HYUNDAI VELOSTER TURBO

An early contender for 2020’s Most Improved Award

- SCOTT NEWMAN

ENGINE 1591cc inline-4cyl, DOHC, 16v, turbo

POWER 150kW @ 6000rpm

TORQUE 265Nm @ 1500-4500rpm

0-100KM/H 7.0sec (estimated)

WEIGHT 1270kg • PRICE $35,490

LIKE: Improved handling; great ride; upgraded interior; sharper styling; lots of kit

DISLIKE: Engine no better than average; a bit pricey; doors different for different’s sake

IT’S CLEAR THE new Hyundai Veloster Turbo is a very different beast from the moment you hit the start button. The engine wakes with a growl and stutters into an unsettled idle, like it’s struggling to get going. It’s a display of attitude and intention way beyond anything offered by the first Veloster. That was a strange car, the very definition of ‘fine’. It wasn’t bad, a little expensive, but in Turbo guise moderately quick both in a straight line and through corners. Trouble is, no-one aspires to ‘fine’.

The 1.6-litre turbo four had decent grunt but was uninspiring and the chassis typified Hyundai’s pre-N dynamic mindset: safe, sensible understeer at the limit. Off the record, certain Hyundai personnel admitted its shortcomings and promised the next one would be much better. This is where we find out.