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Hyundai Veloster – Best new cars of 2012 under $20000

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Hyundai Veloster

The Hyundai Veloster is young, powerful, and definitely a unique car for 2012. It is unique because it looks like a coupe but it cannot be considered as a coupe; it is reliable like a sedan but it’s not really a sedan because it does not have four passenger doors. The car has two smaller doors on the passenger side but only one longer coupe-like door on the driver side. The rear door on the passenger side is kind of hidden if you do not look at it carefully because the door handle is camouflaged with the side rear window. Most Alfa Romeo owners may have familiar with it. This new comer to automobile world is simply innovative and like nothing else!

If you just look at the front, the car looks like an ordinary Hyundai. But the whole view shows something different. The design looks sporty and cool with many sleek lines from the front to back. Other than a sweet panoramic sunroof on top, the rest of it is glass and it runs all the way down to the tailgate. At the back, the Veloster is given a trapezoidal exhaust fitted to the center. Down to the bottom, the Veloster comes with 18-inch alloy wheels where the inner part is filled with body-color stripes to make it look outstanding. Several famous body colors are Vitamin C, Sapphire Blue, Century White, Ultra Black, Boston Red, and Ironman Silver.

Hyundai Veloster
2012 Hyundai Veloster

Performance

Although there are three types of engine available for the Veloster, Hyundai make things easier to target young drivers by making most production models use a 1.6-liter Gamma GDI inline four-cylinder engine with Dual Continuously Variable Valve Timing (D-CVVT) that produces 138 hp and 167 Nm of torque at 4,850 rpm. That’s a decent amount of power for a small car and it is able to push the car up to the top speed of 125mph (201 km/h). A 6-speed manual transmission is standard and a 6-speed EcoShift dual-clutch transmission (DCT) is available as an option with the extra +$1,250. The DCT also includes shift paddles mounted at the steering wheel to give the driver the feeling of driving a Formula One race car. Six airbags and 4-wheel disc brakes are standard safety features for the Veloster.

Interior

The interior of the car has something that is hardly find in most other cars within the same range. The sporty throttle pedal that has the racing car look and feel is one thing to be mentioned. Besides, the steering wheel is designed with ventral finger indents. Drivers can access several functions within their fingers. Another great thing for the car is the 7-inch multimedia touchscreen infotainment system. You can’t get a larger screen in this segment. Navigation system, SOS emergency assistance, and CD/MP3 player are all packed in this 7-inch screen. Dashboard, gear knob, and gauges appear elegant and instinctive to use. Unlike many coupes or 2+2 compact coupe, the Veloster has a wider legroom (31.7 in) and taller headroom (35.3 in) for rear passengers which can fit two adults comfortably. There is also a cup holder at the center of the rear seat.

Hyundai Veloster Interior

What is good about the car?

  • Just like the other Hyundai, the Veloster comes with five-year free roadside assistance.
  • The design has allowed the car to have a nice deep trunk.
  • The top speed is impressive.
  • It starts with a competitive price from MSRP $17,300.
  • The basic warranty is five years or 60,000 miles. The warranty for the drivetrain is 10 years or 100,000 miles.

What could be better?

  • It takes 9.7 seconds from zero to 62mph (100 km/h). It is a little bit disappointing because the sporty outlook let us feel it is supposed to be faster. For those who are satisfied with the top speed but desire a better performance for pickup, you may wait for the Hyundai Veloster Turbo which is planned for the 2013 model year. It will be powered by a 1.6 Gamma Turbo GDI inline four-cylinder engine which introduced at the 2011 Seoul Motor Show. The turbo engine produces 201 hp and 264 Nm of torque from 1,750 to 4,500 rpm.
  • The Veloster gets a MacPherson strut front suspension and a torsion beam semi-independent rear suspension instead of an independent set up.

Fuel Economy

28 city/40 highway mpg; 11.9 city/17.0 highway mpg.

Hyundai Veloster’s competitors or similar cars: Honda CR-Z, Volkswagen Scirocco, Scion tC, Mini Cooper, Volkswagen Beetle, Mazda 3, Ford Fiesta, and Ford Focus.

For those who always dream to get a sporty coupe car but need the convenience of a sedan car, this is it! The Hyundai Veloster is one great car to go for.

Hyundai Veloster pictures from 2012 Bangkok Motor Show

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