Hyundai has been going from strength to strength. They boast one of the highest reliability ratings in the world. Their Tiburon sports car evolved into the Genesis, a great performance bargain. Meanwhile, Genesis’ i30 is US News and World Report’s top-rated sport sedan. More recently, the company broke onto the hot hatch scene with the Veloster. They then doubled down with the N version.

It’s a great car, and almost perfectly realized. It’s hard to think of what to do to make it better at what it does – so we didn’t bother. Instead, we hunted down mods that will make it more livable.

Here are the modifications that will best realize your Veloster N’s potential.

RELATED: Hyundai's Veloster N's DCT Has Some Really Cool Driving Modes

A Nimble Debut

Hyundai Veloster Turning
via: Motor Authority

The Veloster N is plenty fast enough. Sprinting from 0-60 in less than 5.5 seconds is enough to slap most of the comparably-priced competition, and anything more than 275 horsepower would just be overdoing it. We suggest you only add power if you add weight, and even then 300 horsepower should be the upper limit. Car and Driver explain that the N suite ("N" stands for Namyang, the city in which Hyundai's R&D center is located) offers the driver the chance to tinker with “settings for the engine's throttle response, the standard adaptive dampers, the limited-slip diff, the selectable engine rev-matching, the stability control, the steering weight, and the exhaust.” It's so good on the track that Hyundai considered giving drivers a warranty to cover track usage.

Some hot hatches do have more than that, but their character fundamentally differs from the Veloster, which is aiming to be razor-sharp specifically rather than potent yet pliable like the Focus RS models. The Veloster earns rave reviews for its sharp, taut handling. Autocar said the efforts of the suspension, differential, and front tires in translating its power to the road were tangible but pleasantly so. It’s affordable too, at $28,595.

Unfortunately, you end up paying for the Veloster N in other ways. It is a performance hatchback, granted, but then so is the Focus RS200 and that car was usable every day. The Veloster N has a number of little issues, but we decided to focus on three major ones: the ride, the noise, and the interior quality.

The Ride

Hyundai Veloster Wheel
via: Hyundai

Yes, complaining about stuff suspension in a handling-oriented hot hatch is a little unfair. Hyundai even made it adjustable! Still, though, we reckon that the ride could be altered by installing suspension that had the same range of adjustability but significantly more damping, such that the hardest setting would be sat somewhere in the middle of the Veloster N’s current range.

Coilover suspension can do the trick, and it is available. However, if you’d prefer to avoid compromising the handling that said suspension offers, you can also get larger, squashier tires or rigid collars. Making the most comfortable setting genuinely comfortable would go a long way toward making the Veloster a car you can drive around town, rather than on the track.

The Noise

Hyundai Veloster Exhaust
via: Hyundai

While the exhaust note is great, Autocar complained of road noise coming into the car. Forum members have added that the door panels often rattle when the subwoofer is up to a certain volume This is an odd flaw since Hyundai’s build quality is usually quite good.

There are a number of soundproofing kits available. However, forum discourse suggested finding the exact source of the rattle rather than simply filling up every panel, as kits are designed for the entire car. They also note that much of the time, sound-insulating CLD tiles change the quality of the noise rather than the level – which might be acceptable for more performance-oriented drivers. For others, however, noise-insulating kits can be had for as little as $175.

The Interior

Hyundai Veloster N Interior
via: Motor Authority

This also seems like a petty gripe. Asian cars don’t aim for sumptuous, and turning one’s nose up at a “plasticky” interior - especially one ostensibly designed to be lightweight - seems like missing the point. After all, it is fairly comfortable even if the rear seat is a little cramped. However, even with the little accents here and there it is strikingly drab - and that photo is from Hyundai themselves! Like the interior on the first-gen NSX, it’s all fairly monotone. Other Hyundais can and have done better than this - the Sonata, for example.

Hyundai Sonata Interior
via: Hyundai

We recommend re-doing the interior with something a little bit lighter, with greater contrast for the instrument panels. This might be a little tricky since mods for the dashboard and console aren't common. However, red leather seats and other upholstery are available for the Veloster from a handful of vendors and there's this nifty carbon fiber steering wheel from SoCal Garage Works.

A Few Point Fixes

Hyundai Veloster Hatch
via: Hyundai

Ideally, we would have liked to do something about the high step-up – that is, the height of the sill for the titular hatch back. The Megane had this problem too; its styling ended up getting in the way of its practicality in an identical fashion. Hot hatches are supposed to be practical, but the only practical benefit to a high sill is practicing your deadlift.

The gas mileage isn’t fantastic either. Sure, the car can compete with the Ecoboost Mustang and gets a similar MPG, but this is a hot hatch with under 300 horsepower. An average 25 miles to the gallon isn’t that good considering that other handling-focused cars can typically do better.

However, we think we’ve figured out a way to mitigate the Veloster’s most pronounced drawbacks. It’s a car that’s still well worth your time; it's got a long warranty and is made by a reliable manufacturer, so it’ll last you a while. It won’t have the thin skin of a track machine, and with these mods, it should have less of the fussiness as well.

Hyundai Veloster N Rear
via: Motor Authority

Sources: Autocar, Autoseatskins.com, Car and Driver, KDM Tuners, Reddit, Shark Racing, Veloster.org, Veloster Turbo Forum

NEXT: Hyundai Reveals Its i20 N High-Performance Hot Hatch