Hyundai Veloster N will be the only Veloster available in 2022

Some might call the Hyundai Veloster ugly or weird, but every time we saw one of these funky little hatchbacks in the wild, it brought a grin to our faces. They spiced up an automotive landscape bland with identical-looking crossovers, and even its name conjured up a sort of Jules Verne-era steampunk contraption. Alas, we’ll be seeing far fewer Velosters on the streets come 2022, because Hyundai is killing off the unconventional runabout save for one trim.

After initially confirming to Car and Driver that the Veloster would live on in 2022, Hyundai has now clarified that, after studying each trim level, all Velosters will be discontinued except for the hot-hatch Veloster N. A Hyundai spokesman confirmed the cull to Autoblog.

That means the Veloster 2.0, 2.0 Premium, Turbo R-Spec, Turbo and Turbo Ultimate will not see model year 2022.

The reasoning, according to the report, is as old as the stars (or at least the original RAV4). Hyundai wants to “prioritize” its compact crossovers, the Venue and Kona. That means, like the Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta, Toyota Yaris and numerous other small cars, the Veloster is going the way of the dodo. Apparently, not enough customers want a beetle-shaped (the insect, not the VW) small car with three doors any more.

Despite the culling, we can at least thank the hot hatch gods for sparing the Veloster N. The turbocharged 275-horse, 260 lb-ft performance variant is one of the most fun-to-drive cars on the market, especially at the rapidly shrinking bottom end of the market. When mated to a six-speed manual, it’s a callback to the great sport compacts of old, and it’d be a real shame to lose it. But even if it survives another model year, you can probably make some decent guesses as to where it’s headed.

It’s true that Hyundai is rolling out an Elantra N and Kona N by the end of the week, but both of those will likely be heavier than the Veloster N’s sub-3,200-pound curb weight. If you want an N-car in its truest form, it’d probably be wise to pay a visit to your Hyundai dealer sooner rather than later.