Shift your day-to-day, says Hyundai about the latest 2022 Veloster N, and you’d be waking up before your alarm goes off and actually look forward to your everyday commute. “Every moment behind the wheel will put a child-like grin on your face because driving is fun again,” the automaker says. Indeed, the Veloster N has fewer cons, counting the poor fuel economy for such a small car and the sub-par interior (for such a stylish car).
Although the lousy fuel economy is predictable in a performance model like the Veloster N, we didn’t expect to see traces of hard plastic in the cabin at all. These two things aside, the Veloster N serves up a deliciously thrilling driving experience thanks to the robust supercharged engine mated to an equally efficient manual or automatic transmission. The handling is – in a nutshell – athletic, and the infotainment system is user-friendly.
It’s no surprise that US News ranked it no. 4 on the list of the best compact cars for 2022. It earned this position with track-ready road manners, a unique hatchback design, and an impressively long list of standard infotainment and driver-aid features, even though it lags in the trunk and second-row space. With a score of 8.2/10, the Veloster N is well poised to command the compact hatchback market in 2023 as well.
What’s New With The 2022 Hyundai Veloster N?
The biggest change to the model year 2022 Hyundai Veloster is Hyundai’s consolidation of all the trim levels in the performance-focused N-Series. That's to say, Hyundai retired all the Veloster trims in 2022 except the Veloster N, which came with differentiating features from the previous model years.
Previous optional features like upgraded brakes, electronic limited-slip differential, and summer-only tires came standard on the 2022 Veloster N. An automatic transmission also became available with the Veloster N, with the power output rising from the previous year’s 250 horsepower to 275 horsepower. That’s a significant leap from the 2019 model year, when the performance-oriented Veloster N got introduced.
Consolidating the Veloster nameplate into just one high-performance lineup eradicates any chance of the previous models being a better option for gearheads. The best part is the car’s affordability, leaving you with a performance model to rival the higher trims of similar compacts that cost significantly more.
The Veloster N comes with an MSRP of $32,500. There's no higher trim to gun for, so everything is inclusive, except for the automatic transmission option that sets you back an extra $1,500. If you insist on looking elsewhere, we consider the redesigned Volkswagen Golf GTI and Golf R as the Veloster N’s closest rivals.
The 2022 Hyundai Veloster N Engine And Performance
The 2022 Hyundai Veloster N has enough oomph to lock horns with the hottest hatches, which is only proper now that the Veloster bloodline got trimmed down to just one warrior with a lone engine to speak of. Before we move on to the cool stuff, let’s address the poor fuel economy – an EPA-rated 22 mpg city and 28 mpg highway with the manual gearbox, and 20 mpg/city and 27 mpg/highway with the automatic transmission.
The Veloster N’s front wheels receive powerful motivation from a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four capable of 275 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 260 lb-ft of torque at 1,450 rpm. That motivation receives guidance from a default six-speed manual transmission, but there's everything to love about the optional eight-speed dual-clutch automatic, offering the promise of an overboost function that temporarily raises the torque from 260 lb-ft to a maximum of 278 lb-ft.
You don't only have the upgraded brakes to control all that power. There's the Sport mode, Normal, Eco, and N drive modes. Our favorite is, of course, the N mode, allowing the freedom to personalize your riding experience by tweaking the settings for the throttle response, limited-slip differential, steering weight, adaptive dampers, exhaust, and selectable engine rev-matching.
Turbo lag is near-non-existent, allowing the four-cylinder to deliver its power smooth and strong. An independent test drive saw the car finish the quarter-mile in 13.8 seconds while traveling at 102 mph and sprint from zero to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds; impressive figures for a $30,000 hatchback. In Hyundai’s words, “It's not about the destination. It's the journey that truly matters.”
The 2022 Hyundai Veloster N Interior And Practicality
Hyundai enjoys a reputation for quality build and attention to detail, which came to bear on the 2022 Veloster N. So, you can understand our disappointment at the sight of hard plastics in an otherwise quirky cabin design with a good dose of bright colors and sporty details.
The Veloster N can seat four passengers and comes with sports seats to support the driver during hard cornering. The Veloster’s cargo volume of 19.9 cubic feet (44.5 cubic feet with the rear seats folded down) is on par with similarly classed compact hatchbacks. That’s impressive, considering the car's unique styling that’s also responsible for the impeded rear and side visibility due to the rear pillars. The design also explains the hampered utility due to the trunk’s raised lip and the seats not folding all the way down.
However, the excellent forward visibility and the driver-centric cabin matter more to the typical gearhead, with most controls and design lines inclined toward the driver. Despite the poor second-row space, we don’t see why tall or adult passengers can’t enjoy the ride from the back seat for quick trips. Additionally, the 2022 Hyundai Veloster N is child-car-seat-ready and comes with two complete sets of LATCH connectors for the rear seats.
How The 2022 Hyundai Veloster N Squares Up With Rivals
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=750&dpr=1.5)
We already mentioned that the redesigned 2022 VW Golf GTI is one of the Veloster N’s closest competitors, as both hatchbacks acceleration times are neck and neck, and both offer an authoritative manual transmission. However, the Veloster N stretches its neck further with a superior infotainment system. Where the Veloster features a long rolodex of user-friendly traditional controls, the VW relies more on a sophisticated touchscreen and tiny, haptic buttons.
The VW wins with better fuel efficiency and wider cargo volume. It also leads the Hyundai’s interior with sleeker leather upholstery, adaptive cruise control, ventilated front seats, a digital instrument cluster, and a head-up display. Even so, we’re more than happy with the Veloster N’s user-friendly infotainment system, featuring a center stack with plenty of large, clearly marked buttons and knobs thoughtfully oriented toward the driver's seat.
The Veloster N’s standard infotainment features include an 8-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration, navigation, HD Radio, satellite radio, an eight-speaker Infinity stereo, Bluetooth, and two USB ports. It is also one of the few hot hatches with a manual transmission left in the market.
Sources: US News, Hyundai