Hyundai gives the 2016 Veloster a 7-speed DCT and a few new tweaks for South Korea – UPDATED

By Alexander Kalogianni Published January 20, 2015

Updated 1/20/15: Hyundai responded to our inquiry and the last paragraph of the copy has been updated to reflect the new info.

Hyundai’s eccentric, youth-focused Veloster hatchback can be a fun, if quirky looking ride, if you like asymmetrical alien hovercrafts from the future. According to a post on the Korean Car Blog, the 3.5-door hatch its getting a minor refresh, tweaking a few things on the inside and out.

The look will still be the same, with just a few highlights around its very distinct looking facia. Inside, the gauge cluster receives a tiny upgrade and some two-toned seat color options open up.

2016 Hyundai Veloster — Image used with permission by copyright holder

What counts is that the Veloster Turbo will lose the six-speed transmission in favor of a seven-speed dual clutch gearbox. Only the standard trim currently gets the six-speed dual clutch here in the stats, while the Turbo’s get either a shiftronic automatic or manual box. South Korea is also getting the full 201 horsepower out of the 1.6-liter turbo four-cylinder that we have here as well. This means that if any of these changes come our way, we won’t expect any boost in power.

If the Veloster wasn’t divisive enough, it will now gain an electric engine sound adjustment feature, allowing drivers to tweak the phony engine noise pumped into the cabin. Drivers can select up to six different sounds, which we suppose is like picking your car’s ringtone.

We asked Hyundai if any of these changes will be heading our way, to which they replied “No comment,” but we suspect we’ll hear some sort of announcement around mid February at the Chicago Auto Show.

Alexander Kalogianni

Former Automotive Editor

Alex K is an automotive writer based in New York. When not at his keyboard or behind the wheel of a car, Alex spends a lot of…

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