..

NO, but if you want a Highly Corner Performing Car you sure do... otherwise in Racing they would use McPherson Struts as well ;-)

The success of the McPherson Strut has been determined by it's Simplicity, it has a very simple Mechanical Design, it doesn't take a genius to make it, and ince it has fewer moving parts, it turns out to be more reliable.

BUT as far as Performance, the McPherson Strut presents all the Problems a Suspension can have... every time a Wheel is pushed up it changes the Camber Angel A LOT causing the Tire to no longer be parallel to the Asphalt... and thinking about it, every time you take a Corner, the Outside Suspensions are loaded, meaning that are Pushed up, so the 2 Tires that have to do the most of the Work, find themselves to work in an awkward angle that causes them to not use the entire Tire Surface as they are supposed to and lose the ideal Grip and start squeaking at speeds where a nice Quadrilateral Suspension or a Crossed Link Suspension, wouldn't even have made you feel the Curve.

If you never driven an Alfa, you can not understand... i ask you tu trust me in this: it's an incredible feel

 

[MyDianaZ06]

if Hyundai did everything on the vt that you wish it had, it sure wouldn't be 20k-25k.

 

[Stone Axe]

you dont need a multilink rear or a double wish bone suspension to have a proper functioning suspension..

Not at all.

There are countless cars that have the same suspension as the VT over the last several decades that were considered high performance sports cars. Up until a few years ago every GTI and Civic Si had the same suspension as the VT.

The majority of M3's and M5's have McPherson strut suspension too.

Don't get me wrong, 3 of my 5 previous sports cars were Italian and I would LOVE to have and Alfa like that here in America. But as someone that has owned many Italian cars they are not suited for daily driving.

 

[MyDianaZ06]

especially if they are delicate like crazyste says they are. maybe that's why most manufacturers don't even consider that type of suspension.

 

[[email protected]]

Not at all.

There are countless cars that have the same suspension as the VT over the last several decades that were considered high performance sports cars. Up until a few years ago every GTI and Civic Si had the same suspension as the VT.

The majority of M3's and M5's have McPherson strut suspension too.

Don't get me wrong, 3 of my 5 previous sports cars were Italian and I would LOVE to have and Alfa like that here in America. But as someone that has owned many Italian cars they are not suited for daily driving.

YYYYYYup nail on the head..

NO, but if you want a Highly Corner Performing Car you sure do... otherwise in Racing they would use McPherson Struts as well ;-)

The success of the McPherson Strut has been determined by it's Simplicity, it has a very simple Mechanical Design, it doesn't take a genius to make it, and ince it has fewer moving parts, it turns out to be more reliable.

BUT as far as Performance, the McPherson Strut presents all the Problems a Suspension can have... every time a Wheel is pushed up it changes the Camber Angel A LOT causing the Tire to no longer be parallel to the Asphalt... and thinking about it, every time you take a Corner, the Outside Suspensions are loaded, meaning that are Pushed up, so the 2 Tires that have to do the most of the Work, find themselves to work in an awkward angle that causes them to not use the entire Tire Surface as they are supposed to and lose the ideal Grip and start squeaking at speeds where a nice Quadrilateral Suspension or a Crossed Link Suspension, wouldn't even have made you feel the Curve.

If you never driven an Alfa, you can not understand... i ask you tu trust me in this: it's an incredible feel

no you dont... look up the fastest product FWD car on the ring.. i'll give you a hint.. it has a macpherson strut, and a torsion rear. and your idea of a mcpherson would be valid if most of the current cars that used a mcpherson strut didnt have their struts mounted right next to the fire wall which provides a large amount of rigidity .. it's not like it's mid hood which allows alot of flex


and another thing.. christ stop bitching about the ESC you figured out how to turn it of it deserves no place being on your 5 issues when it's REQUIRED by law to be a feature on the car in the US

 

[MyDianaZ06]

and another thing.. christ stop bitching about the ESC you figured out how to turn it of it deserves no place being on your 5 issues when it's REQUIRED by law to be a feature on the car in the US

had no clue ESC is required by law. wonder what year that started. tpms started in 07 to be a feature on cars in the US.