Hyundai Veloster review: Bahrain's forgotten oddball hatchback
3.2/5motorssouq Editorial Team
Buy a Veloster because you want one, not because it makes practical sense — a small back seat, a tight boot and a niche resale market are the price of its asymmetric-door party trick and genuinely fun-to-drive character. Mechanically it shares its 2.0-litre engine and automatic with the Elantra and Kona, so parts and reliability are not a concern; what you are really buying is a car nobody else on your street will have.
Pros
- Distinctive asymmetric-door layout stands out in a market of sedans and SUVs
- Shares its engine and automatic with proven mainstream Hyundais, so parts are not exotic
- Sharper steering and firmer, more engaging ride than an Elantra
- Genuine rarity value for a buyer who wants something different
Cons
- Rear seat is genuinely tight, suited to two adults on a short trip at most
- Boot is small even by hatchback standards
- Discontinued since 2022 with no direct replacement in the current lineup
- Weak, niche resale value since few Bahraini buyers shop for this specific car
The Veloster's party trick is its door layout: two conventional doors and a hidden handle on the passenger side for rear-seat access, one large hatch-style door on the driver's side, giving it the silhouette of a coupe with slightly more practicality than one. It is a car built to be noticed, and in a Bahraini market dominated by sedans and SUVs, it still stands out a decade after launch.
The 2.0-litre four-cylinder in the mainstream grade produces a middling 147 hp, enough to make the car feel eager without being genuinely fast, and it shares the engine and six-speed automatic with several other Hyundais — a real practical benefit, since it means nothing under the bonnet is exotic or hard to source parts for. A turbocharged version with meaningfully more power was offered in some markets and is worth seeking out specifically if outright pace matters.
Living with the compromise
The rear seat is genuinely tight — two adults will manage for a short trip, not much more — and the boot is small even by hatchback standards, so this was never meant to be a family's only car. What it does deliver is a driving experience with more personality than an Elantra: sharper steering, a firmer ride that still copes with Bahrain's rougher back streets, and a cabin that feels deliberately different from the rest of Hyundai's lineup.
Hyundai discontinued the Veloster in 2022 with no direct replacement, folding its enthusiast ambitions into performance versions of the Elantra and Kona instead. That leaves used examples as a genuine niche buy: resale is soft because so few Bahraini buyers are shopping for exactly this car, but that same scarcity is what makes it interesting to the buyer who is.