2015 Hyundai Veloster SR Turbo Review: The ‘Stand Apart’ Three-Door Coupe
What's hot: 'Smart as' three-door packaging, zesty turbo, nicely trimmed, good on-road comfort.
What's not: Front suspension a bit soft, indecisive twin-clutch automatic, needs a better 'burble'.
X-FACTOR: Its cheeky style and three-door-access makes it a little different, and a little easier to live with. And it's not bad on road.
Vehicle style: Three-door small coupe
Price Range (SR Turbo models): $29,990 - $36,490
Engine/trans: 150kW/265Nm 1.6 turbo petrol | 6spd manual, 7spd DCT auto
Fuel consumption listed l/100km: auto 7.1; man 6.9 | tested, on-road: auto 8.4; man 9.1
OVERVIEW
With Hyundai's oddity, the Veloster, you can “have your cake, and eat it too”.
For a start, there are those three doors. It looks like a two-door coupe, and it kind-of is if you approach from the driver's side.
Low and compact, there's a ferret-y charm and sporty eagerness to its lines.
Then, on the other side, there's that third door - the practical one. It integrates seamlessly into the Veloster's raked coupe profile behind the passenger's door - on the 'footpath side' - to let the kids or the pooch into the back.
That third door gives the Veloster the handy practicality of a conventional small hatchback. (And the boot space isn't half-bad either.)
But at the wheel, it doesn't feel like a conventional hatch. It feels lower and sportier and more 'hunkered down'.
So this is a smart car, with some smart out-of-the-box thinking by Hyundai.
But you knew all that; this updated model is just like the one that's been around - and selling better than Hyundai expected - for the past few years.
The new one though adds some extra appeal. For a start, some spunky new colours - we love the satin blue of the test car we drove - and a new 7-speed twin-clutch transmission (replacing the conventional auto in the former model).
And we still like it. We like the interior accommodation, the taut robust feel to the fit and finish, and, for the most part, we like the way it drives.
There are a couple of dynamic shortcomings in the handling and performance, but the Veloster sits in a nice middle-ground: it's not too firm, not too soft, and it looks a bit athletic, but it's no jock.
THE INTERIOR | RATING: 3.5/5
Veloster SR Turbo
- Premium four-speaker audio (with two tweeters, centre speaker, subwoofer and external amplifier)
- 7.0-inch LCD touchscreen with satellite navigation, CD player, MP3 functionality and three-years HERE MapCare
- AUX/USB audio input with digital iPod compatibility
- Bluetooth connectivity (hands-free phone and audio streaming)
- Rear-view camera (integrated into touchscreen) and rear parking assist
- Cruise control with steering wheel-mounted controls
- Steering wheel-mounted audio and phone controls
- Proximity Smart Key with push-button start
- Climate control air-con
- Electrically adjustable driver's seat base (slide and tilt)
- Luggage net
- LED rear combination lights
- Proximity Smart Key with pushbutton start
Veloster SR Turbo + (in addition to Veloster SR Turbo)
- Panoramic glass sunroof
- Ventilated, heated front seats
- Flex Steer
- Fold-down sunglasses compartment in roof-mounted console
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