What a blast!
This is a car that’s all about fun and innovation: it even boasts a unique door concept. We’ve not seen anything like this before – there are two doors on the passenger’s side of the car and one on the driver’s. If that’s not enough, the rear door on the passenger side is forward-hinged. This unusual concept is not for the conservative motorist. We chatted to a taxi driver en route to the airport one day and he declared that the concept was quite daft. We disagree; we think it’s a bit of fun?
The same applies to the bold and dynamic styling, which is quite OTT, meaning that the Veloster grabs the limelight wherever it goes. The styling also makes the car look faster than it actually is. Not that it’s slow; its 1,6-litre direct-injected four-cylinder petrol engine, which is mated to Hyundai’s first EcoShift dual-clutch transmission or a six-speed manual gearbox, is decidedly perky. In fact, it scampers to 100 km/h in just 9,7 seconds (manual derivative).
The interior, which is decidedly young at heart, perfectly complements the rather radical exterior styling. We really like the audio system, which supports radio, CD, MP3 and a range of external devices thanks to an AUX, USB, iPod and Bluetooth connectivity. The sound system’s functions are displayed on a large LCD screen in the centre console. Incidentally, it’s really easy to set up Bluetooth connections and audio streaming via Bluetooth using that same seven-inch screen.
Apart from an annoying blind spot, we think the Veloster is a really cool car inside and out. In fact, it’s a real blast.
PRICE:
Veloster 1.6 GDI Executive (manual) R259 900
Veloster 1.6 GDI Executive (auto) R276 900
Text: Charleen Clarke