Not long ago, I wrote that I was glad that manufacturers are starting to engineer fun and excitement into their small crossovers, such as the Mercedes-AMG GLA 45. I should thoroughly clarify: this is a good development, but it’s a bummer that hatchbacks are sort of on their way out. But so it goes with the American car market.
However, thankfully, there are still some great options hangin’ in there, particularly by Honda and Hyundai. Honda’s got the Civic Type R, which is soon due for a brand-new generation, and Hyundai has the Veloster N, which will be around for at least another year.
No surprise to anyone reading this, Hyundai's little four-door hatchback is an incredible amount of fun, especially when equipped with a six-speed manual transmission. It possesses as much personality and charm as it does acceleration and grip, and is engineered for anyone who wants to add any degree of fun and excitement to their everyday driving.
How did I come to this conclusion? Read on and I’ll happily explain.
Many thanks to Hyundai USA for lending me this 2021 Veloster N 6-speed for an entire week. My tester’s price came out to $33,525 after destination and delivery.
Quintessential Hot Hatch Looks With Some Unique Flare
The 2021 Hyundai Veloster N doesn’t look a whole lot different from 2020 and 2019’s models; it still has that ready-to-pounce, quintessential hot hatchback look. It doesn’t look like anything else on the road, which must be appreciated in an age of a little too much styling homogenization among carmakers. My tester’s Racing Red color is a very good, almost Ferrari-like shade of red, but I think Hyundai’s signature Performance Blue is even better; this light and bright shade of blue is similar to that found on the 2020 BMW M2 CS, which automatically gives it all the cool points.
I’ve always been a big fan of the Veloster’s four-door hatchback body design, it’s really quite fun and different. Want to snap some photos of its two-door side up against a twisty road backdrop like I’ve done here? Park it with the driver’s side facing out. Want to demonstrate that Hyundai’s done a great job hiding its rear passenger door? Park it the other way. Though, this design does have one downside: if you’re like me where you like to toss a backpack, camera bag—whatever behind the driver’s seat before embarking down the road, you can’t do this quickly with no rear driver’s side door.
A Comfortable Cabin With A Sporty Feel And Great Visibility
As far as this speedy Veloster's interior goes, some of Hyundai’s most noticeable upgrades over the 2020 model exist in its interior. I had no real complaints about the quality of the 2019 and 2020 Veloster N's interior materials or infotainment system, but the 2021 model year’s upgrades are certainly welcome.
Trim, center console, and dash materials are slightly improved with some clever use of Alcantara and soft-touch leather in certain areas. This 2021 revision’s seats feature a helping of this soft leather, too, a sportier bucket design, and are more comfortable and supportive than last year’s seats. Unfortunately, their only downside is they steal headroom—my tall stature had so much more room in the 2020 model, whereas now, with an upright, performance-driving-ready seating position, I’ve barely got enough.
In spite of this, the Veloster N’s got a comfortable interior with good leg and shoulder room, and makes the little hatch feel a bit bigger than it actually is. Frontal visibility is outstanding, and despite its tiny rear window and massive C pillars, blind spots aren’t bad. Though, since you do sit hunkered-down in the N, getting an idea of its dimensions while parallel parking or navigating through a tight parking lot can be tricky.
The N’s 19.9 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats up and a massive 109.8 cubic feet with them dropped is peak hot-hatch. There’s plenty of space for massive grocery runs, an Ikea visit’s haul, or porting spare wheels and tools to the track.
Hyundai’s latest infotainment system is vastly different from the previous year’s, but in general, it’s not bad to navigate through. Though, if you’re familiar with the N’s old system, there might be a slight learning curve. Still, it’s on a larger 8-inch screen, has great clarity, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto, voice recognition, Bluetooth, satellite radio, and a bumping Infinity 8-speaker sound system. A single, customizable favorite button can be set to navigate directly to the N Custom Mode page, making adjustments to the N’s dampers, engine tuning, differential tuning, and more, an absolute snap.
A Raucous Turbo Engine That Fits The N’s Personality Perfectly
The 2021 Veloster N’s torquey-as-hell 2.0-liter, direct-injection turbo engine makes 275 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. Torque comes on at 1750 rpms and feels ever-present all the way to its 6750-rpm redline, and with just 3,106 pounds to haul around, this turbo-four pulls the mighty hatch to 60 mph from a standstill in the mid-five second range.
The Veloster N absolutely rips out of tight corners thanks to its healthy torque curve, all while proudly exclaiming to the world that it’s a genuine hatchback. The baritone growl that exits its exhaust is so intoxicating, and can be made even more raucous while upping the ante with the N’s Custom Modes, with Eco being the most useless and lame (seriously, who with any inclination for fun would use this mode?), and N being the most wild. I found myself hanging out in Sport Mode the most, as it’s a good overall mix of sporty damping, enthusiastic throttle tuning, and a pleasant exhaust note.
Sending all of the 2.0’s mighty turbo power to the front wheels via its six-speed manual gearbox is a real treat, too. Shifts are well-sprung and play is quite minimal. Ironically, they feel more BMW-like than otherwise, which may have something to do with BMW’s previous boss of M Division heading up Hyundai’s N Division during the Veloster N’s development. Rev-matching is no difficult feat, but I appreciate it having auto rev-match regardless for, well, rewarding my laziness. I definitely prefer the three-pedal N over one equipped with the DCT automatic, especially when the pickins are slim for those of us who want to manually shift gears.
While sailing the Veloster N though a curvy mountain road, its electronically-controlled limited-slip N Corner Carving differential handles corner-exit and high-speed sweeper grip far better than I remember in the previous year’s model. When driven with precision and strategically, the front-wheel drive system helps the chassis maintain poise, and feels very neutral.
One Of The Most Fun Ways To Carve Through Curvy Roads
But then, this is also thanks to the 2021 Hyundai Veloster N’s brilliant chassis. MacPherson suspension up front, fully-independent multi link suspension in back, as well as thicker-than-average sway bars and performance shock and spring tuning throughout. Like the engine, the more enthusiastic the mode, or N Custom Mode setting, the more taut and stiff the ride gets. N is best kept for smooth-as-glass pavement on a race track, and Sport is best-suited for any day-to-day surface.
Still, for those after the most, stiffly-damped, race car-like ride, such as mirroring what TCR-prepped Veloster Ns feel like, N Mode is always an option.
Keeping the balanced N chassis stuck to the road are big 235/35/19 Pirelli P Zero Summer tires, which are just 80-tread wear away from focused track tires, and they certainly feel like it. They’ve got excellent grip, but do ride stiff and harsh over some of SoCal’s bumpier, crappier roads. I wonder if moving up to a 40-series aspect ratio would really improve the chassis by offering absolutely no body roll in N Mode, but without the a spine-shattering ride.
The 3,106-pound hatch's large, 11-inch front and 10.3-inch rear disc brakes rein in speed with ease and have good pedal feel. They’re devoid of grabbiness, are easy to balance with the throttle for smooth trail braking, and have a very strong bite for abrupt stops and threshold braking.
The Veloster N’s handling is endless fun. Cornering speeds are impressive no matter their shape or size—long sweepers, tight, 90-degree-or-less right-handers requiring extra steering input, etc. Again, with precision in mind and a feel for where the weight is shifting to under cornering, acceleration, and braking, the excitable little hatch turns in so confidently, maintains excellent grip, and then sorts out corner-exit quite well with the help of its electronically controlled limited-slip differential.
This doubles on normal streets, too. It’s so fun to sail the N into a right-turn and onto a wide-open road. Sure, there’s a good chance you’ll frighten the hell out of people in the left-turn lane at one o’clock of that corner’s apex, but that’s part of what hot hatch ownership is all about: exhibiting a bit of harmless rascality and letting normies know that you prefer a bit more enthusiasm in your day-to-day driving.
The chassis feels rigid, and communicates plenty of information as far as road surface, available grip, and where the limit is. Completing turning off all stability and traction control isn’t a massive commitment, either. When driven sloppily, the front wheels will light up and induce understeer, but otherwise, understeer is kept at bay and only really sneaks in when you’re truly at the limits of grip. Extinguishing it is a snap, though—just back off the throttle a tad and make some mild adjustments to the N’s thick, comfortable steering wheel.
Steering feel is very good for a modern electric rack. Hyundai’s rack-mounted Motor Driven Power Steering system adjusted weight very well depending on the mode, tightening up nicely in Sport and N for added confidence, and losing weight for low-speed turning, such as pulling onto city streets at un-enthusiastic, normie speeds, or crawling through parking lots.
A Hatchback That’s Engineered For On-Demand Fun
The beauty of the Veloster N is that it’s always rarin’ to go. It brightens up the most mundane drives with at least a mild air of enthusiasm, and wants to be revved out in first-through-third gears at every fresh green light. It can be tamed with Eco mode, too, but then you never feel like it turns into a base econohatch. If anything, it feels like it’s in a straightjacket, being held back from leaping into action and expressing its true self.
I’m glad this enthusiastic hatch is still with us in these times of cars getting bigger and consumers opting more and more for crossovers, hardware with ghastly CVT transmissions, and appliance-like electric vehicles. The Veloster N is proof that you can still roll around with some spring in your step, have an epic amount of fun behind the wheel, and still drive a very efficient (it also returns 22 mpg city and 28 mpg highway, by the way) and cargo-ready compact. And, for not a whole lot of money—as far as smiles per gallon, the N is awfully hard to beat, and possesses as much cornering grip and exciting dynamics as stuff that’s far more expensive.