Cars.com's Joe Wiesenfelder takes a look at the 2012 Hyundai Veloster. It competes with the Volkswagen Beetle and Scion tC.
Transcript
[Rock Music Plays] Cars.com Auto Reviews. Hi, I'm Joe Wiesenfelder with Cars.com And this is a 2012 Hyundai Veloster. Ironically, the word Veloster represents a meteorological event characterized by Gale force winds, and a little bit of mist.
Actually, I made that up, but Hyundai made up the name Veloster, so I figure fair play. There are two ways of looking at this. One is they throw in an extra door. Bonus! The other is they cheated you out of one on the other side. No doubt it saves money to not have a backdoor on the side, but at least Hyundai didn't skimp too much. They still have a couple of provisions to make it easier to get in here. You can fold that down. There is a release here to move the seat forward. It makes it easy or, maybe just easier. The backseat has two positions, leg room, not bad. The front seats a little bit farther forward than then I would need it for driving. As for headroom, there actually is enough if I lean back. The thing that concerns me though, is if we had a bump or something, it's not just the ceiling that I'm hitting. [Knocks on Window] It's the window. The interior is a nice design. There's only one trim level for the Veloster, which is nice. Three interior colors, gray, black, and a combination of red and black. Now, if you get the style package, it's an option package, You get leather on the steering wheel, on the shifter, and also these full leather treatments on the bolsters. It also brings a panoramic moon-roof. There are lots of entertainment features, both standard and optional, mostly standard streaming, Bluetooth, audio, and cellular connectivity, and auxiliary input for your MP3 player, an iPod and USB input. You can even plug in a video source and watch video on the screen here when you're not moving. Stereo also supports Pandora internet radio. You can get a navigation system as an option, which also includes a backup camera, which might be good to have because the rear view is a little bit obstructed by the swoopy shape. But even if you don't get that, the Veloster comes with BlueLink, which is Hyundai's version of OnStar. And it offers a turn by turn guidance, as well as some of the safety and convenience features you might know from OnStar. There is a subscription fee though, After awhile. The standard transmission is a six speed manual. For 1250, you can get an automatic, it's actually a dual clutch automated manual. It performs quite well better than a similar transmission we've used in the Ford Fiesta and Fusion. Now, the car is a little bit pokey. It has a 1.6 liter four cylinder engine, 138 horsepower. Even though this is a light car under 2,600 pounds, it could still use more power. Hyundai has confirmed that a turbocharged version of the Veloster is coming. Because it's a hatchback, the Veloster has some versatility in its cargo area. Now, this is a little bit awkward and high, but actually the volume is quite good. The amount that you can put in there, and if you need to can always fold the seat. Now, some say the styling of this car makes promises the engine doesn't keep, but the modest power comes with an upside. And that is mileage of 40 miles per gallon on the highway with the manual. 38 highway with the automatic and 32 combined for both transmissions. That's really good. Now, I think the styling is enough to sell this car on its own. And if you want more power, the Turbo's coming. For more car related news, go to cars.com or our blog kicking tires.net.
