I reviewed a Hyundai Veloster N a few years ago, back then Hyundai had just introduced the new “N” badge, which was/is meant to be their higher performance version of their cars, kind of like the M and AMG from BMW and Mercedes. Hyundai also introduces the “N-Line”, which would be the equivalent of BMW’s M-line and Mercedes’ AMG-Line, which are more of a visual upgrade rather than all-out performance upgrade. Back then the Veloster was the only vehicle available with the N trim, however the N vehicles have been expanded to the Kona, Sonata, and Elantra.

Last week I had the opportunity to review a new 2022 Veloster N, a car I was extremely impressed with when I first drove it. Not too much has changed with the Veloster N since I last drove it, but there is one major difference, which actually might bring more customers.

Hyundai Veloster N Price in Canada

Unlike in the past, the Veloster is only offered as the higher priced performance N version. In the years past, you could buy a regular Veloster. In Canada, the 2022 Veloster N has a starting price of $37,899 for the manual transmission equipped car and $39,499 for the DCT equipped car.

The only options available on the 2022 Veloster N are different exterior colors, which range from $0 for the white, $200 for four other colors, and $1,000 for the Shooting Star Matte color. These prices don’t include $1,725 for delivery & destination and taxes. Prices have increased by $2,900 since we reviewed the 2020 Veloster N.

Our review 2022 Veloster N had a sticker price of $42,324, the price included the Shooting Star Matte paint and delivery & destination.

Veloster N Engine/Driving

The 2022 Veloster N is equipped with a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine with direct injection, producing 275 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 260 pound-feet of torque between 1,450 – 4,700 rpm. Power is sent to the front wheels via a smooth shifting 6-speed manual with rev matching. Everything here is exactly the same as it was in 2020, however, there’s now an 8-speed wet Dual-Clutch Transmission (N-DCT). Our review car was equipped with the dual-clutch automatic transmission. As I mentioned above, the addition of this transmission might actually bring in customers that don’t want to shift their own gears (for some unknown reason). Some purists might not like the idea of an automatic on a car like this, but thankfully Hyundai is still offering the 6-speed manual.

As you’d expect from the aggressive styling, driving the Hyundai Veloster N is an extremely fun experience; reviewers have been raving about this car since it was first introduced. The 275 horsepower is more than enough for this little car, the 8-speed DCT delivers the power to the front wheels effortlessly. But it’s not the same experience as the one I felt with the 6-speed manual. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of fun going through the gears automatically or via the steering wheel mounted paddle shifters, but I didn’t feel the connection the same way I felt it with the manual transmission. Even small cars with much less power than the Veloster N become fun with a manual transmission (I actually had a blast in the weak little Ford Fiesta with a 1.0-liter engine and a 5-speed manual transmission). If you can drive a manual, save yourself the extra $1,600 and go for the 6-speed manual while it’s still available.

On the other hand, if I the only choice I had was a bloated SUV or a Veloster N with the DCT, it would be a no brainer. Had I never driven the Veloster N with the manual transmission, I would’ve been extremely happy to have the opportunity to drive a hot hatch with this much power and great handling.

The Veloster N comes with 5 different driving modes: Eco, Normal, Sport, “N”, and Custom. In Eco mode, the Veloster N is a relatively tame car and it felt more like the turbocharged Veloster I reviewed a few years ago. The Normal and Sport modes increase throttle response, more exhaust noise, and firmer steering feel and suspension. You move between these modes with the “Drive Mode” button on the left side of the steering wheel. The other two modes are selected by pushing the button on the right side of the steering wheel. The “N” mode is the most hardcore mode, this is the mode to have some real fun in. The suspension is much stiffer, exhaust is opened up to be very loud, traction control is turned down, LSD is in a more aggressive mode, and you’re getting all the power the engine makes. The exhaust is very loud in this mode, but I didn’t find it obnoxious (as I get older, I prefer quitter cars but I enjoyed the noise produced by the Veloster N). The exhaust system produces satisfactory popping and crackling noises that sound quite good in the cabin, I’m not sure what it sounds like to people on the street, I’m sure you’ll annoy some people with the sound.

In the Custom mode, you can fine tune settings to your liking, you can adjust many different things like damper firmness, steering weight, stability control, LSD settings, engine mapping, and exhaust sound. You can have the most extreme settings of the N mode but maybe you don’t want the loud exhaust or maybe you want a softer suspension setting, this is where you’d do it. I personally had everything set up to be the most aggressive setting except for the suspension, which I put in the softer mode. I found the damper/suspension setting on the N to be a bit on the harder side, especially on rougher roads. Thankfully in the Custom mode you can change things. The amount of modes/customization is very impressive and I loved playing with all the different settings, normally you’d find this much customization in much higher priced cars.

The Veloster N comes with 345 mm front discs and 314 mm rear discs, providing excellent braking performance.

I found the steering feel/weight on the Veloster N to be heavy, even in the Eco mode, which is exactly what I want in a sporty car like this. It seems like more and more car manufacturers are setting up their steering on the softer side, which is especially true for Hyundai vehicles. Thankfully the Veloster N’s steering feel is closer in feeling to what a European sports car would have.

People don’t buy sports/sporty cars for fuel efficiency, but if you must know, the manual transmission equipped Veloster N is rated at 10.6/8.3/9.5 liter/100 km in city/highway/combined driving and the DCT equipped cars are rated at 12.0/8.6/10.5 L/100 km on premium fuel.

Veloster N Styling

I liked the styling on the regular Veloster, the N takes things a bit further while still keeping the asymmetrical design this car is famous for. At the front, there are small difference with a few extra added elements to the lower bumper which stand out in red against the car’s dark grey paint. The sides feature a small design element in front of the rear wheel well, with a red line along the side skirts. The rear bumper is slightly different with horizontal reflector lights, exhaust tips on both sides vs in the middle for the Veloster 1.6T we reviewed. The roof mounted spoiler is much bigger, but it suits the car and is nothing like the hideous thing you find on the Civic Type R. The overall stance of the car is much more aggressive and the car sits lower than the 1.6T’s.

Hyundai Veloster N Interior

There aren’t any changes on the interior of the Veloster N since I last reviewed it, as far as I can see. The interior is quite simple with a more traditional layout. The highlight of the interior is the pair of heavily bolstered front seats, which are amazing at keeping you in place even on the most twisty roads. I found the seats to be perfect for my size, however, people that are bigger will find them to be quite tight around the torso area.

The rear seats are surprisingly roomy. I had a couple of inches of knee room in the back with the front seats set to my seating position, I’m 5’ 8”. The added door on the passenger side is great for getting in an out, you don’t have to bend like a contortionist to be able to get to the back seats. I wish Hyundai would’ve included the small door on the driver’s side too, as the driver’s door is longer than the passenger door to make easier to get in from that side. But the bigger door can be a problem when getting out of the car in tight city parking lots.

Another surprise with the interior was the amount of trunk space, the Veloster’s trunk is quite large for a small car like this. The trunk is deep, giving you a lot of room for your favorite camera gear, groceries, or anything else you can think of. The trunk has a volume of 565 liters; as you can see from the picture below, I was able put in quite a bit of stuff with a lot room to spare.

Tech/Convenience Features

Unlike other Hyundai vehicles the Veloster N is not as loaded up with features as we expect from Hyundai vehicles, but in this case I’m fine with it. I want to experience the drive for myself, not be babysat. But the Veloster N does come with the usual suite of safety features like traction control, stability control, ABS etc. Below are some of the convenience features:

Heated front seats
8.0″ Touch-screen navigation system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
Rearview camera with dynamic guidelines
USB/auxiliary connectivity
Bluetooth Hands-free Phone system
Heated steering wheel
Remote keyless entry with push-button ignition
Blind Spot Detection (BSD) with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA)

Overall Impressions

You may be asking yourself the question, should I buy a Veloster N?

I had fun driving the 2022 Hyundai Veloster N. Maybe it wasn’t as fun as the manual one, but it was still a great time. It’s one of only a handful of cars that are aimed at the pure enthusiasts. The Veloster N is extremely fun to drive, it’s agile, it’s powerful, pretty fuel efficient, and it’s not very expensive. The Veloster is also pretty practical, I had a child seat in the back and my kid enjoyed the ride and was comfortable.

Personally, I’d go with the 6-speed manual, it just gives you more of a feeling of connectedness to the car and who doesn’t enjoy switching gears manually with the rev matching feature adding extra revs and exhaust noise at every downshift. Whether you pick the manual or DCT, it’s still a great car to own and we should be thankful to Hyundai for still catering to the car enthusiasts, however small that demographic may be.