2013-Hyundai Veloster Turbo

The 2012 Hyundai Veloster made its debut at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show and it warmed our hearts in terms of looks, but its 138 HP leaking out of the Gamma 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine chilled us to the bone. Shouldn’t a "sports car" have a little more push that that? Hyundai’s answer to that question came to the 2012 Detroit Auto Show when they unveiled the new Veloster Turbo - a model powered by a new 1.6-liter turbocharged-gasoline direct injection engine that delivers a total of 201 HP.
But now the Veloster comes with a turbo. So, however handy they might be for dropping the kids off at school, let's put the doors aside and look at it as budget sports coupe. The addition of a quick-responding twin-scroll blower to the direct-injection engine takes the power up to 186bhp and the torque to 195lb ft. To go with it, the wheels are up to 18-inchers, and the suspension is firmed, the steering re-geared and re-weighted, and brakes made more stout. What you'd expect.

It looks more businesslike too, especially given our tester had matt black paint. Generally, I'm of the view that this coating is a gimmick for attention-seeking individuals who wear sunglasses in 
the dark. But, in the Veloster's case, I'll make an exception, because it sucks in the light and quells the sheet metal's slightly over-enthusiastic hollows and bumps.
The body kit for the turbo runs to a bigger single-grille mouth, spoiler and skirts around the base of the car, and, out back, a pair of centre-mount exhausts the size of storm drains sitting in a diffuser-like panel. The whole backside is as modest as a baboon's. So it looks like it wants to be serious. The engine is about as effective as the numbers suggest. The Veloster Turbo is slightly different from the one that's sold in America, where they have more power at high revs (201bhp) but less torque. Still, I suspect ours is the tune to have, because the engine sounds a bit gruff and cheerless at big rpm, so it's best to use the boost in the mid-ranges.

  So here comes the Turbo, which, at $22,725 to start, makes for a relatively cheap date to the 200-horse ball. Hyundai figures that with all the Turbo’s standard content you’re paying just a $1600 premium for the turbo engine. It’s essentially the same direct-injection, cast-aluminum 1.6-liter but with an intercooled twin-scroll turbo and a 9.5:1 compression ratio. Hyundai claims 201 hp on the roof (6000 rpm) and 195 lb-ft of torque in the basement (1750 rpm), all on regular fuel. The EPA numbers with the manual will be 26 mpg city and 38 highway.