Veloster R-Spec

"Tom McParland" (tommcparland)
11/21/2013 at 11:35 • Filed to: Hyundai Veloster R-Spec

More performance goodies, less bells and whistles for about a grand less than the Turbo. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

DISCUSSION (9)

shpuker > Tom McParland
11/21/2013 at 11:51

I'm very ok with this.

Party-vi > Tom McParland
11/21/2013 at 11:54

I may need to call 9-1-1; a manufacturer actually listening to the enthusiast crowd!? This is fucking awesome no matter how you put it! $1,000 less for the same speed, better handling and nothing you don't need!? Sweet!

Tom McParland > Party-vi
11/21/2013 at 11:57

Yeah I almost picked up a Veloster Turbo when my Mazda lease was up. After a test-drive I came away unimpressed. I have a good feeling about the R-spec.

Walfisch > Tom McParland
11/21/2013 at 12:35

Kinja'd!!!

JEM > Tom McParland
11/21/2013 at 13:38

With 35 percent of Veloster shoppers opting for the Turbo, and 25 percent choosing to row their own gears,

That's good news to hear!

doodon2whls > Party-vi
11/21/2013 at 17:04

Ummm.... Dodge did this more than a decade ago with the Neon SRT-4...

Most of the Dodge SRT-4 content and upgrades (e.g. Bright pedals, Kicker Audio, ACR, Commemorative Edition options) and annual feature colors were driven by enthusiast feedback gathered by SRT engineers lurking on the SRTforums, and/or asking the site admins to poll the enthusiasts. Truly, the car was built by tuners for tuners... ;-)

Say what you will about the base neon being 'your sister's first college car'. It has a great chassis (as the G5 Rally guys will tell you) and the upgrades bolted onto the SRT-4 are nothing to sneeze at.

ANYWAY.... In the case of the Veloster, I'm not sure that stiffer springs, a 'tighter' steering gear (read: same ratio, but higher effort) and B&M shifter are worth the trade for all of the content they thrifted... The chassis parts they changed are basically 'free' trades and should have been offered with all of the bells and whistles IMHO. The costs of the parts are not significantly different from the 'stock' parts, and were probably in the development parts bin anyway....

Party-vi > doodon2whls
11/21/2013 at 17:29

The Neon SRT-4 is a great performance car, but Dodge never offered a cheaper version that stripped the luxury items (not that the SRT-4 had many to strip).

Also we don't know how the R-spec package is installed. I would imagine that taking a Veloster Turbo off the assembly line to install different components costs more, which is why you see the uneven looking trade off between luxury and performance bolt-ons.

doodon2whls > Party-vi
11/21/2013 at 17:40

Umm, the SRT-4 cost less than an optioned up R/T at the time. Under $20K base price for 2003. Under $21K for 2004/2005.... THAT was a bargain in those days.

I'll bet a week's pay that the optional 'R-spec' parts are installed like every other part on the Veloster Turbo on the main assembly line in sequence just like every other optional component. It wouldn't make any sense whatsoever for them to do it any other way. This is a shrewd marketing ploy by Hyundai... They decontent $1500 of parts out of the car, swap in higher rate springs, a larger T-bar steering gear, and short throw shifter, and reduce the price by $1000, and call it a 'deal'...

I like the Veloster - a lot - but the R-spec is no great deal IMHO.

Party-vi > doodon2whls
11/22/2013 at 09:37

A no-option SRT-4 was just under $20k, which was still $3,000 north of a no-option R/T. Besides, the SRT-4 is a performance variant like the Veloster Turbo (obviously different levels of performance, but bear with me). Dodge never released a decontented SRT-4 with a price drop to catch more of the enthusiast market - it was pretty much golden from when they released the car. I'm sure there was more than just marketing guys throwing parts at and pulling stuff out of the Veloster to come up with the R-Spec.

Also it's not the best deal but the R-Spec does get you into a Veloster Turbo for $1,000 less and think of it this way - a couple hundred dollars for a shifter and $300 for springs plus labor to install them would be around $1,000 total, so it's a wash - lose $2,000 worth of luxury items and get $1,000 of go-fast parts and $1,000 off MSRP. Any way you look at it a cheaper Hyundai Turbo is always a good thing.