FS Veloster

Part sports coupe, part small hatch, the Hyundai Veloster created its own segment and soon became a hit with buyers.

The previous sporty offering from Hyundai was the Tiburon which sold in modest numbers in Australia from 2002 to 2010. With the genre-straddling Veloster, Hyundai’s aim was to appeal to buyers looking for a car with a bit of a sporting edge but also some practicality.

The Korean-built Veloster’s point of difference was its unusual door configuration, with one coupe-like door on the driver’s side and two doors on the passenger side. The small rear door was for easy access to the back seat and reminiscent of the Mini Clubman, but in Hyundai’s case they chose the correct side of the vehicle to put the extra door on.

Competitively priced from launch, the entry-level Veloster started at $23,990 plus on-road costs. Standard features included 18-inch alloy wheels with 215/40 R18 tyres, automatic headlights, cruise control, trip computer, rear parking sensors, a slit/folding rear seat and a premium eight-speaker sound system with seven-inch colour touch-screen, AUX/USB input, Bluetooth and a rear-view cameraThe top-of-the-range Veloster + cost $4,000 more, adding body-coloured wheel spoke inserts, LED daytime-running lamps and side repeater lamps, projector-beam headlights, keyless entry and start, heated wing mirrors, a panoramic glass sunroof, part-leather seat trim, climate-control air-conditioning, power driver’s seat adjustment and blue-backlit “supervision cluster” instrumentation.

Both models had only one option – metallic/mica paint for an additional $375.

Both Veloster models were available with either a six-speed manual transmission or Hyundai’s first dual-clutch automatic costing an extra $2,000.

Built on the same platform as the Hyundai Accent small car, the Veloster shared its 103kW/166Nm 1.6-litre direct-injection four-cylinder petrol engine also fitted to sister company Kia’s award-winning Rio.

The funky little sports coupe/hatch was awarded five-star crash safety rating from ANCAP and Hyundai claimed combined fuel consumption of just 6.4L/100km.