This morning I hit 2200 miles on the Odometer, dead on when I pulled into work.
I figure this would be a good time to leave another review on the car, including a few minor things Hyundai could do to make this car hang with the big boys of the hot hatch market.
Before we get started, I'd like to reiterate that I have been an advocate of the VTurbo and it NOT being a direct competitor of the GTi, Mini S and others. I don't think that the cars intended purpose was to compete with these vehicles that are thousands more and bred for being track worthy. I think the V was meant to be a very well rounded hatch; combining technology, comfort, use-ability, economy all while being quick and fun to drive. I think Hyundai accomplished this very well.
As stated, I believe there are 4 relatively small factors keeping this car from being all of what it currently is while giving the other hot hatches a run for their money.
Tires - no turbo car should be equipped with the Solus.
The Kumho Solus KH25 is a good tire, if you don't want to routinely push the car to its limits. I actually think people bash on the tires a bit to much as I have taken corners quite quickly before they start to break loose.
The KH25 is also a relatively expensive tire for the size. Of course Hyundai gets them cheaper than us but that also means they would get any other tire cheaper also.
I'm not asking for a Ultra High Performance summer tire that most people would ask for that carries a premium and has sub-par treadwear. I am asking for a High Performance All-Season tire. They could even stick with Kumho (you know since Kumho = Korean)
For around the same cost, if not cheaper, to them they could have thrown a 225/40/18 Kumho 4x on the car. This would still appeal to everyone as it wouldn't need to carry a premium, has a good treadlife, good comfort charactoristics, etc. The Kumho 4x however would be a bit wider which helps handling right from the getgo. This would also help cornering and acceleration (where the VTurbo seems to really look less than adequate in reviews)
This tire (or others similar) would probably drop the 0-60 by a couple tenths and gain a few hundreths on the skidpad. It would also be night and day on the track and mountain roads as far as how far you could push the car before it wants to kill you.
2nd gear a little taller
One of the biggest numbers a tuner and reviewers seem to comment on with a sports oriented vehicle is the 0-60 time.
As far as my 'testing' goes, you can't QUITE get to 60mph in 2nd gear. You can get very close but not there. This causes you to shift and accel before you hit that golden 60mph mark. If second gear was just a tad taller or the motor could rev a little higher you would save a bit of time getting to 60mph.
Of course with 2nd gear a little taller to hit that 60mph mark, the overall acceleration of 2nd gear would be a fraction slower because the ratio but I doubt enough to affect a faster 0-60 time.
A taller 2nd gear combined with better tires would have a significant effect on the reviews of the car and enthusiasts opinion of the car, not to mention the fun factor by these two minor changes.
I think the best tested 0-60 on the VTurbo was a pretty respectable 6.8-6.9 seconds with a 1/4 mile of 15 flat.
With better tires and that slightly taller (more broad) 2nd gear you could reasonably see 0-60 in ~6.5 seconds and a 1/4 mile a tenth or so under 15.
Heavier weighted steering
Before anyone jumps to the 'it is lighter for the sissy drivers' I am not talking about manual style steering, just something a little heavier than the car has.
I think the steering is actually quite good in the car, especially for EPS and Hyundai being somewhat new at it, as well as never really having a car 'tuned' for the track.
If they just weighted the steering a bit more to provide more resistance I think it would be perfect. There has been a couple of times in hard corners/curves at a quick speed where I don't feel as confident because the light feel of the steering turn in.
For most daily driving it is great, but by making it heavier when turning it it would provide a lot more confidence to the driver.
Other little things to bring up the value but no significant cost impact
HID option. Even if it was a 200$ option, I think a lot of people would opt for it in this car. I know there aren't many cars at this price range with HIDs but people like myself and probably most of you would opt for it, even though the option was relatively expensive.
An actual exhaust note. I understand keeping the car somewhat quiet to appeal to everyone and with local/state/federal regulations but this is a turbo sporty car and really needs to have a exhaust note that sets the car off. It doesn't have to be loud like the SRT-4 but just some 'sound' would be nice..
As far as the rest of the review, I am pretty solid in feeling the way I did before when I reviewed the car after a few hundred miles.
Of course the car is a bit more fun and better looking, now that we have the springs, exhaust, SRI, BOV, HIDS, tint, wheels etc. but from a review stand point it hasn't lost much of the OEM feel and style.
You can check out my other review here:
Review part 1
Review Part 2 -3rd post in above thread
I figure this would be a good time to leave another review on the car, including a few minor things Hyundai could do to make this car hang with the big boys of the hot hatch market.
Before we get started, I'd like to reiterate that I have been an advocate of the VTurbo and it NOT being a direct competitor of the GTi, Mini S and others. I don't think that the cars intended purpose was to compete with these vehicles that are thousands more and bred for being track worthy. I think the V was meant to be a very well rounded hatch; combining technology, comfort, use-ability, economy all while being quick and fun to drive. I think Hyundai accomplished this very well.
As stated, I believe there are 4 relatively small factors keeping this car from being all of what it currently is while giving the other hot hatches a run for their money.
Tires - no turbo car should be equipped with the Solus.
The Kumho Solus KH25 is a good tire, if you don't want to routinely push the car to its limits. I actually think people bash on the tires a bit to much as I have taken corners quite quickly before they start to break loose.
The KH25 is also a relatively expensive tire for the size. Of course Hyundai gets them cheaper than us but that also means they would get any other tire cheaper also.
I'm not asking for a Ultra High Performance summer tire that most people would ask for that carries a premium and has sub-par treadwear. I am asking for a High Performance All-Season tire. They could even stick with Kumho (you know since Kumho = Korean)
For around the same cost, if not cheaper, to them they could have thrown a 225/40/18 Kumho 4x on the car. This would still appeal to everyone as it wouldn't need to carry a premium, has a good treadlife, good comfort charactoristics, etc. The Kumho 4x however would be a bit wider which helps handling right from the getgo. This would also help cornering and acceleration (where the VTurbo seems to really look less than adequate in reviews)
This tire (or others similar) would probably drop the 0-60 by a couple tenths and gain a few hundreths on the skidpad. It would also be night and day on the track and mountain roads as far as how far you could push the car before it wants to kill you.
2nd gear a little taller
One of the biggest numbers a tuner and reviewers seem to comment on with a sports oriented vehicle is the 0-60 time.
As far as my 'testing' goes, you can't QUITE get to 60mph in 2nd gear. You can get very close but not there. This causes you to shift and accel before you hit that golden 60mph mark. If second gear was just a tad taller or the motor could rev a little higher you would save a bit of time getting to 60mph.
Of course with 2nd gear a little taller to hit that 60mph mark, the overall acceleration of 2nd gear would be a fraction slower because the ratio but I doubt enough to affect a faster 0-60 time.
A taller 2nd gear combined with better tires would have a significant effect on the reviews of the car and enthusiasts opinion of the car, not to mention the fun factor by these two minor changes.
I think the best tested 0-60 on the VTurbo was a pretty respectable 6.8-6.9 seconds with a 1/4 mile of 15 flat.
With better tires and that slightly taller (more broad) 2nd gear you could reasonably see 0-60 in ~6.5 seconds and a 1/4 mile a tenth or so under 15.
Heavier weighted steering
Before anyone jumps to the 'it is lighter for the sissy drivers' I am not talking about manual style steering, just something a little heavier than the car has.
I think the steering is actually quite good in the car, especially for EPS and Hyundai being somewhat new at it, as well as never really having a car 'tuned' for the track.
If they just weighted the steering a bit more to provide more resistance I think it would be perfect. There has been a couple of times in hard corners/curves at a quick speed where I don't feel as confident because the light feel of the steering turn in.
For most daily driving it is great, but by making it heavier when turning it it would provide a lot more confidence to the driver.
Other little things to bring up the value but no significant cost impact
HID option. Even if it was a 200$ option, I think a lot of people would opt for it in this car. I know there aren't many cars at this price range with HIDs but people like myself and probably most of you would opt for it, even though the option was relatively expensive.
An actual exhaust note. I understand keeping the car somewhat quiet to appeal to everyone and with local/state/federal regulations but this is a turbo sporty car and really needs to have a exhaust note that sets the car off. It doesn't have to be loud like the SRT-4 but just some 'sound' would be nice..
As far as the rest of the review, I am pretty solid in feeling the way I did before when I reviewed the car after a few hundred miles.
Of course the car is a bit more fun and better looking, now that we have the springs, exhaust, SRI, BOV, HIDS, tint, wheels etc. but from a review stand point it hasn't lost much of the OEM feel and style.
You can check out my other review here:
Review part 1
Review Part 2 -3rd post in above thread