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2022 Hyundai Veloster N Races 2022 VW Golf R, It's Not Even Close

The Veloster N is the only Veloster available in the United States for 2022, with Hyundai citing poor sales for the lesser variants. Priced at a fairly reasonable $32,500 excluding destination charge, this asymmetric fellow is a pretty good bang for the buck, given how few options are offered.
DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More! 24 photos
Photo: Edmunds on YouTube
DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!DRAG RACE! 2022 Hyundai Veloster N vs. 2022 VW Golf R | 0-60, Horsepower, U-Drag & More!
Prospective customers are presented with four exterior color options, a six-speed manual or a dual-clutch unit for $1,500 extra, plus a few accessories such as a cargo net and wheel locks. That’s it, and better still for Veloster N customers, the South Korean automaker offers complimentary maintenance for three years or 36,000 miles (approx. 60,000 kilometers).

The question is, can this FWD car keep up with hot-hatch royalty? The peeps at Edmunds arranged a drag race to answer this question, but it’s not your typical quarter-mile run. The U-Drags format kicks off with a sprint off the line, which turns into a hard braking zone. The contenders also have to corner hard, then roll race back to the start/finish line. Otherwise said, this format tests both straight-line performance and the car’s handling.

As implied by the headline, the Volkswagen Golf R serves as the contender for this race. Sensibly more expensive than the Veloster N, the German model features a seven-speed transmission as opposed to eight forward gears for the South Korean model. It’s also noticeably more powerful at 315 hp (320 ps) compared to 275 hp (279 ps), and it’s a bit torquier to boot.

295 lb-ft (400 Nm) versus 260 lb-ft (353 Nm) torquier, that is. The only downside to the Golf R is curb weight, namely 3,458 pounds (1,569 kilograms) compared to 3,173 pounds (1,439 kilograms). Filmed at Edmunds’ usual location for U-Drags, the hot-hatch showdown ends in 36.1 seconds for the VW and 40.1 seconds for the South Korean model. The Golf R was a bit slower in the second race, clocking in 36.3 seconds compared to 39.3 seconds. These numbers, however, don’t tell the whole story…

By pulling 1.06 Gs compared to 0.99 Gs for the all-around better Golf R, the Veloster N clearly likes cornering. As for the best quarter-mile times of these hatchbacks, the Edmunds team recorded 12.8 seconds and 14.0 seconds on the nose. “It felt wonderful getting into the Golf and out of the Veloster. But, with that said, I still like that Veloster. I think it’s a smoking deal for the price,” said Jonathan Elfalan, vehicle testing director at Edmunds.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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