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2019 Hyundai Veloster N First Drive Review | Naughty and Nice

NuRBURGRING, Germany — The N in the 2019 Hyundai Veloster N's name supposedly represents Hyundai's R&D base back in Namyang. For the excuse to visit Germany I'm glad N also stands for Nurburgring, the track on which it was honed and symbolic of the car enthusiast culture it wants a piece of. Because here in the Eifel mountains it feels like a permanent party for gearheads. The parking lot where you access the Nordschleife for the legendary "tourist laps" is buzzing with cars from every corner of Europe. The air around the track is thick with barbecue smoke, hot brakes and adrenaline, high-performance engines echoing across the rolling landscape long after the track has shut down for the day. It's a heady atmosphere, and exactly the spirit Hyundai wants to capture for an American audience in the Veloster N. The man tasked with doing that is Albert Biermann, recruited from an equivalent job at BMW M for his instinctive understanding of what enthusiast drivers want. Proof of that is evident in the number of M2s and M3s you see pounding the Nordschleife tourist sessions. Hyundai is clearly hoping he can channel that expertise into its own products. He makes the right noises about the brand's home being in Korea, but on a sunny evening in the German countryside with a pilsner in hand, it's clear this is his comfort zone and N most definitely stands for Nurburgring. Next day we're out on the track itself, the exit from the pit lane so abrupt I've barely selected second gear before filtering out onto the Nordschleife. I've bagged first place in the train of cars behind an instructor in an i30 N, the Elantra GT relative that launched the performance brand to the European market last year to critical acclaim. And I'm determined to make him work for his lunch. They might have a different look and distinct chassis tuning, but the i30 N and its Veloster cousin are pretty much interchangeable in terms of hardware. Like all N products, the Veloster N will be manual-transmission only for the near future, partly out of deference to enthusiasts and partly out of lack of a suitable in-house gearbox. And they have the same 2.0-liter twin-scroll turbocharged engine driving the front wheels with 275 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque. That's a big jump from the 201-hp, 1.6-liter Veloster Turbo Ultimate and puts it square between the Golf GTI and all-wheel-drive R, which is no accident given Volkswagen's performance products are the benchmark Hyundai needs to exceed.

Surprise Costs Have A Cost: Why we turned down the Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell

They say you can always tell the pioneers. They're the ones with the arrows in their backs. Unfortunately, that was our experience pursuing – and eventually rejecting – the new hydrogen fuel cell-powered Hyundai Tucson. I first heard about Hyundai's new hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCV) at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2013. As a tech buff, the thought of driving a new, clean technology vehicle sounded exciting. Best of all, Hyundai was wrapping the new vehicle in a smart, familiar package, as a loaded current-generation Tucson SUV. The FCV Tucson was billed as $499 a month with $2,999 down, with free fuel and free maintenance. Our family needed a new, small, fuel efficient SUV, so I signed up for information on the upcoming lease program. Someone has to go first. Why not us? In the spring of 2014, I learned more at a Clean Fuel Symposium, held on the Queen Mary in Long Beach. The panel was packed with experts on alternative fuel vehicles. One spokesperson outlined the chicken or egg problem with alternative fuels like hydrogen: fuels first or vehicles? Another said something that I should have heard more clearly. "If the argument [to move to alternative fuel vehicles] has to start with a change of behavior from consumers, that's a hard row to hoe." I would soon to learn what an FCV would really cost, both in hours and in dollars. Nonetheless, I was ready to try jumping the hurdles and get an alternative fuel car. A low impact on the environment, plus free fuel and a solo car pool lane sticker? What could go wrong? My wife was a much harder nut to crack. My habit of jokingly calling it a "nuclear-powered" car probably didn't help much either. Our conversations went like this: "A what kind of car?" "Hydrogen fuel cell." "What?" "It's essentially an electric car." "Don't those things have a really short range?" "Yes. That's what the hydrogen is for. You fill it with hydrogen to fill the fuel cell, instead of charging it overnight like an electric car." "Where do you get hydrogen?" "Well..." It turned out the nearest hydrogen station was in Burbank, about 13 miles from our house. In LA traffic, that could be more than half an hour's drive each way. Since there's an excellent bakery in Burbank (Porto's), I told my wife I was fine with taking the time each week to fuel up every 200 miles or so.

Hyundai Mingtu revealed on billboard ahead of Shanghai

The so-called Hyundai Mini-Sonata now has a proper name. Called the Mingtu in China, this new sedan will slot in between the compact Elantra and midsize Sonata, and it sports a pretty nifty look.
We've known for a while now that Hyundai is working on a more mature version of its Fluidic styling language, the first fruits of which showed up in the latest Santa Fe, and the Mingtu seems to take that refined appearance to the next level with a refined look of creased lines, a chiseled fascia and a smooth greenhouse.
There's no indication that this car will be offered in the US market, but it's certainly possible that some of its styling elements will carry over to the next Elantra or Sonata. In any case, expect a range of 1.8- and 2.0-liter four-cylinder engines to be announced for the Chinese market when the Mingtu makes its official debut at the Shanghai Motor Show this weekend.