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2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo: April 2013

Steven J. Ewing — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:02:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Hatchback, Hyundai, Long-Term Garage

Learning To ~~Love~~ Understand You

I will admit, I haven't had the nicest things to say about our long-term 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo since its arrival in our fleet earlier this year. I can't exactly say that I've bonded with our turbocharged Hyundai, despite the fact that I've driven it quite a bit since its arrival in the Autoblog Garage. Several of my friends will no doubt recall me saying things like, "I love everything about this car - except driving it," which is a shame, since the driving aspect is what's supposed to make this car so special. I'm a big fan of the base Veloster, and this one has the extra power bump that the naturally aspirated could really benefit from. So what gives?

Recently, I took a trip to the south of France, where I drove the brand-new Ford Fiesta ST along the lovely roads of the Alps. I adored that car - it's everything a hot hatch should be, and it's priced right, too. But when I came home and picked up the Veloster Turbo at the airport, I found myself disappointed. The Ford I drove in Europe was similar to the Hyundai in terms of size, function, equipment and price, but it was far better to drive. To be fair, that car wasn't even out to benchmark when the Veloster Turbo debuted, but my already sour feelings only got worse at that moment.

But this matte gray cloud does have a silver lining. And all it takes is a bit of rethinking.

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2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo: April 2013 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 May 2013 15:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo: February 2013

Steven J. Ewing — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 14:57:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Hatchback, Hyundai, Long-Term Garage

I just couldn't bring myself to lead this post with the image you see on the right. The winter months have not been kind to our matte gray 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo, and since you can't just run the thing through your local car wash, our oddly shaped little hatchback has spent more days dirty than clean. It breaks my fleet manager heart to see one of our test cars covered in schmutz so frequently, but let's be honest - the last thing anyone wants to do when it's 12 degrees Fahrenheit outside is play with a hose and spend a good amount of time hand-washing a car.

Moral of the story: If you live in a cold-weather state where you expect to get regular doses of the white stuff, matte paint probably isn't for you. Not to worry, though, as the Veloster Turbo is offered in plenty of pretty, car wash-friendly colors.

We'll have a lot more to talk about regarding the Veloster's cleanability in forthcoming updates, and we're even planning a trip to the Dr. Beasley's office - the company that created the special matte paint detailing kit for the Hyundai - to have their experts show us how it's done. For now, let's spend some time talking about what we've learned about the turbocharged hatch during its honeymoon phase here in the Autoblog Garage.

Continue reading 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo: February 2013

2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo: February 2013 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Feb 2013 14:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo: Introduction

Steven J. Ewing — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: Budget, Performance, Hatchback, Hyundai, Long-Term Garage

The Hyundai Veloster is indeed an automotive oddball, and that's part of the reason why we're so drawn to it. Even in base form, the Veloster is a cleverly packaged little wonder that's bursting with personality, and with the added grunt and visual aggression of the Turbo model, there's a lot to talk about.

Despite not really fitting into any one specific vehicle segment (unless you dump it into the all-too-vague "compact" class), the Veloster Turbo looks really good on paper, to say nothing of how it looks on the street. It's certainly a head-turner, and we're intrigued by the overall package of an oddly shaped three-door (or four-door?) with some forced induction motivation.

We've had a lot to say about the weird little Hyundai in the past, and we don't see the conversations about this car ending anytime soon. Thus, we've welcomed a matte gray example into the Autoblog long-term garage for one year of testing. This should definitely be interesting.

Continue reading 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo: Introduction

2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo: Introduction originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Jan 2013 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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