Most people are fond of making fun of my light right foot when it comes to how I drive. The question is why would someone who cares about miles per gallon care at all about a 201 horsepower turbo version of Hyundais eccentric Veloster?
Mark Winters a sales specialist at Stephens Hyundai in Bloomington Indiana was kind enough to hand me the keys to the 2013 Veloster Turbo to let me decide for myself if a 201 horsepower turbocharged hot hatch was a good match for a hyper-miler like me.
Low end torque is the best weapon against an egregious overuse of gasoline and the Veloster Turbo has it. My daily driver is powered by the naturally aspirated version of the 1.6 liter turbo engine found under the hood. Unlike my engine that has a measly max torque of 123 lb/ft at 4850 rpms the twin-scroll turbo spools up to its max torque of 195 lb/ft at 1750 rpms. This translated to hill climbs in sixth rather than fourth gear.
The Veloster has a decidedly more relaxed chassis than competitors such as the Volkswagen GTI and the MazdaSpeed3. Nicely weighted steering gave me a great sense of confidence without being tiring at low speed around town. As much as I love fuel economy I dont want to sacrifice driving enjoyment. Driving around the battered roads of construction heavy Bloomington, IN I appreciated the well dampened suspension that gave good feel on the twisty county roads but wasnt exhausting on the highway or around town.
The manual version wasnt available to test drive only the 6-speed automatic transmission. As much as I enjoy a manual transmission I think the automatic is a solid choice for the turbo. The paddle shifters and shift gate on the SHIFTRONIC® transmission did a better than average job of giving me gears on command. In reality I just preferred to leave the car in drive and enjoy the whoosh of acceleration it rewarded me with. Sure you dont get a racing inspired dual clutch transmission, but honestly you dont need it. The torque converter automatic with a lockup clutch is still the king of automatic transmissions for the real world if you ask me.
The Veloster fills a niche in the market for a stylish hatchback that isnt as much about raw performance as it is a fuel efficient car without the lack luster engines found throughout most of the subcompact market.
Bloomington, Ind. is an extremely hilly town with a high per capita of stop signs that abhors the idea of getting great fuel economy. None the less I averaged 25.7 mpgs in town. That is spot on with the 2012 Hyundai Accent I drive every day that only has 138 horsepower. With fuel economy like that Id much rather have the extra 62 horsepower for those situations when I needed it. Will performance junkies beat their chest over this car? Probably not, but I would have no problem getting passed by a GTI or Speed3 while Im getting 40+ miles per gallon on a long road trip.
There were only a few minor details that didnt set too well with me. The first and most glaring is a thermometer style mpg gauge that has markets at 0, 15, 25 and 50 miles per gallon. These gauges are really hard to get a precise idea of how much throttle input impacts fuel economy. Without a long term test I cant tell you what other faults may be hiding, but this one stuck out to me. I cant understand why it has that style when the Accent has a precise digital readout.
From my first quick drive of it I realize that the Veloster Turbo isnt a serious performance car--at least not in stock form. There is a lot of potential in this car but its mainly a touring hatchback. This car is for someone who spends a lot of time on the highway and doesnt want to deal with an anemic four cylinder that struggles to keep up with traffic. Mixing direct injection with a turbo charger equals an engine that can run ultra lean and I wouldnt be surprised if I could get better fuel economy in the Veloster Turbo than I can in my Accent. Its going to take more time in this car to really see if its potential matches up to its real world performance. If you had to quote me on this car Id say that this car makes hypermiling the most fun it has ever been.
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