Hyundai finally turned on the lights over its 2012 Veloster after tickling us for a while with pictures that slowly revealed what the car would look like.
With one driver-side door and two passenger-side doors, the Veloster boats the style of a coupe and the practicality of a hatchback. The third door is opened with a handle concealed in the C-pillar, and the driver never needs to leave his seat for rear-seat passengers to climb in.
The Veloster will be equipped with a direct-injected, 1.6-litre 4-cylinder that develops 102 kW at 6 300 r/min and 167 Nm of torque at 4 850 r/min. According to Hyundai, it will offer a fuel economy of 5.8 L/100km and will consume less fuel on the highway than the Honda CR-Z hybrid.
For transmitting power to the wheels and to motivate its 1 172 kilogram mass, the Veloster is equipped with a standard 6-speed manual transmission, while a 6-speed, double-clutch gearbox is optional, allowing a mix between a conventional automatic and a manual.
The car sticks to the road via a sport suspension, 17- or 18-inch alloy wheels, stability control, electric-assist power steering and an ‘Eco Coach’ function that helps improving driving techniques in order to obtain the best possible fuel economy.
The Veloster will come standard with a 6-speaker, 196-watt AM/FM/satellite radio/CD/MP3 stereo, while a 450-watt system with 8 speakers and a subwoofer will be on the options list. All models will also include an auxiliary input jack, a USB port and Bluetooth connectivity.
