Camaro to Civic, had some questions

[raulnor516]

I feel bad writing this post after becoming so emotionally invested in getting a Honda Civic..but not too bad

I listened to you all, did a little more research / tire kicking, and long story short i'm now the proud owner of a 2020 Hyundai Veloster N (with performance package). It was an absolute no brainer..The Veloster comes with a 5 year 60k mile bumper to bumper. 100k powertrain. I also get 36 months / 3 years of general maintenance for free. What was my out the door? 31,900. Only 2k more than what I was offered for a Honda Civic Sport Touring Hatch.. and the Veloster is a hell of a lot more car for the money.

The Veloster also has a 275HP engine compared to the 200 in the Civic. It's also lighter. The MPG is good enough for me.

I was getting annoyed by my local Honda dealership for several reasons unfortunately. But here we are. I hope the Veloster treats me well!

Not a bad choice at all! A close friend of mine has a Veloster N Perf Package as well... If I weren't carrying around 2-3 kids in car seats on a regular basis, I would have been more interested in it. It's definitely a more aggressive hot hatch, and comparable to the type R for a lot less money... So have fun!

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[RonSwanson's]

Thank you! Just hope I made the right decision. The Veloster N is certainly a niche car.

YOU made a great choice, I've had mostly V8 Silverados in my past and one Sonic turbo. What no one seems to talk about it is exhaust sound. The civic sounds dull and is so quiet even straight piped.

Hyundia/kia turbos sound amazing. Especially after ditching mufflers. Sure my civic gets great gas mpg and looks great but it sounds so dull

 

[Lightning13]

Thank you everyone. Truly, means a lot - especially coming from Civic owners who love their Civics!

I will say this. I really liked the Civic Sport Touring Hatch, and probably would've been sold if I didn't dive further. I ran into the Veloster N completely by accident.. and all it took was a test drive to make me instantly fall in love. For a Turbo 4, it's mind boggling how Hyundai hit a home run with this thing. Of course I have my gripes, like the cloth seats, unbearable N mode suspension, and lack of convenience features (seriously.. you couldn't put in a built-in garage door opener? Like my 2014 Chevy has??). But it's a niche driver's car that targets a very specific group of people, say, like the ones who are coming from a Camaro SS.

The Type R might've been ideal but the price is a big jump. And to be honest, if i'm looking at spending Type R money, i'm looking at a used Tesla Model 3. What's with the fake vents? My Camaro has fake vents by the rear wheels, but the VN, as far as i'm aware, doesn't have anything fake about it (EDIT: just kidding, it does have fake vents, just not as noticeable). I'm not sure how Hyundai is getting away with pricing the VN the way they did. And 5 year / 60k warranty puts Honda's to shame. 3 year maintenance, which Honda didn't offer, was also an easy choice.

I'm actually disappointed in Honda. I expected better, but was trying so hard to love it.

 

[Hollywoo0220]

Now, go find the VN forum and blog there.

 

[Shred]

Toyota and Nissan have the same warranty as Honda. People wouldn't be buying the Korean cars if they hadn't started offering the longer warranties as a selling point, I know they have gotten better but the reputation has stuck. I hope you never have to use it though! Isn't N mode supposed to be its sportiest suspension mode though? If that sucks that's kind of a bummer.

 

[Lightning13]

@Hollywoo0220 Nah I like it here, save for one troll.

@Shred I agree 100% with your assessment. I like to think we're creatures of habit, and brand loyalty is a major thing in the car industry. The general rule is that Hondas and Nissans are still rock solid, but the general populace doesn't know about oil dilution (Honda) or unreliable CVTs (Nissan) or whatever else may be a common issue in a model or two. Until they experience it I mean haha. I thought Hyundai wasn't good; it certainly wasn't on my "these cars are great" list, until I read from multiple sources they were highly reliable, and a buddy of mine also swore by his Genesis. A 5 year bumper to bumper also encourages confidence in your auto purchase.

N mode suspension is ROUGH. Like roller coaster vibrations on the freeway rough. Great for the track. Normal & Eco mode dial it back by quite a bit, so the ride isn't as harsh as people might lead you to believe. Road noise is noticeable but I'm going to blame that on the Pirelli's, which I've had rough experiences with.


I wish Honda had a trim that was between Sport Touring / Type R for the hatchbacks. Would've even been nice to have a more respectable amount of power in the Sport Touring.

 

[SavageOrange]

@Hollywoo0220 Nah I like it here, save for one troll.

@Shred I agree 100% with your assessment. I like to think we're creatures of habit, and brand loyalty is a major thing in the car industry. The general rule is that Hondas and Nissans are still rock solid, but the general populace doesn't know about oil dilution (Honda) or unreliable CVTs (Nissan) or whatever else may be a common issue in a model or two. Until they experience it I mean haha. I thought Hyundai wasn't good; it certainly wasn't on my "these cars are great" list, until I read from multiple sources they were highly reliable, and a buddy of mine also swore by his Genesis. A 5 year bumper to bumper also encourages confidence in your auto purchase.

N mode suspension is ROUGH. Like roller coaster vibrations on the freeway rough. Great for the track. Normal & Eco mode dial it back by quite a bit, so the ride isn't as harsh as people might lead you to believe. Road noise is noticeable but I'm going to blame that on the Pirelli's, which I've had rough experiences with.


I wish Honda had a trim that was between Sport Touring / Type R for the hatchbacks. Would've even been nice to have a more respectable amount of power in the Sport Touring.

There is a trim, it's just not in the hatchback lol

 

[Gruber]

What was my out the door? 31,900. Only 2k more than what I was offered for a Honda Civic Sport Touring Hatch.. and the Veloster is a hell of a lot more car for the money.

Maybe you would have wasted less time finding your car if someone informed you earlier that you can't get a 2020 civic hb ST for 26k. I didn't, because people often get very defensive about what they paid or what they can negotiate, so I won't discuss prices. Well, still, there is also no such thing as a free lunch. I see that the price they offered you out the door was almost 30k. Sounds more like it. I can understand you are disappointed and that the Velo N seems like more bang for the buck if you want more horses.
Me, if I wanted more than my current civic, my next stop would be at the Accord Touring (2.0T) with 10 speed. Then I would tune it.....

 

[Hollywoo0220]

@Lightning13 Troll? You are the one on a Honda forum with a Chevy and now a Hyundai. Get out of the apartment (more likely living with a family member) there is a world out there.
You couldn’t even afford regular maintenance on your car, what makes you think you have $....just another paycheck to paycheck loser.
I own everything from home to car - Ketchup little tomato

 

[Lightning13]

@Hollywoo0220 Alright big man zip your pants back up, no one wants to see it. I was interested in a Civic and enjoy the car talk. Don't like it, leave.

@Gruber Thanks! I understand everyone's situation is different, and I don't consider this a waste of time at all. I liked the Civic (still do) for what it's worth. Maybe I should've looked into a Type R.. Contrary to popular opinion, I think the CTR looks appropriately good. I just had different priorities, like the 5 yr bumper, lower price for decent power, etc etc.. Though admittedly, the features in the Civic were very nice and that CVT was smooth from what I remember. Velo N is fun but there are some features i'd trade. Cloth seats aren't my thing. I didn't look into the Accord but maybe I should've? I briefly looked into the Toyota Camry TRD.

@SavageOrange The SI? My friend had one 10 years ago. That car was pretty amazing. I liked the current ones too but I'm sort of tired of the Coupe scene. VN is a 3-door, if you've ever heard of such a thing.

@coo1rim I apologize if i'm coming off as someone who doesn't like the Type R. That's simply not the case. I just would've been looking at used given the price point, and i'm not sure if I could go again with a super sexy DD while everyone and their mothers blip the throttle of their open header cars next to me like i'm impressed or wanna race or something. Also I give the N credit - there's more to come from Hyundai, Veloster N is just a start. And again, can't argue with 3 years maintenance and 5 year bumper for what will become my new daily.

 

[SavageOrange]

@Hollywoo0220 Alright big man zip your pants back up, no one wants to see it. I was interested in a Civic and enjoy the car talk. Don't like it, leave.

@Gruber Thanks! I understand everyone's situation is different, and I don't consider this a waste of time at all. I liked the Civic (still do) for what it's worth. Maybe I should've looked into a Type R.. Contrary to popular opinion, I think the CTR looks appropriately good. I just had different priorities, like the 5 yr bumper, lower price for decent power, etc etc.. Though admittedly, the features in the Civic were very nice and that CVT was smooth from what I remember. Velo N is fun but there are some features i'd trade. Cloth seats aren't my thing. I didn't look into the Accord but maybe I should've? I briefly looked into the Toyota Camry TRD.

@SavageOrange The SI? My friend had one 10 years ago. That car was pretty amazing. I liked the current ones too but I'm sort of tired of the Coupe scene. VN is a 3-door, if you've ever heard of such a thing.

@coo1rim I apologize if i'm coming off as someone who doesn't like the Type R. That's simply not the case. I just would've been looking at used given the price point, and i'm not sure if I could go again with a super sexy DD while everyone and their mothers blip the throttle of their open header cars next to me like i'm impressed or wanna race or something. Also I give the N credit - there's more to come from Hyundai, Veloster N is just a start. And again, can't argue with 3 years maintenance and 5 year bumper for what will become my new daily.

The Si also comes in a Sedan...

 

[gtman]

Just a little Hyundai/N talk from someone who has been a bit of a Hyundai insider since 2001. Back in the day Hyundai (the early 2000's) was thinking about a performance parts division (never came to fruition) and created a small tuner section at the Hyundai USA site for a time. I was proud that my ElantraClub site was actually linked there as one of Hyundai's top recommended enthusiast sites. I also got friendly with one of the head Hyundai trainer tech guys who worked in the US and Korea.

Yes, back in the day Hyundai was pure, utter crap. But with each generation not only has the product improved in terms of reliability and style, with Albert Biermann in charge, the performance and handling is starting to get good.. really good. After running BMW's M division he knows a thing or two about performance. I know this is a Honda site but put away your prejudices and take one for a test drive. You'd be surprised.

The Veloster N is a helluva bargain and certainly a great little car. Personally I wish they brought over the more subtle i30N, but hey, that's me.

 

[Lightning13]

Just a little Hyundai/N talk from someone who has been a bit of a Hyundai insider since 2001. Back in the day Hyundai (the early 2000's) was thinking about a performance parts division (never came to fruition) and created a small tuner section at the Hyundai USA site for a time. I was proud that my ElantraClub site was actually linked there as one of Hyundai's top recommended enthusiast sites. I also got friendly with one of the head Hyundai trainer tech guys who worked in the US and Korea.

Yes, back in the day Hyundai was pure, utter crap. But with each generation not only has the product improved in terms of reliability and style, with Albert Biermann in charge, the performance and handling is starting to get good.. really good. After running BMW's M division he knows a thing or two about performance. I know this is a Honda site but put away your prejudices and take one for a test drive. You'd be surprised.

The Veloster N is a helluva bargain and certainly a great little car. Personally I wish they brought over the more subtle i30N, but hey, that's me.

You sir hit the nail on the head, as usual. My mistake was brushing off Hyundai before I really dug deep into my research and found out about the VN. This thing is no joke, though some aspects of it are still less than ideal. For the whole package, it just made sense to me. I think the Civic ST is a fantastic car perhaps made for the general public, but the VN is the car for the spirited driver, for those that do not want to spend the money on a DD & arguably better CTR.

Plus that 5 year bumper > Honda's 3 year (and this truly surprised me, I expected more out of Honda)

 

[gtman]

You sir hit the nail on the head, as usual. My mistake was brushing off Hyundai before I really dug deep into my research and found out about the VN. This thing is no joke, though some aspects of it are still less than ideal. For the whole package, it just made sense to me. I think the Civic ST is a fantastic car perhaps made for the general public, but the VN is the car for the spirited driver, for those that do not want to spend the money on a DD & arguably better CTR.

Plus that 5 year bumper > Honda's 3 year (and this truly surprised me, I expected more out of Honda)

The 10 year/100,000 mile drivetrain warranty isn't bad either.

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