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2015 Hyundai Veloster Pros and Cons at TrueDelta: Fun experience, but it's a mayfly by MCSpectra

A member in Florida, United States

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Introduction

The Hyundai Veloster is a bold move for Hyundai, coming off the end of the Tiburon. With the sports car slot no longer taken, Hyundai makes a radical car design, but saddles it with a very tryhard, but ultimately very underwhelming, engine. It is the best option for experiencing a dual clutch transmission on the cheap, however, as it won't break down on you anywhere near as often as the other, more domestic, offerings.

Reviewed: 2015 Hyundai Veloster

3dr Hatch 132-horsepower 1.6L I4 6-speed automated manual FWD

Why the 2015 Hyundai Veloster?

Exterior styling

The Veloster is a strikingly unique car in the Hyundai lineup, in the age where KIA/Hyundai cars still look bland as a washing machine. If you want to be noticed, you will be in this three door hatchback - and that's two doors on the passenger side, one on the driver side. So few cars have come with an option like this, both insurance and state vehicle registration can't agree on whether the car is 2 door, or 4 door. The third door is hidden in the body lines, so the car looks like a 2 door, until you find the handle is the trim piece behind the window. It even comes with 5-spoke rims from the factory, a very premium touch for a very basic car. The center mounted exhaust gives the car a sporty look, as does the general body lines, fake vents, and hatch spoiler. Overall, it looks like a very fast car, but you would be a fool to think that.

Feature availability

Like most Hyundais, even the Base model Veloster comes with a lot of features other cars didn't give you in the 2010's. Power windows and locks, remote entry, bluetooth, touchscreen radio with voice command, rear spoiler, 5-spoke rims on low profile tires, reverse camera, ABS, anti-theft (yes, it has a car alarm of sorts), TCS, and a dual clutch transmission. Yes, a Dual Clutch. On an economy car. More on that below.

Powertrain performance

The real hat trick of the Veloster is the Dual Clutch transmission - a 6-speed, lightweight transmission for the base model, and a stronger, 7-speed version for the Turbo. Now, thanks to another car company, people have a sour opinion about economy cars with dual clutch transmissions. This is not one of those cars. The KIA/Hyundai EcoShift Dual Clutch is a dry plate dual clutch transmission, which feels and operates like a manual transmission, except you, the driver, don't have to do any of the clutch work - the computer does the clutches and gears for you, and it does a very good job. No matter what you believe, the dual clutch can shift faster than a human can with a standard manual - so fast, it almost feels like an automatic. While you could put it in D and let it work the gears for you, and it does a fantastic job about it, as it rev matches downshifts, lightning fast upshifts, and kickdowns (aka "passing gear" in boomer speak) are as fast or faster than if you were downshifting a manual, you could also put it in Ds, then manually select a gear, and it will drive in Manual Shift mode for the forward gears. While it will still upshift at the redline, and downshift at 1200, it will let you use any gear within those ranges - even a 2nd gear start if you want (but I do NOT recommend that, it'll cook your clutch to repeatedly set off in 2nd, like it would in a standard manual). Most notably, the KIA DCT is able to skip gears, which lets it shift faster than other DCTs in the real world under certain traffic conditions (example, the kickdown). As long as you remember to drive it as if it were a manual transmission (use the brake, not the gas to hold on a hill, don't ride the brake going forward or reverse, let traffic get further ahead before rolling forward), you won't have a problem with the clutches wearing out - I got 175,000 miles on mine, and they were still operational after both rental car duty and heavy residential driving.

Fuel economy

The Base model Veloster gets decently good fuel economy, thanks to the DCT. 27 City, 34 Highway is the adjusted EPA estimate, but I have achieved almost 42 MPG before on an economy cruise, just by driving with great care towards economy (but not hypermiling).

Handling

The Veloster is tuned for handling. Despite having a beam axle suspension in the rear, the springs and shocks are stiff enough, and the chassis light enough, that it will maneuver quickly and sharply, as long as the road is smooth. When it gets bumpy, the car's rear axle likes to hop into the air, so expect abrupt oversteer if you're not on the power. It is an FF drivetrain, after all.

Why Not the 2015 Hyundai Veloster?

Materials & workmanship

Like any KIA, the Veloster has a problem of build quality. It is well engineered, but the engineering is negated by the poor quality materials, bringing the reliability down to average at best. Beware of many recalls involving "we'll fix it in post" manufacturing issues, such as the engine connecting rod problems, as well as common small things that break down, such as the AC controls failing on a yearly basis, due to a bad electrical design - and I would never touch my controls, leaving them on one setting for the whole year, only to find not even that prevented their failure, to things like the door trim seals, cv axle boots, and other rubbers turning to gak inside of 5 years. Here's something that will drive you mad. Any modern KIA, except perhaps the Stinger GT, with the electric power steering, uses a column-mounted assist motor. The first problem is, the KIA power steering has a high "gate" to activate, so if you try to make a slight movement, there is no power assist, but then you put a bit more pressure, and suddenly the power steering activates, and sends the wheel further than you intend to. It takes time to learn how to make small adjustments with more than needed force, because otherwise, you will find it impossible to fine tune the car's direction. The second problem is a flex spur that is improperly sized on earlier models. What happens is, this rubber (aha!) piece distintegrates, and the power assist motor now has a lot of freeplay with the wheel, giving you unexpected power steering gain and loss. Even when not broken, the flex coupler, being improperly sized, contributes to the first problem, and also adds a loud "klunk" to the steering movement.

Powertrain performance

Now, here's the elephant in the room. The performance. For a car called the Veloster, you would expect it to be fast. Well, it's not. Not even a little bit. See, while the Veloster is a lightweight, nimble car, and while it does have a Turbo version, the numbers are only peak. The powerband overall is quite lacking. On the Base, the engine has nothing below 4000 RPM, peaks at 5000, and then the power immediately drops down and falls off afterwards. This gives the engine a strange, stair-steppy powerband that sees a brief moment of maximum exertion, and then just noise all around it. This is a common powerband in most KIA engines. As for the Turbo, the power may come on as early as 2000, but after 4000, it drops off, as the tiny turbo can't keep up. In either case, the car is a lot slower than it looks, so don't expect it to be anything but an economy car in speedy stripes.

Front seat support & comfort

The Veloster is setup like a sports car - stiff suspension, low riding height, and sport seats designed to keep you in place. What this car is not is comfortable. At all. There is almost no back support, and little coushining. On a long trip, it will be PAIN. On roads trampled on by dinosaurs, it will be PAIN. The interior accents also get in the way of resting your legs on anything, so you have to just deal with the space provided, which isn't much. This car is just big enough, and not a milimeter more.

Warranty, maintenance cost

This goes without saying, but like all modern KIA cars (except a couple), the Gen1 Veloster uses the Gamma 1.6 GDI engine exclusively. Whether naturally aspirated or Turbo, it is gasoline direct injection. This means you are going to be spending money on maintenance. Do not think for a minute you can get away with skimping on it. In as little as 12,000 miles, your intake valves will be caked in carbon deposits from engine blowby. The solution is to run intake valve cleaner every other oil change, at least. If you do not, enough carbon will build up to cause the valves to bend, and as the engine is interference (like all KIAs since the dawn of time), you can wasily have engine failure due to this, within 60,000 miles if not taken care of. No, fuel system cleaner does not solve this - it only solves the injectors getting dirty. This is not a KIA specific problem, but an overall problem every GDI engine ever made has. In addition, you have to "Drop the hammer" every now and then, or the car will start driving like a smoker in a marathon - and you'll know if you haven't because independent of the above, it will blow smoke out the exhaust when you hit the powerband the first time in a while. Also, your oil changes are crucial. I chenged my oil at only 4000 miles, and oil consumption was always a factor. Make absolutely sure you are checking your oil levels every 1000 miles on this engine, or it will surprise you when your oil runs out. You also need to use the strongest oil with the best breakdown resistance in this engine (Pennzoil Ultra Platinum, Amsoil Signature, etc.) due to the stresses it is under. And then there's the money problem. The Dual Clutch Transmission. See, the transmission isn't a magic gogo box that only car wizards from Hyundai can fix - it's designed the same as the Hyundai manual transmission, just with electrical bits instead of levers on some places. A normal mechanic, with instructions and tools, can service the DCT, but the problem is that you need the proprietary program to tell the transmission to learn the clutches and shift points any time you do anything with the clutches or their activator motors. This means a trip to the dealer and a lot of money. A common failure is not the clutches, which mine were still good after 175,000 miles, but the actuator motor on the 2nd clutch, which just that part is very expensive (nearly $700), but the labor and dealer trip easily hits $2000 or more if you're not under warranty. And if the failure was partial, and it caused the even clutch to fail? That's another $2500 to replace the clutches. And we're not even going into the general cost of the parts. KIA/Hyundai parts are expensive, and they are all imported. Even the aftermarket cheap stuff is expensive, which in some cases, "how could this be worse" as a valid question after you get one from the major brand auto parts stores.

Insurance cost

The Veloster is more expensive to insure than a Corolla.... and Corollas are one of the most expensive cars to insure. Now, the Veloster has all of the airbags, TCS, ABS standard, anti-theft, and even DRLs and a reverse camera. It also has an absurdly strong chassis, and can help you survive some pretty bad accidents. It's also a car that depreciates quickly, and isn't worth a lot ever. But it's more expensive to insure than one of the most expensive cars to insure. WHY???

Other Features of the 2015 Hyundai Veloster

Towing

Don't. This car is not designed for it. It even says so in the manual. You will also be coughing up nice, black soot all over your trailer tongue from the center exhaust. If you have to tow this car, please spend the 5 minutes you need to check the procedure. With the DCT, you put the car in D, then R, then N. Now you can flat tow it. Otherwise, lift the front when you tow. The 6DCT is a very fragile transmission, and will break easily. It is an instant salvage / total when it happens.

Interior styling

While the materials are all poor quality, there is one standout exception. The seats themselves use a very heavy duty fabric, so much that I never needed seat covers, and my driving frequency destroys factory upholstery without seat covers. One more thing - the rear window is very small, like a porthole. You can't really see much of anything behind you if you back up, so use the reverse camera!

Depreciation

This is a Hyundai. A KIA. These cars do not hold their value. Expect nothing out of this. Buy it and drive it, keep it until it's no good anymore. Daily it.

Rear seat room & comfort

The back of this car is very tight. All the space is biased to the front, so normal people can drive it. Only small people can get in the back and seat comfortably. It's Economy Class seating back there.

Tires

This car uses 17 inch or 18 inch rims on low profile tires - 45 and 35 respectively. These wheels will be damaged on potholes, so if you live in dinosaur country, consider getting 16 inch wheels with a higher profile (calculate the difference from stock size using the tire size calculator website), and the proper offset for clearance - the brakes are very large and will barely clear the rim, and use those during the rough months. That said, the car is best enjoyed on performance tires, as it gains a huge benefit in handling with them. Additionally, the TCS uses brake vectoring, which is decently good at controlling vehicle speed. However, if you find yourself having trouble in the snow, you really should have taken the advice of the above paragraph and fitted snow tires on the extra wheels. One other thing to note - with the exception of Canada, the Veloster comes with only an air compressor and a OEM fix-a-flat canister, no spare wheel. You can order the Canadian spare wheel kit if you must, otherwise, add a tire plug kit to it and a 23mm ratchet, so you can make your own field repairs.

Conclusion

If you want to pick up a fun car you don't feel bad about putting to the daily driver rigors, here's a Veloster. It's a very tryhard car, but you will get to experience advanced drivetrain technology on the cheap as we near the sunset years of the internal combustion engine. If only it was, you know, actually velocitus.

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Response from mkaresh

3:30 am December 14, 2021

Outstanding review, thank you for taking the time to write it. The only thing missing is some pics. We did have a bug on the page to add pics earlier that might have kept you from uploading some. It should be possible to add some now.

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