- Love can be a little bit like a flickering flame.
One moment it burns bright, okay?
And the other moment it is whisked away
into nothing more than a puff of smoke, okay?
The heart wanders... wait,
the heart Fonds upon wander, ponder breaks.
Shakespeare, I think wrote that one.
And I can't remember cause it was in English class way back
in the day, but things just like that one crush you had
in high school or the bartender that you fell
in love with on a Friday night, you probably went in
a little bit over your head.
And then once you woke up or got sober,
you completely forgot about that
love and or person.
That is just the human life. And that sucks, okay?
But there are cars which did that to us in the same way!
A few! And more recently, quite a few of them
seem to have come around with the acronym of KDM.
But why?
- Why?
- why do we love them and then forget about them
immediately after they get released?
Why is it these types of cars?
I'm Alex, @Alex.fi on Instagram.
And today we're gonna be talking about a new version
of a K.D.M that by all definitions should win the hearts
and minds of literally everyone that likes to drive cars.
A car that when I was a kid was just, I thought,
a fancy Honda logo that you could get at a Honda dealership.
Because it was just a cursive H.
A car that has some serious brass behind it,
and is trying to make enough waves with it,
that people stop forgetting that they do occasionally
make some pretty damn cool cars.
Ladies and gentlemen, today, we're going to talk about
you wanting to own a Hyundai Veloster N.
(intense music plays)
(cars revving)
Welcome to Fitment Industries.
Fun fact of the day,
it was the second official day of Fitment, Inc,
back in 2017.
When I learned that Mario, somebody who's a part
of the team, didn't know what a chicken pot pie was.
And the only reason I know that was
because it showed up on my memories of Facebook.
So, take that as you will,
In non-food facts if you're a car guy or gal,
and you got a modified car,
be sure to add it to our ginormous gallery,
where you can enter in your year, make, and model
and find what fits your car for market wheels,
tires, or suspension.
Fitment is kind of our thing.
Hence the name.
If you are looking for a little bit of help there,
You can certainly do so.
And it's not figment, it's Fitment.
All right, let's take it back to Hyundai and the Veloster N.
We know that the Veloster has been around
since 2011, and was a small sport compact
with a two plus one door calmed back coupe style design.
It was a little bit weird when it got released,
and it still is weird now.
But taking the place of the Tiburon,
this odd asymmetrical door manual
or automatic options, inline fours that were naturally
aspirated, turbocharged, were just enough spunk that a lot
of people ended up liking them, especially from Hyundai.
And on top of that, they were affordable.
I liked them.
They were cheap.
They were good.
They were fun.
They only weigh 2,500 pounds,
give or take some options and specs.
And they started at brand new $18,000.
The turbo specifically is where the Veloster really
started to catch a lot of people's eyes.
Of people like you, and people like me.
The turbo would get around 200 horsepower.
It would get you some fancy-dancy LEDs, okay?
It would get you twin exhaust and make you feel like
you got a GT3.
Some side skirts and a little bit more aggressiveness
that people genuinely just enjoyed.
And it gave the car an overall very good look.
And again, Hyundai was providing an entry-level fun
car that most people could get into
without much fuss that wasn't a GTI.
And it was pretty much just like the Tiburon.
Just like the Genesis.
Just like the scoop, if you remember that one.
And even though people picked on Hyundai,
tons of people bought these cars.
An entry level, KDM, hot hatch,
that was enough to warrant a glance
without costing an arm and a leg.
What is this? Healthy competition?
No, absolutely not. I prefer my two to three companies
to be dominating the space with 12-15 different marks,
thank you very much.
There's a stranglehold in the frozen pizza industry.
In case you're wondering.
The second generation will be released in 2018.
Get some softness trimmed out of the overall design.
It would keep the weird doors.
It would get some safety equipment that would now
be standard, and a multi link suspension,
Which was much needed.
And even more fun trims that would make you happy
if you enjoy hats.
I mean, they're really starting to kind of build on this.
And Hyundai was doing pretty well that car.
Even their top model, the Veloster turbo R spec,
was still only $23,785.
When your competition was in the early thirties
for the base model trim of the comparable type,
or even higher than that for the Honda type R,
you were doing pretty darn good in the market segment
with picking up people that wanted a car like that.
And so Veloster birthed the N nameplate
out of their testing facility in Nahm Yang,
and further proved their capability
around the German proving grounds called the Nürburgring.
They really wanted to provide even more performance
and really make some waves, so they did.
The Veloster N would hit the news in 2018,
It's about 275 horsepower, 260 foot pounds of tort,
electronically controlled suspension, driving modes,
short throw six speed manual transmission,
and a differentiate body that didn't genuinely look
like a normal Veloster.
It just, it looked like a different car.
Which was perfect for the Mark.
I mean, it was a good looking car.
It wasn't just re-badged.
It was re-conditioned, all right?
It was not head and shoulders.
It was the fancy Paul Mitchell stuff.
You could get the KDM in 19 inch wheels,
and enough air that would make the car enthusiasts
happy for a while, before you end up
replacing with carbon fiber anyway.
The roof does nothing.
New rear spoiler, fascia designed, fuser high flow exhaust,
and tons of smiles.
This car was built fun, and it worked.
Most people that drove this car absolutely
fell in love with it.
The focus on budget, driving characteristics, passion
and connectedness was paramount in the design.
And was for the most part pretty well built.
People were genuinely worried
that the N was going to take a sizable bite
from the existing monsters in the game.
So much so that people were freaking out a little bit
with the price point that it was at.
But it didn't.
And that's just it, the history of all things KDM
is just a little bit like this.
And we're here to figure it out because we're done talking
about the history of the Hyundai Veloster N.
You want that? There isn't that much.
It's like two years old, okay?
No, we're here to talk about you wanting to own
one of these bad boys.
So you want a Hyundai Veloster N.
Well grab your plastic restore
and your favorite pillows to cry on,
because we're about to talk about what it's like
to own this fun, little, slightly confusing car.
The Veloster N had a lot of good things going for it.
After all, the former boss of BMW's M division,
Albert Bierrman, spearheaded the actual cars, like, launch.
It was quick, good options, and it drove well.
The problem is what was once affordable has now jumped
up a couple nickels, and if you want the 2021 version,
you're now paying $33,000. More than the GTI.
And it's a new trim option, which will undoubtedly have
its own quirks and features that'll make Doug Demuro sweat.
Not the way that you'd want.
But, the car is new. And the only known problems are
in a few brand new forums with like 27 people in it.
A few mentioned the high pressure fuel pump
needing priming prior to starting over.
Wait. Prior to turning over.
A small percentage of transmissions leaking,
likely from a defective casing.
And a tendency for the start-ups to take a hot minute.
There's also a little bit of rattle action happening
in the car after about 40,000 miles.
But potato, patato, that's usually what happens,
especially in a hot hatch that's mean to be an
entry-level sports coupe car. It's just normal.
Outside of the GTI.
But that's where it's the same game as the Kia Stinger.
It's a risky car to jump into
if you really don't know what to expect.
Veloster has done a great job with the car,
but it's also a brand new car.
And you never know what's going to happen, really,
after 40,000 miles. You can really only use the predecessors
and what they've done with other cars
which has been, with the Veloster, pretty damn good.
In addition, the modification of the car is still
relatively limited outside of throwing out the basics.
And that's okay.
I mean, if you really want to throw on the basics
you're looking at the intake, tune, exhausts.
They're pretty much always like the standard three,
but there's also some pretty good wheel and tire specs
setups because a lot of people have been picking these up.
19x8.5 +35 on 235/35s with lowering springs
is absolutely perfect, okay?
There's a guy named iamrezi that's running RFX 11s
in the gallery, and it looks super sick.
18x8.15 +38s on lowering springs also look really good, too.
Nineteens will give you a little bit more of a luxury look
whereas the eighteens will give you much more
of a hot hatch look.
Rared_Juicee, I don't know how I said that, has one and it
looks pretty bad-ass in the gallery.
The Veloster N could use a little bit more
Artisa ArtFormed Wheels, but
but if you're going to own one still be aware,
It's a Hyundai with 270 horsepower,
and heavily focused on the feeling of the car
for around $30,000. I mean,
they really did focus on the driving experience
with this car, which means they're going to go a little soft
in some spots in the car, and we need to all accept that.
Okay? Prior to purchase, the three door layout
is still a bit unique.
The interior is good, but it's still undoubtedly
less refined than the GTI S if you are comparing the two.
The sport seats are still somewhat boring cloth
until you get into a brand new Veloster,
which is where you'd aim unless the budget is towards
the 2019 bird. That's kind of where you're at.
Is the Veloster N a slept on hot hatch?
In our humble opinion, yes.
Is it a properly fun and good car? Yes.
Is it better than the type R?
Exactly.
Can it fight against the GTI? In certain trims, sure.
But in other teams? Eh. I'm not so sure.
Does it need more love though?
And it absolutely does.
The Veloster N is a car that comes from a manufacturer
that's been pushing the availability of a performance sports
car to millions without making a big mess of it.
They're not trying to make it this overtly large deal
and over-hyping, and under delivering the car.
Sure. It's front wheel drive, and sure, the Hyundai badge
can make some people question its authenticity,
but the Veloster N is truly a unique car that offers
unadvertised, no lift shifting.
It offers smiles per gallon,
limited slip differentials that make you feel
like you're a better driver than you actually are.
And it's overall a very well-built car that is
a ton of fun, that's going to make you feel like
you're driving something that just almost
is a little bit like a tight bar.
And it's going to be in colors that do make you look back
when you park it at the local autocross event
to go and pick up the cones that you accidentally ate,
because that's what you're going to want to do when you
own a car like this.
But what do you think about the Hyundai Veloster N?
Let us know below. And if you're looking for aftermarket
wheels, tires, or suspension, be sure to hit us up over at
fitmentindustries.com.
If you have a Veloster N, snag some Artisa ArtFormed Wheels
so that we can just grow with those just a
hot minute further. Plus, I think they look really good.
They're ultra lite, they're directional.
They look really good.
If not, that's fine.
I'm just going to cry.
Hyundai, thank you for doing what you do.
Even with the weird cars that you make and the odd doors.
We're still appreciative.
I'm Allan from Fitment industries and we will see you later.
Peace.
(upbeat music)