 Let's go surfing now, everybody's learning how to come on a safari with me. What is up you guys, welcome back to another one. If you're new to the channel, I am Gold Pony. I have the new car truck SUV reviews on YouTube. And today we are in the new 2021 Hyundai Vlaster N, courtesy of JackG on Volvo Hyundai in your PA. For more information on their inventory, please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. And so when did the hop in this one today? Because there are actually several very big changes for the 2021 model year here. And I'm quite excited about them. Also, of course, you got America's best warranty being five year 60,000 mile bumper to bumper 10 year 100,000 mile on the powertrain, which is substantial. Considering this is a fun car, a fun to drive car. So there's more than likely not going to be that many cars that are this fun to drive with that kind of warranty. So that's always a plus too. But only that you get three years of free complimentary maintenance as well. So things like the tire rotations, like the oil changes, they're also going to be covered for you completely free for three years. That's always a plus too. But having said all that, what do you guys say? Let's just go ahead and jump right into it. And as always, let's start with pricing. And so MSRP for the 2021 Vlaster N is going to start at $32,250. That is going to be for the six speed transmission. However, there is now a new DSG or dual clutch transmission for 2021. That one is going to start at $33,750. And of course, that is the one that we actually have today. But regardless of transmission configuration that you go with on this one, power plant is going to be the same. Powering this beast is going to be a two liter turbocharged inline four cylinder, putting out 275 horsepower at 6,000 RPM, 260 pound feet of torque available to around 1,400 RPM. Power is going to be sent to the front wheels. There were six speed manual with rev matching or an eight speed dual clutch with paddle shifters. So we will be testing out those paddle shifters in a little bit here. And for anybody who is curious about the six speed, I'll leave a link to my 2020 Vlaster N review at the end of this video. And that one was the six speed. Of course, you can check that one out if you wanted to do that. But overall zero to 60 time comes in at approximately 5.6 seconds for the dual clutch, 5.9 seconds for the six speed manual. And MPG numbers coming in at 22 city, 28 highway for the manual, 20 in the city, 27 on the highway for the dual clutch. But so now having said all that for anybody who is familiar with the previous year of Vlaster N, I did want to mention there is no more base engine configuration for the Vlaster N. It is essentially just the performance package this year, that 275 horsepower configuration. You guys remember previously, I believe it was 250 horsepower with that base engine for the Vlaster N. But that is gone now for 2021. So I wanted to mention that as well. But so now before we do any kind of paddle shifter test or acceleration test in this one, I did want to mention there are of course some driving modes. And so if you're curious, those drive mode buttons are actually located on the steering wheel. They will be on both sides in that light blue shade. They will include Eco, Normal, Sport, N and Custom. And of course, the checkered flag button on the right side of the steering wheel, that is going to be your N driving mode in case anybody was curious. But essentially what those drive modes do is adjust things like the shift points, the throttle response, steering sensitivity, the rev match settings as well, suspension settings and actually the exhaust note as well. So definitely says substantial differences when you switch between the driving modes on this one. Usually it's just like throttle response, steering sensitivity and shift points. But Hyundai went above and beyond with the Vlaster N. I definitely like that. But having now said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's do a quick little paddle shifter test here first. So what I'm actually going to do is slide the shifter all the way to the back and to the left that is going to give me that full manual shift mode. It actually tells you what gear you're in up on the digital portion of the gauges as well. So you got that for you. And let's find a straightaway here. Let's go ahead and test out the paddle shifters. And I just want to see how quickly they are going to react for us here since this is a brand new transmission for the 2021 Vlaster N. All right, let me see if it shifts for me here to start. Boom. All right, let's do it again. Not bad. Yeah, they're definitely they're not the quickest paddle shifters in the world, but I will say they do react pretty darn quickly. I will say that. But another thing I wanted to mention to you guys, I just noticed there's actually a rev limit indicator front and center near the top portion of the gauges. So it actually kind of lights up in different colors. It kind of tells you when you need to shift. So it's got like a race car. I just pretty freaking cool. I like that. But again, having said that, not the very quickest paddle shifters that I've ever tested, Mercedes-Benz is quicker, Maserati, et cetera. But definitely pretty darn quick. I will say that. But so now having gotten that out of the way, what do you guys say? Let's give full control back to the Vlaster. And I'm just going to slide the shifter back to the right there that is going to give full control back to this one. And let's go ahead and find yet another straightaway. Let's go ahead and do a quick little acceleration test with the car having full control in that end driving mode. Yeah, let's see how quickly this one is going to get us up to speed. My goodness, this is such a heavier weighted steering feel when you put it in that end mode. My gosh, I love it. This thing is heavy. Oh my gosh, I love it. Let's go. Let's go. Let's do this. All right. Somewhat of a rolling start, but let's kick it. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. I freaking love it, man. This thing is just so ridiculous. One of the best parts, the pops, when it shifts, the pops, you can hear them. And I remember testing the 2020 version of this car last year with the manual transmission. I will say it's even more prominent. There's pops when you shift through the gears, especially when you downshift. But even in the dual clutch, it is there. When you're shifting, it sounds absolutely wonderful. And dang, this car is quick. All right, so now having gotten that acceleration test out of the way, I'm going to put it back in normal driving mode here so you guys can actually hear me. But to go along with that acceleration, as always, braking is equally important. So up front, you will find 13.6 inch ventilated front discs. In the back, 12.4 inch ventilated rear discs. As far as that 60 to zero stopping distance goes, it comes in at a very respectable 111 feet. For comparison's sake, if you were comparing this to the Mazda 3 hatchback, it comes in at 121 feet. So it's better than that. Not quite as good as the Civic Type-R, which comes in at 99 feet. So definitely, though, 111 feet and all the cars that I've tested is definitely very respectable. So no issues with the braking feel whatsoever. There's no brake pedal delay or anything like that. So it's always a plus too. But touching on suspension and handling up front, you're going to find a McPherson strut front suspension. In the back, independent multi-link rear suspension, front and rear stabilizer bars. But one of the best parts about the Vlaster N is the limited slip differential, which essentially is going to send torque between the front wheels, depending on which wheel has the most traction. So it does give you a little better handling going around the turns, give you a little bit of traction overall as well. And I believe that Hyundai actually calls in an end corner carving differential or something like that. But it's essentially just your limited slip differential sending torque to the wheel with the most traction. It too go along with that perhaps even more important when it comes to handling and acceleration for that matter. And so the tire configuration that comes standard on the Vlaster N is going to be Pirelli P0 summer tires. So if you do live in a colder climate like Pennsylvania, maybe you want to swap them out for all seasons when it gets super cold out, or maybe you just all drive it when it gets super cold out because of course summer tires do have a tendency to crack when that happens. But other than that, summer tires are going to give you the most optimal grip when it is warmer out essentially. So you can actually send all that power quite nicely to the front wheels. So that is why this one is going to come standard with summer tires at least. But overall, when it comes to this steering feel it is 100% absolutely wonderful, especially when you put it in that end mode. And I'm going to go ahead and do that again because we're about to hit some back roads here, but it is going to get a little bit louder. But dang, the steering feel is like night and day, I swear to you. It is one of the heaviest steering feels I have felt in quite a while. I would even say heavier than my old Ford Mustang GT. It's such a wonderful feeling of being in control here. And I feel like you barely have to move this thing. It just instantly points you in the direction that you want to go. So that is a huge win for me when it comes to the Vlaster N. It's a very nice steering feel, especially in that end driving mode. I will say that as far as ride quality goes, it's pretty much as expected. That's probably one of the first things I noticed. You can feel a good bit more of the road that's kind of to be expected in a car like this. And if you're buying a car like this, it's probably not going to matter as much to you quite honestly, but you can feel a little bit more of the road when you get up the highway speeds, when it comes to cabin noise. Again, there is a decent amount of noise coming into the cabin. It's not going to be anything that's going to annoy you. And if it does start to annoy you, just put it in driving mode and you're just going to hear the exhaust anyways. It's all good there, but. But then touching on visibility, definitely no issues for me. It is a smaller car. You really shouldn't have any issues of visibility, of course, but that about rounds of the performance segment of this review, you guys. Let's now go ahead and take a look at the exterior of this beautiful, brand new 2021 Hyundai Vlaster N. All right, so here she is, you guys. The new 2021 Hyundai Vlaster. And this thing looks amazing. And I love performance blue. That is the exterior color name of this one, probably without a doubt the best color on the exterior. And I'll explain why as we get to the interior because there's actually performance blue seat belts as well. But anyways, large front end specific front grill coming standard on this one. And of course you guys see that N logo found in the upper portion of that front grill. And for anybody who doesn't know already what N actually stands for is NAM Yang. That is Hyundai's research and development facility in Korea in case anybody did not already know. Looking down towards the bottom of that front grill there, there's some red accents found in the bottom portion there. They go up into the grill, you guys can see that. And they also tie around the whole vehicle going around to the side skirts and the rear bumper as well. LED projector style headlights coming standard across the board. So like that they're LEDs and not halogens there. They do of course come with the automatic feature meaning when it starts to get dark on a night they will turn on automatically for you there. And you guys can see towards the bottom of those headlights you do get LED daytime running lights that do indeed come standard as well. But definitely a nice look to the front. One more thing I wanted to show you guys up here is you do have some front air curtains directing air around the wheel and tire combination as well. So that's another thing I wanted to mention there. Nice little design to the side there too. But anyways, let's go ahead now and make our way to the side of the Vlaster N. So it's going around to the passenger side here because I wanted to show something to you guys. The Vlaster of course is a three door meaning there is one door on the driver's side for the driver of course and then two doors on the passenger side. So if your passengers wanted to get in this one they will have to enter through the passenger side. So I don't want to mention that to start with. Black windows surrounds do come standard again and specific side skirts as well. Gloss black power adjustable side mirrors which will be heated by the way with integrated turd signals as well. Definitely doesn't always come standard. So I wanted to mention that. I do like those creases found above the wheel arches as well. You guys can kind of see that in the front and the rear. So nice little design element there. Taking a look down at the wheel setup 19 inch alloys do come standard across the board. They do come with that five spoke design that will be finished in a machine finish and a gloss black combination. You guys can see that. And again, they are wrapped in Pirelli P0 summer tires for anybody who is curious. Now let's go ahead and make our way to the back of this one. And so now starting in the back, I did want to first mention of course you have a shark fin antenna that's going to be body colored but the rear spoiler is kind of unique. I wanted to mention that to you guys because it is a gloss black and specific rear spoiler but check this out. You also have a carbon fiber design on the side of it as well. I think you guys can probably see that there but that's a pretty cool little design element. I love that it's raised up. They could have left the rear spoiler right here but then they added the second layer here which makes it look like a more rally inspired car. So that's pretty cool. And of course you have the integrated brake light within that rear spoiler as well. So definitely a nice look to it there. But anyways, just below that you actually have a rear window wiper as well. LED tail lights coming standard on this one and just below it all, a matte black rear diffuser with very large dual exhaust outlets finished in chrome. So having said that, I do believe you guys know what we have to do next. As always here is that exhaust clip. All right, so now since we are around back of this one, there are a couple of different ways to go about opening that rear hatch. One way of course is to simply use the button on the key fob. That's how you're gonna be able to unlock it but there is actually a button just below the rear window wiper. That is actually gonna be how you're going to go ahead and open this one up. But once opened up, cargo capacity comes in at 19.9 cubic feet. If that was not enough space, there is a 60-40 split, meaning the rear seats do fold down for a good bit of extra space there, bumping in actually up to 44.5 cubic feet and definitely was easy to fold those rear seats down. So no issues there for me. Then make our way to the rear legroom that is gonna come in at 34.1 inches. So for reference, I'm an even six feet tall. This is how much space I had back there. You actually also have two rear cupholders within the center of those two rear passenger seats with a little bit of storage there as well. So again, the rear seats, it doesn't actually sit three people back there but it does seat two because the center portion is going to be taken up by those cupholders essentially. But again, blue seat belts to match the performance blue exterior, you gotta love that. And by the way, even if you get a different color exterior, you are still going to get those performance blue seat belts because that color essentially is the Hyundai N Performance color. So you're always going to get the seat belts regardless if you get a red exterior or a black exterior or white, whatever. So I did want to mention that. But making our way now to the front seats, this is where some of the biggest changes came in for 2021. Lighter seats for one, they are going to weigh a lot less than the previous 2020 seats. They are going to have much better bolstering that is perhaps the first thing I noticed when I sat down in these. They definitely hold you in place, definitely reminiscent of the Civic Type R seats. I will say that and I absolutely love it. But one of the best parts about these new seats is the end backlit logo found towards the top of these seats. Yes, it actually illuminates, you could probably better see it at night than in this video, but I'm going to try to show it to you guys, but it does actually illuminate for you. So I think that is so cool. I think perhaps Hyundai took that from BMW maybe because I know in reviewing M cars in the past, those M seats always had that backlit logo in the M lettering of course, but I like that they did the M lettering here with the backlit logo. That's pretty cool. But six-way manually adjustable front seats do come standard. They will come with a leather cloth combination. Wouldn't have minded seeing a leather suede combination, but still, I like that it's a little bit of leather on there though. Heated front seats are going to be available as well. And overall when it comes to seat comfort, I would say without a doubt among the best that I've tested. And so I typically always say Lexus F Sport seats are the most comfortable. And I think I probably still agree with that, because of the bolstering and because of the comfort in this, these seats are absolutely amazing. So certainly no issues with long road trips. When it comes to the seating at least, it's just a wonderful feel to it. Definitely holds you in place very well around the corners because of that bolstering as well. But let's now go ahead and take a look at the steering wheel and it's tilt and telescoping. It will come wrapped in a perforated leather as well. You gotta love that. And there is that little N logo towards the bottom of the steering wheel as well. The 10 and two grips are quite nice. And it will come stitched with that performance blue stitching within the steering wheel as well. So overall, very nice steering wheel. But taking a look now at the startup, let me first start by showing you guys the key. It is an N specific key. You have your N logo on the one side. And when you flip it over lock, unlock the button to pop the rear hatch. Essentially though, it is all keyless entry with a push button start. So all I'm going to do is simply leave the key in my pocket, put my phone on the brake and press that engine start button located just by the driver's right knee there. And so once started up, tachometer is all the way on your left speedometer is on your right. There is a small digital display, which is front and center. By the way to control what is on that digital display, there are steering wheel mounted controls found on the right side of the steering wheel. Essentially what they will do is give you things like a digital speedometer if you wanted it. Average fuel economy at any given time. There is a compass up there. There's some safety information. When you need your next oil change, there's actually a lap timer up there as well. There's also your G-Force statistics. So I would probably either leave it on the digital speedometer or the G-Force stats because that is pretty darn cool that that's up there. And of course it tells you your outside temperature and how many miles you'll have left until you hit empty as well. But now making our way to overall interior quality, alloy foot pedals coming standard as expected for a sportier car, I guess. So I do like that. Automatic climate control also standard, meaning you could set your own temperature and it is going to automatically adjust depending on the temperature that you set. You do have an overhead sunglass holder up top here as well. So I'll always look for that. But just in front of that, the interior lighting on the Vlaster N is actually LED. So I absolutely love that as well because a lot of times you will find halogen bulbs. So I do like that they're LED. That's pretty darn cool. Overall, it's pretty much a basic interior quality though. There's a decent amount of hard plastics. Oh, it's a little bit of a soft finish, but it's all black. But again, this is a more performance car. So it's pretty much as expected there. Just in front of the shifter, you actually have a decent amount of storage there with a rubberized bottom. So things are less inclined to slide around. So I do like that. It's more than likely where you're gonna put yourself in. 12-volt power outlet just above that, two USB charging ports. That's pretty cool as well. Just behind the shifter, you have dual cup holders and just behind that, a decent amount of storage within that center armrest as well. But yet another change for the 2021 Vlaster N is going to be the infotainment setup. So eight-inch color touchscreen display coming standard. It does look a little bit different than the previous model year. Bluetooth and audio streaming, also standard Android Auto Apple CarPlay, meaning if you have a smartphone, simply hook it up to the Vlaster and then you can have free navigation displayed up on that tech display, as well as the ability to liken this like your Pandora songs. And there's a couple other compatible apps up there as well. Factory navigation system though, also comes standard on this one. I love that. Not that you really need it with Android Auto Apple CarPlay, but if you're driving around the mountains like I am right now, definitely something that you might want because you're not always going to have cell phone service when you're in the mountains. But anyways, you can of course also check out your radio settings up there as well. And Hyundai went above and beyond with this one. I've never seen a radio setup look so retro and so like it does right here, you guys. I don't think I've ever seen it like that actually before. It's a cool little radio setup. Rather than just displaying it all boring like, they actually put it in these circular things. I don't even know what to call that, but I absolutely love the display of the radio station. They could have done it so many different ways, but I love the way they did it here in the Vlaster and it's so quirky, it's so different. And that's why I absolutely love it. So that's pretty darn cool, but anyways. But so one of the little quirks I wanted to mention of this infotainment screen though, is the fact that you can display and play sounds of nature. So if you press that media button just below everything, that is going to give you the option to display different sounds of nature. And Hyundai does this on their Hyundai Palisade. They also do it on some of the upper trim levels of their other vehicles like the Sonata for example, but essentially you get to pick between lively forest. There is also snowy village. There is warm fireplace, open air cafe, and also rainy day and calm sea waves. So there are essentially just ambient sounds. So since we are in this lively forest here today, I'm probably going to leave that one on, but real quick, let me actually show you guys, let me let you listen to these different ambient sounds that now come standard on the 2021 Vlaster N. But anyways, when it comes to the sound system here, there is one sound system that is going to come standard across the board. That is going to be an eight speaker infinity sound system with a subwoofer. Having said that, I do believe you guys know what we have to do next. Let's go ahead and turn on the radio so we got playing today and let's test out the clarity of this one. I will say you could feel the subwoofer. There's definitely a decent amount of bass and that's even without me turning up the bass in the sound settings, but definitely a decent amount of bass. You could tell there's a subwoofer. Clarity is pretty nice as well, but overall sound system works perfectly fine for what this vehicle actually is. But last thing I wanted to mention to you guys on that tech display is of course, when you do put this one in reverse, you will find a rear view camera coming standard across the board. Not the most high quality rear view camera out there, but is definitely there nonetheless, letting you know who or what is behind you, which is always is going to lead us into safety. And so to start, this one is an IIHS top safety pick, believe it or not. So that's always a good start, especially in a fun car like this. Front side side current airbags do come standard. In the back you're going to have latch, AKA lower anchors and tethers for children for the rear car seats. Rear child door locks back there, tire pressure monitoring system, that's all pretty boring stuff at this point. But also standard for this one, some of the more advanced fun safety features is going to include forward collision avoidance assist, lane following assist, lane keeping assist, which is an excellent system with really any Hyundai. I will attest to that. Driver attention warning system and actually a blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert also coming standard. That doesn't always come standard. So that's going to be the little car icons in your side mirrors, letting you know if somebody's in your blind spot so you don't go turning into them. But overall, when it comes to my final thoughts here of the new 2021 Vloster and the exhaust note is so much fun on this one. Absolutely love it. Even when you're comparing it to the competitors, the Mazda 3 or the Civic Type R, the exhaust note on those doesn't come anywhere even close to this one. This exhaust note is a true sports car exhaust note. It's absolutely wonderful. And I remember downshifting last year like crazy just so I could constantly hear it. So absolutely love that. The new seats are absolutely wonderful. They're right on par for the course. They're extremely comparable to the Civic Type R seat. So I absolutely love that as well. But this one goes above and beyond because they got the backlit N logo which the Civic Type R doesn't have. So I do like that as well. Both transmissions are absolutely wonderful. Quite honestly, the six speed manual that I tested last year has rev matching and it pops like crazy whenever you downshift. So downshift like crazy in that one. Dual clutch is really just as good. Wouldn't have minded a little bit quicker on the paddle shifters, but having said that you're going to get the 60 slightly quicker if you go with the dual clutch. So I guess that's worth noting as well. And again, if you're comparing this to the Civic Type R, the Civic Type R doesn't actually have a dual clutch. So if you wanted a fun car in this category, you're going to have to get this one which is definitely not a bad thing. And again, you have America's best warranty with this one as well, which a lot of sports cars aren't going to give you. You get this car warrantied for 10 years on the turbocharged engine, on the transmission. So that's definitely a good thing as well for peace of mind. And you don't have to pay anything when it comes to maintenance for the first three years. At least when it comes to the normal, regular maintenance like oil changes, entire rotations, things like that. But that is about it for this one, you guys. Let me know what you guys think of all the changes for the 2021 Vloster and in the comments section below. Thank you so much for watching. Feel free to follow me on social media at the bottom of the screen there. If you like, be sure to hit the subscribe and the bell notification button. If you're into new car reviews, that is what we do here on this channel after all. Do appreciate you guys watching more than you know, and I will see you guys all in the next video. Stay gold.