Hyundai opens door to fun with the Veloster (From Hereford Times)

Hyundai opens door to fun with the Veloster

8:00am Thursday 31st May 2012 in Road Tests

THE point of the Veloster is to prove to potential customers that Hyundai can ‘do’ fun – hence the decision to add a single rear door to go with the two up front.

Fortunately, it seems to work. It’s helped by the fact that the lone rear door is on the proper side for righthand drive cars. Anyway, it looks like Hyundai’s work is done here as, so far, conversation has been about that door and not much else.

The Veloster shares underpinnings with the i30, while power comes from a 1.6-litre petrol unit producing 138bhp.

With a zero to 60mph sprint time of just under 10 seconds with the manual gearbox, the Veloster isn’t going to set any land speed records.

What it can do, thanks in part to the willing engine, is deliver a rorty and willing performance if you’re prepared to keep the revs high and make good use of the car’s six forward gears.

In this situation the Veloster offers an enjoyably brisk experience for buyers seeking a good-looking, if a little quirky, coupé.

Grip is high and the effort required to string a few bends together isn’t that great due to ample assistance from the steering.

Essentially the Veloster is version one of, hopefully, many more funky sporting coupés in the coming years.

It gets more things right than wrong and, with ride and handling biased more towards family hatch than road racer, it never punishes you for failing to nail that double apex on the B4302.

The Velsoter’s cabin adopts a lot of the feel and some of the look of Hyundai’s i30.

This is a good thing, as overall refinement and ambience are good, the switchgear and displays are straightforward and there’s plenty of room up front.

There’s enough in the back for short journeys too, and that third door is far from a gimmick when it comes to facilitating entry and exit.

With a good level of standard kit, lively character and the option of a dual clutch semi-auto gearbox, the real world performance of Hyundai’s Veloster largely lives up to its rakish looks and unusual door arrangement.

Factor in the promise of more performance to come for future models, and this is another Hyundai that’s destined to get tongues wagging for all the right reasons.