N 3dr Hatchback
2020 Hyundai Veloster N

2020 Veloster N Photos
I’ve been a fan of the Hyundai Veloster since the beginning. In its styling I saw a faint whiff of the second-generation Honda CRX I used to own, and the asymmetrical three-door layout — coupe on the driver’s side, sedan on the passenger side — provided driver-optimized side visibility, seatbelt fit and coupe styling while still offering practicality for passengers. But there were a couple of things I didn’t like about it. One can always use more power and torque, but I was more let down by the way it steered and handled. A big part of that was the original Veloster’s simplistic twist-beam rear suspension. Everything changed with the introduction of the second-generation model. Besides the new Veloster N variant that produces 275 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, the bigger news in my mind is the multilink rear suspension that now underpins all Velosters. Multilink is a catch-all term that doesn’t describe itself very well, so I recently got my hands on a 2020 Hyundai Veloster N to examine what they’ve done. The Veloster and Veloster N both ride on a MacPherson strut front suspension, and here we can see the strut peeking over the top of the brake rotor. There’s something that looks like it’s made of aluminum, too. Always a good sign.   The coil-over strut (yellow arrow) is bolted to an aluminum knuckle (white), which differs from the first-generation Veloster’s use of cast iron for this part. Considering left and right weight savings together, this change is good for a 10.6-pound reduction in unsprung mass. But the Veloster N isn’t quite the same as the regular 2020 Veloster up here. Many detail changes were worked out during Nurburgring testing sessions, and one of these was a unique knuckle that, along with the tire’s tread width and the wheel’s offset, produced a zero scrub radius. My thin green line approximates the steering axis, and a zero-scrub radius occurs when that line touches the ground in the middle of the tire tread.   I scrubbed the steering to create these marks before I jacked up the car and got started. They do indeed converge at a point that is close to the center of the tread. It’s hard to pin it down exactly, so don’t worry if the middle looks slightly left of center. Keep in mind that tire sidewalls do roll under and the tread will translate sideways a little during hard cornering. They may be defining zero-scrub while factoring in a certain degree of lateral loading. Anyway, the stated reasons for doing this have to do with steering precision, quick response and direct on-center feel, and the Veloster N certainly exhibits these traits in good measure. Some suspension designers shy away from zero-scrub because it can create a darty feel, but that could be seen as a feature, not a bug in a performance model like the Veloster N. This could also explain why all Velosters aren’t using zero-scrub steering geometry. To a certain degree, …
Full Review
I’ve been a fan of the Hyundai Veloster since the beginning. In its styling I saw a faint whiff of the second-generation Honda CRX I used to own, and the asymmetrical three-door layout — coupe on the driver’s side, sedan on the passenger side — provided driver-optimized side visibility, seatbelt fit and coupe styling while still offering practicality for passengers. But there were a couple of things I didn’t like about it. One can always use more power and torque, but I was more let down by the way it steered and handled. A big part of that was the original Veloster’s simplistic twist-beam rear suspension. Everything changed with the introduction of the second-generation model. Besides the new Veloster N variant that produces 275 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, the bigger news in my mind is the multilink rear suspension that now underpins all Velosters. Multilink is a catch-all term that doesn’t describe itself very well, so I recently got my hands on a 2020 Hyundai Veloster N to examine what they’ve done. The Veloster and Veloster N both ride on a MacPherson strut front suspension, and here we can see the strut peeking over the top of the brake rotor. There’s something that looks like it’s made of aluminum, too. Always a good sign.   The coil-over strut (yellow arrow) is bolted to an aluminum knuckle (white), which differs from the first-generation Veloster’s use of cast iron for this part. Considering left and right weight savings together, this change is good for a 10.6-pound reduction in unsprung mass. But the Veloster N isn’t quite the same as the regular 2020 Veloster up here. Many detail changes were worked out during Nurburgring testing sessions, and one of these was a unique knuckle that, along with the tire’s tread width and the wheel’s offset, produced a zero scrub radius. My thin green line approximates the steering axis, and a zero-scrub radius occurs when that line touches the ground in the middle of the tire tread.   I scrubbed the steering to create these marks before I jacked up the car and got started. They do indeed converge at a point that is close to the center of the tread. It’s hard to pin it down exactly, so don’t worry if the middle looks slightly left of center. Keep in mind that tire sidewalls do roll under and the tread will translate sideways a little during hard cornering. They may be defining zero-scrub while factoring in a certain degree of lateral loading. Anyway, the stated reasons for doing this have to do with steering precision, quick response and direct on-center feel, and the Veloster N certainly exhibits these traits in good measure. Some suspension designers shy away from zero-scrub because it can create a darty feel, but that could be seen as a feature, not a bug in a performance model like the Veloster N. This could also explain why all Velosters aren’t using zero-scrub steering geometry. To a certain degree, …
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Retail Price

$27,600 MSRP / Window Sticker Price
Engine 2.0L I-4
MPG 22 City / 29 Hwy
Seating 4 Passengers
Transmission 6-spd man w/OD
Power 250 @ 6000 rpm
Drivetrain front-wheel
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