[CrazySte]

My First 650miles/1000Km on my New Veloster Turbo... Good & Bad (Very Poor Mileage)

HI EVERYBODY,
3 Weeks ago i got my Red Veloster Turbo (6 speed manual) Fully Loaded and although i have been gone for few days in a work trip, i managed to do 650miles, so i am only now coming out of the Brake In Period... so i have never had the chance of pushing her to the limit, actually i had to keep driving it below 4000rpm as reccomanded by the dealer and i never used the Cruise Control, so let's say i drove it very gently, and here are my first impressions:


Hyundai declared that the Veloster Turbo is supposed to do 26mpg in the City and 35 on the Highway

EPA States that the Veloster Turbo does 24mpg in the city and 31 in the Highway


OK so let's consider that i could not use the Cruise Control, so my Highway Mileage is kinda lower than what it could be, but my City driving is in a City that does not have traffic, so not a "Stop & Go" but more and slow moving, accelerate, brake, re-accelerate etc.
As far as the Highway, i did about 250miles on the Highway maintaining Speeds between 70 and 80mph with no Cruise Control, soon i will test her with Cruise and i will let you guys know how much i will be getting... anyway for now:

PERSONALLY I AM GETTING:

23mpg in the City

31mpg in the Highway

So i am closer to the EPA estimates rather than Hyundai, BUT keep in mind that i did these miles in Brake In Period, so again, i was driving particularly gently and i was expecting much better than this, i am afraid the actual consumption will drop down to 20-21 soon... on the Highway i am happy since without Cruise Control i got 31mpg, i do expect to get 33-34mpg with it.



LET'S TALK ABOUT THE CAR ITSELF

Driving the Car seems a lot of fun, although i have been unable to push it and i won't for another 400miles (one of the Tech guys told me that i should not push it to the limit until 1000miles, so i am keeping her below 5000rpm until then)... taking curves seems fun, you can feel the car leaning towards the outside, BUT it feels safe and controllable.

The Throttle has a nice response once you are above 2500rpm (come on, this is a Gasoline Small Gasoline Engine, you don't have much business staying below 2000rpm anyway ;-), if you are below the 2000rpm threshold, you can notice the Turbo unpressurized kicking in once you reach 2500rpm...

Actually i noticed that if i am Holding the Throttle gently pressed, from 1500rpm, the car progresses very slowly until about 2500, then all of a sudden is like if i am pressing in a click a 20% more throttle, it's obviously the Turbo Kicking in, and since this is not a Variable Geometry Turbo, once he kicks in, it does kick... I LOVE IT!!!


BUT THERE IS A WEIRD FEELING PROGRESSING UP

Continuing the thing i was doing earlier, like i said, i was holding the Throttle in one position, not too light, just press it a bit and let the car progress up... at 2500rpm the Turbo Kicks in and the Motors starts pushing harder and so gaining rpm, if i hold the Throttle in that position, after i pass 3000rpm the car starts kinda jumping... it pushes harder and lighter until i get to the 4000rpm where i need to change gear... the feeling is like if i am pressing the throttle 20% then 25%, then 20%, then 25%, then 20% again and it happens as i said 4-5 times just in the range between 3000rpm and 4000rpm... it's an uneven push, but this happens only if i am pressing the Throttle partially... i have tried to push deeper the Gas Pedal, and the push is more than even...

DID ANYONE ELSE NOTICED THE SAME THING?


Let's go to the interiors... I LOVE THE INTERIORS OF THE VELOSTER

it makes me feel like if i am in a Spaceship... i totally like the Texture of the upper Dashboard and even more i like the feel it has, it doesn't feel like a cheap hard plastic, it almost feels like a rubber component, it's kinda soft and i do appreciate these kind of touch... OK it's not as soft as a luxury car like a Lexus that has the padded dashboard, but still it's not a solid cheap piece of plastic!

THE SOFTWARE IS AMAZING
the Operating System of the Veloster is extremely enjoyable, it has soo many functions that the first day i spent well over an hour just playing around with it... i never seen a Car Software so complete and full of functions.


As far as the Sound...

THE DIMENSION SOUND SYSTEM IS ASTONISHING

i have had many cars in my Life, and in my Family there have been several Luxury Cars with some seriously good Sound Systems, but this is just amazing, it's so well balanced, it really feels you in with the sound.


This time of the year it's still pretty cold, so i had to use the heating quite a bit...

THAT THING BURNS

I tried to set the Heat all the way, and i swear that it was burning on my hand while driving, and it was soo hot that i had to turn it down to half way.

OK, i live in North Carolina, so i might not need it as much as those who live on the boarder or directly in Canada, but DAMN!

That's nice, for sure i should not get frozen in this car.


OK, for now this is all, i will keep you guys posted in the future with the mileage once i get to test her a little more...

But for now, i am really happy of the purchase
CIAO

 

[RieBauer17]

The hesitation issue seems to be very common, as I noticed it immediately after I got the car. It is more pronounced when the engine is cold, and subsides a bit once at operating temp. I've concluded that it has something to do with the flap inside the air box that can be found underneath the filter. If you have the filter out you can open it, and with a thin enough filter(ex:K&N) to place over top so it doesn't have the ability to close at any point.

I'm confident that fuel economy is drastically reduced in cold weather, because I'm only able to get 34mpg on the freeway right now (20-25 degrees), and was able to get just slightly below 40mpg when I had her in Florida (75 degrees). I've always been able to get well above what EPA lists so its all about driving style

 

[shaX 07]

Huh? Hyundai and the EPA do not have different fuel economy figures. The figures changed in November because Hyundai realized they had some issues with their testing procedures. The original EPA/Hyundai fuel economy figures for a VT M/T were: 26 City/38 Highway/31 Combined.

The new figures are: 24 City/35 Highway/29 Combined.

 

[[email protected]]

The hesitation issue seems to be very common, as I noticed it immediately after I got the car. It is more pronounced when the engine is cold, and subsides a bit once at operating temp. I've concluded that it has something to do with the flap inside the air box that can be found underneath the filter. If you have the filter out you can open it, and with a thin enough filter(ex:K&N) to place over top so it doesn't have the ability to close at any point.

I'm confident that fuel economy is drastically reduced in cold weather, because I'm only able to get 34mpg on the freeway right now (20-25 degrees), and was able to get just slightly below 40mpg when I had her in Florida (75 degrees). I've always been able to get well above what EPA lists so its all about driving style

very true.. winter gas doesn't help either.. i can get 32-35 mpg now that i've broken the car in if i'm on just highway. I've never stuck to 65-70 mph though just cruising every time i do a high way i wound up getting caught up going 75+ (which is terrible for mpg) and messing around with someone lol

 

[CrazySte]

HI EVERYBODY,
today i had to take a nice 180miles trip on the Highway, and since i finally have more than 600miles, i was able to use the Cruise Control and see how much of a Good Mileage the Veloster Turbo can get.

I set the Cruise to maintain the Engine just below 3000rpms, which should be a nice working rpm speed for this kind of Motor.

I was lucky enough to not have to take off the Cruise Control many times and the Highways i drove on were mostly flat with some minor hills and related downhills

i don't think the Pictures i am Posting will require much Comments, but let me just say:


CRUISE CONTROL MAKES MIRACLES

~~~ 33.6 ~~~

~~~ 34.1 ~~~

~~~ 33.9 ~~~

KEEP IN MIND I RUN ONLY PREMIUM FUEL (93 OCTANES)

Anyway, despite the variance in the Pictures, considering the different types of Highways i drove with some Up/Down Hill, but nothing with major steepness at all, it was almost all Flat... most of the times it kept bouncing up and down between 33.9 and 34.1mpg.


so i guess it's safe to say that the Veloster Turbo does 34mpg Highway!


Anyway: I DID GET A RECORD SPIKE OF 34.4!!!

Well... i have to say i am happy with it

CIAO

 

[Tex2013VT]

Hi there and welcome to the VT and forum... I'm just as new to both the car and forum! I enjoyed your thorough write up but have one discussion point with your MPG concerns. Your speed has A LOT to do with what MPG you're going to get in your cars... I'm sure you know this. SOOOO, my point is this... the EPA doesn't rate a car's MPG at the 75-80 MPH range you are comparing your ratings at. They do it at 55-65 MPH. IF you do a fair comparison while driving your car at those same speeds, then you'll find your car will return a much higher MPG. I've seen ours hit 40+ in the short time (less than a week) we've had ours... and that is without cruise control doing 60-65 MPH on the local highways here in N. Virginia. As for winter blend gasses... yes, they do suck the MPG out of an engine, too... right there with "too cold" or "too hot" temps. 60-80* is optimal, IMHO. And you don't have to put the pricey higher octane in your car like we had to 30 yrs ago to get a cleaner burning engine. The fuels today are MUCH, MUCH cleaner (at all octanes) and much more efficient than what we grew up with. All you're doing is spending more money at the pump!

Hope you're enjoying the car... it sounds like you are! We sure are! And I will say one thing... any car that gets over 30 MPG while cruising at near 80 MPH is a winner in my book in the MPG wars!!!

 

[CrazySte]

the EPA doesn't rate a car's MPG at the 75-80 MPH range you are comparing your ratings at. They do it at 55-65 MPH. IF you do a fair comparison while driving your car at those same speeds, then you'll find your car will return a much higher MPG.

HI,
thank's for the compliment on the review... i do understand what you say about EPA, but we can both say EPA is wrong in the way they do the test, even further the Highways administration should start reviewing the US Speed limits... we are in 2012 and the Cars are no longer the ones that used to cruise around in 1990.

On that note, remember that Hyundai sells Cars also in Europe where Speed limits vary between 75 and 90mph, with the exception of Germany with No Limits; and over there the minimum Octane Rating is 95 and they go up to 99.

That said... i really don't have much time to travel at 55mph, plus i would easily fall aSleep if i took one of my trips at that speed lOl... around here usually limits are 70mph and 65mph, kinda low, i really hope that soon someone will realize that is time to increase the limits to 80-90mph on most of the US Highways... Texas is sure leading in this 3rd millennium evolution since they thev 85mph Speed Limits.

SO... for me the Mileage that counts is that one that i can obtain at 80mph, although most of the times i end up setting the cruise a bit below it otherwise i have to brake every 2 seconds because of the rest of the slow moving traffic.

Anyway... using a little Higher Octane Fuel and traveling at a Higher speed brought me to obtain a good Mileage, and that's what is most important to me... on a Car that has a 14 Gallons Fuel Tank, spending 10 cents more a Gallon equals $1.4 more a fill up... i can live with that ;-)


How are you enjoying your Veloster Turbo?

I had mine for 3 weeks now, and i totally love it
CIAO

 

[Tex2013VT]

HI,
thank's for the compliment on the review... i do understand what you say about EPA, but we can both say EPA is wrong in the way they do the test, even further the Highways administration should start reviewing the US Speed limits... we are in 2012 and the Cars are no longer the ones that used to cruise around in 1990.

On that note, remember that Hyundai sells Cars also in Europe where Speed limits vary between 75 and 90mph, with the exception of Germany with No Limits; and over there the minimum Octane Rating is 95 and they go up to 99.

That said... i really don't have much time to travel at 55mph, plus i would easily fall aSleep if i took one of my trips at that speed lOl... around here usually limits are 70mph and 65mph, kinda low, i really hope that soon someone will realize that is time to increase the limits to 80-90mph on most of the US Highways... Texas is sure leading in this 3rd millennium evolution since they thev 85mph Speed Limits.

SO... for me the Mileage that counts is that one that i can obtain at 80mph, although most of the times i end up setting the cruise a bit below it otherwise i have to brake every 2 seconds because of the rest of the slow moving traffic.

Anyway... using a little Higher Octane Fuel and traveling at a Higher speed brought me to obtain a good Mileage, and that's what is most important to me... on a Car that has a 14 Gallons Fuel Tank, spending 10 cents more a Gallon equals $1.4 more a fill up... i can live with that ;-)


How are you enjoying your Veloster Turbo?

I had mine for 3 weeks now, and i totally love it
CIAO

Hey, don't get me wrong thinking I was saying your test #'s weren't valid. I was only saying to make a fair comparo to what the gov does, then you need to see what kind of MPG you get at the lower speeds... just once, not every time! That would be BORING! LOL!

I'm quite aware of what the octanes are in Europe... I'm military and spent 3 years in Italy, and even found some places that had 103 Octane!!! That being said, I've gone back and forth between 89 and 93 here and only difference you'd ever notice (minus the obvious price point) is a few less HPs because the difference in the burn rate inside the combustion chamber. That being said, it's usually not enough to notice to the avg driver. Heck, lower octanes don't even get O2 sensors to knock like they used to, either! (now that's progress!!)

We got our VT last Friday and we are totally enjoying it. I didn't think I would, but it's surprisingly spacious and practical for a car that only weighs 2800 lbs! It carried $250 worth of groceries in the "trunk" area just fine! We're getting the windows tinted right now so when we get back and I have a chance, I'll post some pics of it. This was a purchase for the wife.... and she's the one that picked it out w/o any help or push from me! She's always liked cars that didn't "blend in" with every other car on the road, so I think she found one that surely doesn't do that, does it?!?! LOL

That being said, we (she notably) are enjoying the hell out of the V-Turbo!

 

[CrazySte]

I'm quite aware of what the octanes are in Europe... I'm military and spent 3 years in Italy, and even found some places that had 103 Octane!!! That being said, I've gone back and forth between 89 and 93 here and only difference you'd ever notice (minus the obvious price point) is a few less HPs because the difference in the burn rate inside the combustion chamber. That being said, it's usually not enough to notice to the avg driver. Heck, lower octanes don't even get O2 sensors to knock like they used to, either! (now that's progress!!)
!

WOA,
i am from Italy man, actually i am from Treviso, so there is a good chance you were stationed pretty close to where i used to live.

1st of all: i want to thank you and all your colleagues for your service... if it was not for the US Air force, i would be speaking German rather than Italian.

That said: you're probably familiar with the speeds we usual travel in the Highways and it's totally safe in modern cars... why in the world the US is remaining so much behind in this?

The United States of America is one of the most developed countries of the world, yet they travel like a half century ago! lOl


Anyway, the Veloster is doing good... if i can manage to keep doing more than 33mpg and speeds above 75mph, i am OK with it.

Although, you're probably familiar with the Fuel Consumptions we are used in Italy, and a 50mpg is considered BAD mileage over there
CIAO

 

[Tex2013VT]

WOA,
i am from Italy man, actually i am from Treviso, so there is a good chance you were stationed pretty close to where i used to live.

1st of all: i want to thank you and all your colleagues for your service... if it was not for the US Air force, i would be speaking German rather than Italian.

That said: you're probably familiar with the speeds we usual travel in the Highways and it's totally safe in modern cars... why in the world the US is remaining so much behind in this?

The United States of America is one of the most developed countries of the world, yet they travel like a half century ago! lOl


Anyway, the Veloster is doing good... if i can manage to keep doing more than 33mpg and speeds above 75mph, i am OK with it.

Although, you're probably familiar with the Fuel Consumptions we are used in Italy, and a 50mpg is considered BAD mileage over there
CIAO

Malto bene, mi amico!! (I haven't lived over there since 2006, so mi Italiano is not as good as it used to be... forgive me, por favore!)

You are welcome, and I absolutely loved my time in Italy. I was not far from you at all. I was stationed in Aviano. I'll never forget the time I "raced" a Bentley Continental on the autostrada in my BMW 330i just north of Venezia!! OK, so I wasn't racing that guy.... more like admiring the view of the car's rear end! LOL!

Yes, I'm very aware of the speeds traveled over there! The reason we don't have the high speed highways over here is because we have way too many terrible drivers on the roads over here! Hardly anyone understands that the left lane is for passing only. Passing on the right is a constant occurrence here, where over there it'll get you a ticket by the Polizia.

If I had known you were driving in Italy at Autostrada speeds when I made my first comment, then I would've understood your initial numbers better. That being said, the EPA is a US Gov agency, hence the #'s they put their standards against are for the US market, not Europe or elsewhere. But one thing is for sure.... any car that gets mid-30 MPG doing 80 MPH is a "winner" in my book! As for us over here driving at 60 MPH, I've been able to hit 40 MPG w/ our VT!

Arrivederci!

 

[Stone Axe]

Your car isn't broken in yet. Mine had some improvement in power and mileage at 600 miles, but there was a significant improvement at 1,200 and 3,000 miles. I was just thinking about creating a thread about it getting better at 6,000 miles.

The turbo does stutter, stammer or surge at first but that pretty much goes away once it is broken in.

It can be tricky to get the most out of the turbo even once it is broken in. But you will get the hang of it.

As for mileage, did you buy a Prius or a Veloster Turbo? After it was broken in, I figured out how to get the mileage on the window sticker -26/38 - and even better. But I hated to see her like that.

Around town I found the up-shift guidance to have little difference in mileage. The main killer is congested stop and go traffic. I finally just started driving like I wanted - heavy on the throttle and keeping it in a low gear and lost only 2 mpg.

On the highway the mileage is straightforward. The faster you go the worse the mileage. Have you seen that big flat nose? Optimal highway mileage is at 60 mph and you can get 40 mpg. It goes downhill in a straight line from there. Where I drive the highway speed limit is 75 mph and 85-95 is the norm. Occasionally I get frisky and do well in to the triple digits - which the VT does quite easily if you are not careful. Remember kids, over 20 mph over the speed limit is reckless driving and you will likely get arrested and pay higher insurance premiums for 3-5 years. I get about 30-32 mpg doing 85-90 mph and 35 mpg doing 75 mph.

Living in Atlanta I have the worst case scenario for mileage - frequent traffic jams, and hard accelerating to 85-90 mph on the expressway. I drive it as hard as I want and I get about 24-25 mpg per tank on 87 octane.