Hyundai Veloster driven!
One car, two sides- Hyundai’s schizophrenic sports coupe gets the Blokesincars once-over.
Purchase a regular sporty motor and you run the risk of alienating the woman in your life thanks to the possibility of awkward “up skirt” moments as she clambers in and out of the low-slung chassis. Invest in a standard hatchback and you are liable to begin the slippery slope towards corduroy wearing mediocrity. So what’s the answer?
According to Hyundai, it’s a mad mix of the two. The new Veloster features two doors on one side for a more conventional hatchback experience and one door on the other, so it retains the sleek lines of a sporty coupe. The only problem is, this thing doesn’t live up to its mouth-watering exterior. The 1.6 litre petrol engine only produces 140bhp and mated to the clunky automatic gearbox, it makes for a rather unexciting drive.
It’s such a shame, as the ice-white model we test drove drew attention from every onlooker it rolled past. The scooped bonnet, squat stance and awesome central exhausts conned gawping admirers into believing this is something a lot more spine-tingling than it really is. Those looking to invest in something that’s a bit of fun at the weekend but can still handle the weekend shop should look elsewhere. The £17,995 price tag on the Veloster could get you a sporty Seat Leon, hot Focus or the brilliantly nippy Suzuki Swift Sport- and all of those will bring much wider smiles than this.
