June 7, 2012 at 11:20am by Alexander Stoklosa
The 2013 Veloster Turbo, the more powerful version of Hyundai’s funky-hip Veloster hatchback, goes on sale soon and the company has revealed it will start at $22,725 with a manual transmission. The Veloster Turbo with an automatic will set you back an additional $1000, but instead of the standard Veloster’s six-speed dual-clutch automatic, you’ll get a regular six-speed slushbox. This likely is for the best, given how slowly the regular Veloster’s dual-clutch operates. Regardless of which automatic is fitted in which Veloster, we’d opt for the six-speed manual, anyway
Compared on price alone to several of its turbocharged rivals, the four-door Veloster Turbo—it has two doors on the passenger side, a single door on the driver’s side, and a hatch—is a relative deal. The 200-hp, three-door Volkswagen GTI, for instance, costs $24,765; the upcoming Ford Focus ST, which is available only in five-door guise, will start at $24,495 but also gets 252 hp. The Hyundai comes standard with leather seats that are heated up front; LED headlight accents; and pushbutton starting. It also gets a unique body kit, front fascia, and a sport-tuned intake and dual-tip exhaust. One of the car’s cooler options is a matte-gray paint job, which will set buyers back a hefty $1000; we’re told the price for the flat finish was set high to dampen demand given the paint’s limited availability.
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The Veloster Turbo may undercut some of its competitors’ prices, but it costs a heck of a lot more than a normal Veloster. The manual Turbo is a whopping $4500 more than the non-turbo 2013 Veloster with a stick, and the automatic Turbo is a still-significant $4250 more than its naturally aspirated counterpart. The regular Velosters, by the way, get a minor $150 price bump for 2013, to $18,225 for the manual and $19,475 for the dual-clutch auto.
Look for our first driving impressions of the new Veloster Turbo soon; we’re interested in seeing how much of a difference the car’s turbocharged 1.6-liter four makes in Veloster’s rather pokey acceleration.
Tags: Hyundai, Hyundai Veloster, Hyundai Veloster turbo |