The name’s Veloster, Hyundai Veloster. And it leaves you a little stirred, if not shaken. Korea’s curious crossover car has arrived in South Africa to add a bit of “James Bond” to Hyundai’s car line up, and goes on sale at R259 900 for the manual or R276 900 for the dual-clutch automatic – both six-speeders.
Why curious? Because it’s difficult to define as either a hatch or a coupé. It’s certainly no open-topped two-seater as alluded to by the name, which is a patch-up of “velocity” and “roadster”. So let’s not bother too much about formally labelling the Veloster and just call it Hyundai’s contribution to South Africa’s mix of “character” cars in the sub-300 grand market.
CHARMING YES, PRACTICAL NO
Like the Mini Cooper, VW Scirocco and Citroën DS3 it competes against, the Veloster places charm ahead of practicality. It’s not a spacious car and anyone over five feet tall will feel scrunched in that back seat under the extremely raked rear windscreen; while from the driver’s seat you’ll constantly wonder why the boot spoiler had to be mounted in a position where it partially obscures traffic in the rear view mirror.
But yes, charming it certainly is. Like the Hyundai Tiburon which it’s more or less a replacement for, the Veloster has sleek and head-turning lines with a presence that makes itself felt.
The sporty charisma’s laid on quite thick with the fastback profile and mid-mounted duet of exhausts, while a styling curiosity is the asymmetrical passenger doors – with two on the left side but just one on the right.
CHARMING CABIN
Inside the cabin the charm offensive continues with hi-tech styling, contrasting black and brushed silver surfaces, and a centre console that Hyundai compares to the design of a motorcycle fuel tank (although I couldn’t see it). A 7” touchscreen interface is standard and controls the functions of the phone and the CD/MP3/USB/Bluetooth audio system.
The seats are leather and the well-stocked spec sheet also comes with climate control, cruise control, onboard computer and a multifunction steering wheel with height- and reach-adjustment. Although rear passenger space is rather tight, the Veloster has a reasonably large boot at 440 litres which can be further expanded by folding the seats down (the spare wheel is a skinny spacesaver).
The velocity side of things is a new-generation 1.6-litre, 16-valve GDI engine. It’s the first Hyundai petrol mill to have direct-injection, a system that boosts power while simultaneously reducing fuel consumption and emissions (respectively claimed at 8.4 litres per 100km and 163 g/km).
NOT SIZZLING
It’s a refined engine but with 103kW and 167Nm it offers perfunctory 1.6-litre performance, neither sizzling nor sluggish, with a claimed 200km/h top speed and 0-100km/h time of 9.7 seconds for the manual and 10.3 for the auto. Those wanting more adrenaline should wait for the 1.6 turbo version arriving later this year, but be prepared for a steeper pricetag too.
On last week’s media launch where I drove it, the Hyundai’s handling felt well mannered, and the steering pleasantly well-weighted for an electrically-powered system. The manual six-speed version shifts with precision and for me it’s a better choice than the more expensive automatic, which isn’t the best dual-clutch system I’ve encountered as there’s a bit of hesitation during gearshifts.
As per my opening paragraph, the Veloster doesn’t leave you shaken and has a reasonably comfortable ride even though its suspension’s on the firm side. The low-profile 18” wheels don’t make good friends with rough dirt roads, however.
Six airbags, stability control and ABS brakes make up the safety package and the Veloster’s sold with a five-year/50 000km warranty and five-year/90 000km service plan. -Star Motoring