Wow. This is pretty damn spot on. Coming over from a 16' VW GTI Manual [PP] 60K miles. Obviously not as much power as the R and I did have an e-LSD on the front end as it was only FWD. I spent every day in the GTI and drove it considerably. The thing never felt sporty enough for me. You are correct it felt like a GT car. Car liked sweeping turns more than anything else, lost confidence and felt floaty at high speeds, had considerable body roll with the OEM suspension setup, the steering wheel was way to light, and the shifter felt like play-doh. I had to keep modding and modding the car to get it close to the setup I was hoping for. Shorter throw shifter, bushings for the shifter, lowered the car on VWR springs, turned up the grip on the e-LSD with OBDEleven tweaks, and put on a good set of wider than factory 235/40/18 BF Goodrich Comp 2's. The biggest mod for me by far was the lowering of the car and the increase in grip of the e-LSD. Allegedly the more aggressive software setting for the e-LSD was the same setting used in the GTI Clubsport. I say all that to say I could have kept modifying the car endlessly. I didn't even get to a tune yet before the motor crapped out at 60k due to intense carbon buildup and oil leak issues around cylinder 4. Also I am glad somebody , SOMEBODY has been truthful about the interior in the MK7. Nice interior but my God was the leather on the steering wheel and seats CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP. At 60K my seats were already starting to crack and my steering wheel starting to fade. Mind you this is with me constantly conditioning and cleaning the leather for attempted longevity. I too bought my MK7 at the end of Dieselgate and got a 32K car for roughly 24.5K. At that price point the old MK7 was a good choice but I would absolutely , absolutely not spend 32K again on a VW GTI SE. This is simply way to much money for what you are getting. Mind you the maintenance and the components needed to fix the darn thing will cost you an arm and a leg. I know, I did regular oil changes myself, tire rotations, dropped the car, brake bleeds, catch can installs with pcv plate upgrades etc etc etc. Not to mention I needed a valve cover gasket replacement, new intake camshaft, a couple of new valves, roller rocker arms etc etc. Minus my maintenance woes the GTI simply does not come close to the Veloster N in terms of driving dynamics it has to offer. Even with the e-LSD the GTI still understeered a ton. I love the suspension setup, steering wheel, shifter, clutch, more power, wing, rev matching, EXHAUST, etc. on the N. It just overall seems like a more competent car. The turn in and grip are unreal (can't wait to swap off the OEM tires though lol). I can carve around some corners around my way confidently at very very high speeds with no complaints from the N at all. The drawbacks in the interior, sunroof, heated seats etc. are wellllll worth what you get in terms of driving dynamics for a car that was under 30k for the 2019 model year. Also I actually enjoy the interior, its simple, easy to clean, nice feeling shifter, wheel, seats, and pedals. Not to mention the performance blue, wing, and exhaust get me attention EVERYWHERE I go. Hyundai knocked it out of the damn park. One month in driving the N and I'm blown away. Bravo.
