Hyundai Veloster (2012 – 2015) Review

Every now and then a car company has a moment of madness and builds a car that makes little rational sense. The Hyundai Veloster is just such a car and all the better for it. It might not be as deft as a Volkswagen Scirocco to drive or have a Honda CR-Z’s eco credentials, but it is fun in a way the Kia Pro_cee’d never could be. Read on for our full Hyundai Veloster review.

If you thought the South Korean brand lacked a bit of sparkle and excitement, then the Hyundai Veloster was the car that aimed to change that.

It was its first sports car since the Hyundai Coupe went off sale in 2009, but the Hyundai Veloster was a very different proposition.

For starters, it’s actually a three-door coupe. And that’s not counting the tailgate. It has one door on the driver’s side but two on the passenger’s, in a similar way to the MINI Clubman, but with the extra door on the correct side for the UK market.

This makes getting in and out of the back a lot easier and means the Hyundai Veloster is a viable option even if you have children.

It works well and doesn’t spoil the looks either. Indeed, this is one coupe that truly stands out. Unlike alternatives such as the Vauxhall Astra GTC, the Hyundai Veloster isn’t based on a standard hatchback; it’s very much its own type of sports car.

The styling at the back may not be as successful as at the front, but there’s no denying it is a distinctive model.

The engine line-up is simple, with just one 1.6-litre petrol (confusing called a GDi). The standard version has 140PS, while there’s a turbocharged version with 186PS that feels considerably more sprightly and eager.

The Hyundai Veloster was also the first car to be available with the brand’s DCT double clutch gearbox. Enjoyable to drive and comfortable, it is a great all-rounder that’s well equipped and practical to give it plenty of appeal on the used market.

Fancy a second opinion? Read heycar’s Hyundai Veloster review here.

What’s really unusual about the Hyundai Veloster is the three-door design. The driver’s side has one standard door, but on the passenger side there’s a front and a back door.

It may seem like a gimmick, but it does work. It means the car still looks like a coupe, especially as the rear door has been designed with a hidden door handle.

And it makes getting in the back so much easier, especially as the door opens wide. 

There’s a surprising amount of space in the back, too. The Hyundai Veloster may not look that big, but it’s roomy inside, and even six-footers will find decent legroom in the rear.

Headroom isn’t so good due to the low roof, and the fact that the tailgate glass starts so far forward. This means you sit under the rear windscreen.

There’s a large boot, though, and despite a high load lip, it will carry plenty of shopping and even the odd suitcase or two.

For a coupe that’s only four metres long, the Hyundai Veloster has a surprising amount of space inside.

Interior quality is impressive as is the design. It looks smart and is well laid out with everything easy to use.

The indicator and wiper column stalks seem a bit dated compared with the rest of the interior, though. Some of the plastics, such as round the handbrake, could be better too.

On the plus side, the driving position is excellent, with a low-placed seat and plenty of adjustment in the steering. The seats themselves give plenty of side support.

Every Hyundai Veloster came as standard with a seven-inch touchscreen that could be used to operate the stereo, play music from your phone and even to play games or films on using a console.

It also has Bluetooth and voice recognition.

To gain sat-nav, a new buyer would have had to tick the option for the Media Pack. This also came with Parking Guidance, a rear-view camera and seven speakers with a sub-woofer to improve sound quality.

This pack was only available with the Sport version.

Around £5000 will be sufficient to get you into a Hyundai Veloster with the lower power 140PS engine.

This will get you a car in good condition with around 75,000 miles on the clock.

If you want the more potent Turbo version, you’ll need to pay from around £7500 for models in good condition with reasonable mileage and full service histories.

The 1.6 GDi petrol engine in the Hyundai Veloster comes with 140PS, and this mild state of tune contributes to the claimed average fuel economy of 43.5mpg.

That works out to pretty much exactly what you will see in normal driving, according to our Real MPG data. This engine also emits 148g/km, so road tax comes in at £200 for the year at the time of writing.

Opt for the Hyundai Veloster Turbo with its 186PS 1.6 engine, and it offers combined consumption rated at 40.9mpg. That’s not far off the less powerful car’s and equates to 39mpg when looking at our Real MPG figures.

With emissions of 157g/km, you’ll pay road tax of £240 per year.

Servicing a Hyundai Veloster should be no more expensive than for a Hyundai i30 hatch, and certainly comparable to the likes of a Volkswagen Scirocco or Vauxhall Astra GTC.

Insurance is a bit higher than some other hatch-based coupe models, but the group 16 to 21 rankings (out of 50 in total) should mean affordable cover for most choosing this car.

Driving the Hyundai Veloster is easy enough, although the ride is fairly firm.

It’s a touch bouncy on bumpy roads, but is forgiving enough on rough surfaces, while the steering is nicely weighted, too.

The Hyundai Veloster corners very tidily and fills you with plenty of confidence on more demanding routes. However, a Volkswagen Scirocco feels more alive and entertaining when you begin to press on.

As is often the case with modern cars, the steering could do with a little more natural feel, but it’s still very responsive. 

Refinement is another big strength, with little in the way of unwanted noise, helped by a triple layer sound pad behind the dashboard.

The door handles have even been designed to minimise wind noise.

There’s one engine in the line-up – the 1.6-litre GDi which, despite the designation, is actually a petrol.

It’s a lightweight all-aluminium unit that develops a healthy 140PS despite the absence of any turbochargers. There’s plenty of get-up-and-go about it, even though it only has a modest 167Nm of torque.

It’s at its best when you work it a bit harder, but there’s still plenty of eagerness at low revs and around town it’s nippy away from a standstill.

Plus it’s helped by an excellent six-speed manual gearbox with a delightfully positive shift, while at motorway speeds it’s quiet enough to make long journeys fairly relaxed affairs.

There is a Blue Drive version which came with Intelligent Stop & Go (ISG), low rolling-resistance tyres and an alternator management system.

This helps improve economy to 47.9mpg and cuts emissions to 137g/km – one tax band lower.

Along with the manual gearbox, a dual-clutch automatic complete with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifts was available. Called DCT, it was Hyundai’s first ever twin-clutch gearbox and cost an additional £1250 when new.

It’s probably not worth paying any extra for a used Hyundai Veloster fitted with it.

The top version is the 1.6 T-GDi – a turbocharged version with 186PS and up to 265Nm of torque.

It’s this increase in pulling power that has the biggest effect on the way the Hyundai Veloster performs, with far better in-gear acceleration and a dose of extra sparkle that’s somewhat lacking in the standard version.

The Turbo is nippy, too, with a 0-62mph time of 8.4 seconds.

You might have expected the low-volume Hyundai Veloster not to have been submitted for crash testing by Euro NCAP.

However, it was, and passed with a flying five-star rating in 2011. Of course, that assessment was conducted under testing methods that have long since been surpassed.

Even so, the coupe comes with six airbags as standard, ABS anti-lock brakes, ESP traction and stability control and Brake Assist.

There’s no lane keep or departure assistance or automatic emergency braking, but you do get Isofix child seat mounts in the rear seat.

No towing capacity figures were quoted for the Hyundai Veloster in the UK, so it’s not able to pull a trailer of any type or capacity.

The Hyundai Veloster was offered in two well specced trim levels, starting with a base car that has 17-inch alloy wheels, a seven-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth with voice recognition, climate control, reversing sensors, front and rear foglights and LED daytime running lights.

It also features a stereo RDS radio/CD player with MP3/WMA compatibility and an iPod connection, with the ability to control all functions on the leather steering wheel for added convenience.

The Hyundai Veloster Sport benefits from 18-inch alloy wheels with colour inserts, black leather upholstery with heated front seats, a panoramic sunroof with tilt and slide function, cruise control, keyless entry with an engine start/stop button and alloy pedals.

The optional Hyundai Veloster Media Pack added sat-nav, parking guidance and a reversing camera. Red leather upholstery was the only other option, and both this and the Media Pack were only available on the Sport model.