Hyundai Veloster gets hot hatch

The avant-garde design of the three-door Hyundai Veloster has been appropriately matched by a new 150kW turbocharged engine.

The Hyundai Veloster is matched with powerful 150KW turbocharged engine. Picture: Supplied

The already sporty design has been even further enhanced to mark the Veloster turbo as distinct from its normally aspirated sibling, which delivers 103kW and 167Nm. The 1.6 litre turbocharged GDI four-cylinder petrol engine in the Veloster Turbo produces 265Nm of torque and is available with either a six-speed manual transmission or a seven-speed dual clutch unit (DCT).

Twin-scroll turbocharger designs have two exhaust gas inlets divided by split walls inside the turbine housing, with both gas passages controlled by a waste-gate. Thanks to this divided mani-fold, a twin-scroll turbo recovers more energy from the exhaust than single-scroll turbocharger versions.

The Hyundai Veloster is matched with powerful 150KW turbocharged engine. Picture: Supplied

The twin-scroll design also separates the cylinders, whose exhaust gas pulses interfere with each other, resulting in improved pressure distribution in the exhaust ports and a more efficient delivery of exhaust gas energy to the turbocharger’s turbine. The GDI bit stands for gasoline direct injection, which injects directly into the combustion chamber at high pressure, with greater control of the fuel mixture and using a higher-than-normal 9.5:1 compression ratio. What this all translates to in practice is that the new engine – when mated to the manual gearbox at least – delivers markedly better performance and drivers will enjoy making use of the short throw shift lever as they shoot from apex to apex.

The sporty characteristic in the DCT version is more muted, as if the engineers have chosen to allow a fraction more slip on the automatically controlled clutches to ensure smoothness over out-and-out performance. Hyundai claims accelerating from 0 to 100km/h takes 7.8 seconds for the manual derivative and the Veloster Turbo with the DCT is somewhat quicker at 7.3 seconds.

The Hyundai Veloster is matched with powerful 150KW turbocharged engine. Picture: Supplied

The Veloster Turbo features a quicker ratio steering rack and a revised steering calibration to match, while the ventilated front brake discs have been enlarged by 20mm to 300mm relative to the standard car. The Veloster Turbo has the same 2 650mm wheelbase as the naturally-aspirated Veloster, but is 30mm longer (4 250mm) and 15mm wider (1 805mm). All Velosters are fitted with a MacPherson strut front suspension with coil springs, gas-charged shock absorbers and a 24mm front stabiliser bar.

The rear suspension is a lightweight V-Beam torsion axle with coil springs and monotube shock absorbers. The rear suspension’s integrated 23mm stabiliser bar braces the torsion arms for greater stiffness and increased control over body roll. However, the suspension is the Veloster’s Achilles heel. The car feels skittish when pushed and the road-holding was not confidence-inspiring. When one starts to play in this territory, a multi-link rear suspension is probably what is required.

The Hyundai Veloster is matched with powerful 150KW turbocharged engine. Picture: Supplied

Inside, new full leather seats with the word Turbo stitched into the seatbacks help deliver a unique look to a unique car and provides for a comfortable and well-bolstered seating position.

The rear seats are acceptable, provided you are not tall, as the sporty styling makes for quite a taper to the roof of an already low-slung car. An exclusive Supervision gauge cluster feeds the driver information in a larger, clearer and more interactive format by way of two TFT screens located between the tachometer and speedometer.