2012 Hyundai Veloster First Impressions
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2012 Hyundai Veloster First Impressions
by Mathieu St-Pierre / Auto123.com
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — I must confess that I was very excited at the prospect of test driving this car. From the very moment I laid eyes on it in Detroit last January, I've been intrigued and fascinated by the car's concept (first introduced at the 2007 Seoul Auto show) and its name.
Veloster. The name conjures up two things in my mind when I read it out: Velo, which is French for bicycle and speedster, which relates to (in my mind, and in this application) fun, pleasure and perhaps even satisfaction. Then, there's the velociraptor – but I'll save that analogy for the turbocharged version expected in the near future. Hyundai peeps won't say if or when, but we know better...
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| The Veloster will be hitting showroom floors in the next few weeks. You'll want to keep your eye out for it, trust me. (Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com) |
Of the off-the-wall or unique cars available (Nissan Juke, VW Beetle, MINI Cooper, Fiat 500, Scion tC, etc.), I like the Juke for its optional AWD and impressive turbocharged engine; and the Veloster I like for its useable rear bench and affordability. From the list, these two are best suited for real life.
I'm sorry, I can't get over the Veloster. It's as though Hyundai has taken its “fluidic sculpture design” philosophy and put it in a package that is at once retro, modern and youthful. It's brilliant! The lines between each of these aspects are so fine that it takes real genius to pull this off – and Hyundai has.
I see some Volvo P1800, Volkswagen Golf and even dabs of Audi S5 in there. And it's all been mixed together with a Korean version of the KitchenAid blender. There is so much to say about the Veloster shape, but you need not read it here; flip through the gallery and look at the taillights, the wheel arches, the headlights, and the cool wheels.
There is no bad angle to this car. Truth be told, there are so many design elements to this car's shell that the eye has no time to get bored. As this car is squarely aimed at Gen Y-ers, it's a good thing! These kids have the attention span of a gnat, so this car's styling will suit them just fine. What these 12-to-29-year-olds want is technology, and they get loads of it in the Veloster.
The compact Hyundai's got so much kit and caboodle that the standard feature list looks as though it's a joke. Seriously, for $18,999, your grubby, misshapen PS3 fingers will meander across the cabin and come in contact with a 7” high-res LCD touchscreen, an AM/FM/XM/CD/MP3 6-speaker stereo with iPod/AUX/USB inputs and Gracenote (iPod album cover art and advanced voice recognition), Bluetooth (very easy connection), push-button start and rear-view camera.
For an extra $3,500, you'll add to that list a navigation system, bigger wheels, a panoramic sunroof, a Dimension 8-speaker premium audio system and other niceties. I'm out of breath... But wait, there's more.
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| The compact Hyundai's got so much kit and caboodle that the standard feature list looks as though it's a joke. (Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com) |
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