Hyundai’s new Veloster keeps the weird doors

The Hyundai Veloster wasn’t a huge success in the UK. Seems we’re too conservative to properly lap up a coupe-hatch thingy with two doors on one side, and a single door on the other.

More’s the pity, really. While the Veloster lacked firepower on hot hatch rivals, it had a chassis more able than you’d expect and some genuine character. The US lapped them up.

The US therefore gets a second-generation car, a whole seven years after the original, a sign it must have been doing something right. The body shape is largely identical – yep, the doors remain – but there’s been a tidy up of the styling, with new lights, grilles and bumpers that give it a fresh but still familiar look.

The engine range is largely the same as before, with a 145bhp naturally aspirated 2.0-litre you don’t want, and a 198bhp 1.6-litre turbo that you might. Only now there’s also a proper performance version in the shape of the Hyundai Veloster N, with its 271bhp 2.0-litre turbo transplanted across from the excellent i30 N, alongside that car’s handling nous.

Back with the base Veloster, and you (well, the Americans) get a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed twin-clutch auto gearboxes, while the stability control system incorporates some mild torque-vectoring tech to allow lesser cars to allow them to mimic the N’s sharpness.

There’s an absolute ton of safety and connectivity tech, too. Highlights include lane-keep assist, full phone link-up and a head-up display.

All of which is a moot point if you’re in Britain, as it’s unlikely we’ll get the Veloster again. If only we’d shown it a bit more love first time around…