Hyundai Veloster - The One Of A Kind

The one-of-a-kind 2013 Hyundai Veloster has finally landed in Malaysia in three variants: the RM 116,888 a Veloster 1.6 Manual, the RM 121, 888 Veloster 1.6 Automatic and the RM 132,888 Veloster 1.6 Premium. The OTR with insurance prices include a five-year/300,000km extended warranty, and a 24-hour road assist service. Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors promised us the three-door coupe in the first quarter of 2012, but, like they say, it's better late than never.

As if the fluidic sculpture design is not striking enough, the Hyundai Veloster comes with a unique two-plus-one door layout that actually improves interior access rather than just novelty factor. Hyundai calls it the "style of a coupe and the functionality of a hatchback". The boot space of 440 litres and the option to split-fold the rear seats mean that the Veloster is practical when you have luggage to carry.

Standard across the Hyundai Veloster range is a smart key with an engine start/stop button, a 7-inch LCD touch screen, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, and an integrated six-speaker audio system with a built-in MP3 function and an auxiliary input. Hyundai's Blue Max application, once activated, monitors the driving style, and computes a score that hopefully encourages an eco-friendly manner of driving.
The cabin has seats for four, but none of the variants except the Premium trim have leather as standard. (It's a RM2000 option for the others) But the seats are wrapped with stitched leather, accompanied by matching coloured door linings in the Premium trim, which is also differentiated by exclusive items including a panoramic sunroof, a reverse camera, automatic climate control, built-in Bluetooth capability, and an enhanced loudspeaker system with a centre speaker, a sub woofer, and an external amplifier.

Outside, the Hyundai Veloster Premium variant is equipped with LED projection headlamps, one-inch-larger 18-inch alloys and ‘wing-type’ LED tail lamp. Safety wise, all variants come installed with dual airbags, ABS, EBD and Brake Assist, but the two automatic variants are the only to have VSM (vehicle stability management) and HAC (hill-start assist control) as standard.
The entire Hyundai Veloster range is powered by a naturally-aspirated 1.6-litre Gamma D-CVVT engine that produces peak power of 132 HP at 6300 rpm and maximum torque of 158 Nm at 4850 rpm. Turbocharging and direction injection, available on the same engine in other countries, are again not offered to Malaysians. Both the automatic and manual transmissions have six ratios to play with.