Photos of Our Hot Hatch Battle Between the Honda Civic Type R and the Hyundai Veloster N
It's a battle of the hot hatches between the esteemed Honda and the upstart Hyundai.
You know an automaker is serious about performance when it stakes a claim on a piece of the alphabet. Letters are fast, particularly once you move past frumpy B and lackadaisical H into the latter two-thirds, where M, R, and S transform mass-production ennui into factory-built adrenaline. That's exactly what we have here: two ordinary economy cars overengineered into track-capable front-wheel-drive hot hatches, brought to us by the letters N and R. Their speed, grip, and theatrics had us cackling like Elmo.
Born under the care of ex–BMW M bosses, Hyundai's nascent N division honors both Namyang—home to Hyundai's Korean R&D center—and the famed Nürburgring Nordschleife. The division's first export to the States, the three-door Veloster N comes bearing a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four, six-speed manual transmission, and powder-blue seatbelts. The Veloster N starts at $27,785 and with 250 horsepower. However, potential buyers should consider the $2100 Performance package on our test car mandatory equipment. It adds 25 horsepower, electronically adjustable dampers, an electronically controlled limited-slip differential, larger brakes, an active exhaust, and an upsize from 18- to 19-inch wheels. Beyond that, the options list looks similar to the Honda Civic Type R's, which is to say that you can choose from a limited selection of paint colors.
If it's going to win its first battle, the N division will have to beat Honda's Type R badge, which has a 26-year head start—though only a fleeting fraction of that run has elapsed in America.
To keep weight and cost in check, both these cars forgo some of the luxuries you might expect in this price range. There are no sunroofs, no heated or powered seats, and the Veloster's touchscreen doesn't include navigation. (Both cars come with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility).
Every time we spot that gaudy wing, the bizarre strakes on the roof, the massive fake vents in the fascias, and the abundant imitation carbon fiber, we start scanning for hooligan kids up to no good.
Eventually, we realize we're the ones holding the keys to the car that looks as if it had escaped from the set of Fast & Furious 17. Then we drive the thing and feel like, well, hooligan kids.
The Civic Type R redeems its styling—and then some—by driving like no other front-wheel-drive car in existence.
The steering talks back, and the brake pedal is always on alert. The understeer that barely exists is squirreled away under a mountain of grip.
The Honda's deep buckets (some Americans will find them too narrow) dressed in convincing faux suede glue driver and passenger in place for max-grip cornering while still offering long-haul comfort.
The overreliance on the color red as an interior styling element and the knock-off carbon-fiber trim are a bit much for our taste, but the fit and finish inside are steps above the economy-car materials in the Veloster N.
The ride quality is even more impressive when you consider that the low-profile Continental SportContact 6 rubber is effectively Saran-wrapped around the 20-inch wheels.
Channeled into speed, the Type R's always-on intensity translates into absolute control and precision-guided feedback. You can credit much of that granularity to Honda's dual-axis front struts, which separate the steering and suspension geometries to reduce torque steer and keep the contact patches grounded.
Honda's triple-outlet passive exhaust turns up the volume under load, but at any pace, the Type R's soundtrack is a one-note drone that lacks the fireworks of the N's exhaust.
The Honda engine trades the Hyundai's thick low-end torque for an unremitting swell of speed. The difference goes beyond its additional 31 horsepower.
In price and straight-line performance, the 275-hp Veloster N Performance package squeezes into the space between the Honda Civic Si and the Type R.
Push the Veloster N outside its comfort zone, though, and you'll find some rough edges.
Keeping with the long-standing Hyundai tradition, the Veloster N packs big value into a tidy package, and this ability to punch above its weight class is why we put it up against the top-hole Civic.
The steering occasionally unweights in tight corners at the limit. The light shifter doesn't snap into position with the crispness expected of a hot hatch, feeling cheap and insubstantial compared with the Honda's stick.
The N's wider, lightly bolstered front seats fit more body shapes and are easier to slide in and out of than the R's.
And Hyundai's no-nonsense infotainment and climate controls are among the most intuitive in the business.
With 235/35R-19 Pirelli P Zero PZ4 tires wrangling just 3077 pounds of Veloster, the N corners and stops deliberately.
The Veloster has less polish in its damping than the Civic, and its wheels are more prone to banging over potholes. Less body control also means the N is more likely to waver across mid-corner bumps.
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