Bidding adieu to a future classic

It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but the Hyundai Veloster N probably should have died years ago.

Delightful as it is, the Veloster isn’t a car that sells. It’s a weird, asymmetric machine and admittedly not one of particular beauty. With one door on the left and two on the right, it seemed from the start the sort of motoring curio that nerds with cringey hentai stickers on their cars would gather to froth about 30 years later.

Its longevity was thus surprising, the model seemingly retained only to keep a foot in the door of enthusiast discourse. Finally, as a rumoured dusk looms over the hot hatch, I managed to swing a stay of liquidation for Hyundai’s retiring fleet car for what’s likely its last shot.

I’m glad it worked out, too, because it seems I saved the best N for last.

A great car but a niche sell, it’s a wonder that the funky little velocity roadster made it as far as it did. The first knell sounded in 2020, when Hyundai Canada announced that only the N trim would carry the Veloster name forward. Though only two years into its second generation at the time, the revised Veloster N’s quirky configuration and torque-y multi-link goodness never matched the sales successes of the original.

Supporting any model is an expensive proposition, so the decision to sustain only the most niche variant of a flagging line appeared more a brand identity directive from Korea than an actual commitment to the model. By cutting the more affordable non-n variants, Hyundai signaled declining profitability of the line and an apparent eye toward a next chapter.

Still, with big investment in the N sub-brand ahead, holding out a little longer with the Veloster N gave the manufacturer a continuous lineage to market along. Now that the Kona N and Elantra N have arrived — to my strong acclaim, it must be noted — like-powered practicality is pulling the dealer carpet from beneath the unusual hatchback.

According to Korea Economic Daily, industry sources suggest that Hyundai could axe the Veloster N as early as July. Hyundai has not confirmed this as of publication, but with slowing sales and the narrow niche appeal of the model’s N-only wind-down, it comes as little shock. Now that Hyundai sells the Elantra N and Kona N — both stellar vehicles offering greater practicality, accessibility and conventionality — the Veloster N has lost its strategic importance.

When I reached out to Hyundai, this tester had been sitting in the fleet lot awaiting retirement, with no replacement on the horizon. A favour later, some extra time was set aside for us to get acquainted.

Its new-ride magic was fading into demo-car magic, with seat bolsters developing worn-in creases and its soft matte paint marred by a few minor nicks and scratches. Enthusiast press cars live tough lives and my peers had clearly enjoyed this one.

Though only the twopedal wet DCT, the 2022 Veloster N was every bit the giddy thrill of its Kona and still-manual-configurable Elantra descendants. The turbocharged 2.0L inlinefour (don’t worry, it’s not the infamous piston-ring one) produces its 275 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque with juvenile exuberance, crickle-crackling to my neighbours’ presumable annoyance.

Sport Mode does all of the things you’d expect, notching up chassis stiffness, steering response and throttle sharpness — along with bringing a commensurate increase in exhaust volume. Further still is N Mode for track play or a custom mode for your choice of severity in each parameter.

However you set it, the Veloster N’s short wheelbase, 19-inch wheels and electronic limited-slip differential keep the experience to the sharp end of the spectrum. Comfort mode eases the ride a little, but if the driver’s-door-only on the left side hadn’t already tipped you off, the Veloster prioritizes the driver over their passengers. Climbing into the back seats from the right-side third door, I can sit behind myself — but not in a way I’d look forward to.

The Veloster bears further drawbacks as well. Rear visibility is limited as you’d imagine, as is the left rear passenger’s view outside.

Four-year-old infotainment and driver assists aren’t quite up to Hyundai’s full 2022 standard either, with lane assistance but no adaptive cruise.

That nifty three-door setup costs something in practicality too, though it is a fun point of conversation and a quirk that some will surely miss.

There’s plenty more to the Veloster N. And to each of these drawbacks, the new Kona N and Elantra N offer practical answers from packages that are admittedly more amenable to everyday life in the city and the suburbs — and with more modern feature content to boot.

But what feels most important now is to relate what an under-sung pleasure this car is (or was). Though a media darling, enthusiast shoppers slept on the second-generation Veloster N in favour of more accessible or conventional alternatives. It’s unfortunate, too, because we’ve missed out on a lot.

The Veloster N is more than just a wheelbase — it’s a comprehensive package of fun tricks for their own sake. DCT models’ N Grin Shift button ups power for 10 seconds, rewarding considered deployment with a game-like 10-per-cent boost to power output. That ELSD keeps the N chattering productively out of bends and brake-vectored traction keeps it on-course, however amateur the operator.

The Kona N’s wheelbase is five centimetres shorter, but the lower, tighter Veloster N still feels nimbler. Whether darting around town or dipping along escarpment back roads, it can be thrusted about with the erraticism of a toddler playing UFO. Save the $2k to keep the standard 6MT and recess promises still more smiles.

Even the automatic dualclutch transmission is fun, responding more smoothly than Hyundai’s dry DCTS — and with generous pops and bangs through on-throttle shifts and off-throttle overrun alike.

The manual is still the obvious way to go, but, if you’ve your own reasons for the two-pedal, that’s still plenty good, too.

Without the long lineage of classic standards from many Japanese import brands, the Veloster has been an easy car to dismiss. But while (Canadian-market) JDM kids may turn their noses at (Canadianmarket) KDM, more than experiencing just nomenclatural embarrassment, they’re shorting themselves. The Veloster N is a joy of a vehicle and one that seems poised to grow into a future classic.

Taking the logical conclusion that the rumours are true, you’re probably too late to order a new Veloster of your own. If you can find one on a dealer lot, however, this may be the moment to snap up whichever you can find.

We’ll miss you, lumpen one.