Road Test; 2012 Hyundai Veloster

What it is: a highly stylized, three-door sports coupe, the 2012 Hyundai Veloster is intended to attract young professionals and students alike.

What we like: the bold and aggressive style will not leave you without an opinion, which is a good thing for Hyundai. A lot of features that are often the most expensive cars, premium sports an inner feeling, and great fuel economy.

What we dislike: While the competition in its segment, true enthusiasts may want to kick a little more under the hood. Average basis and stereo sound quality.

Snap Judgement: The Veloster may be the most stylish Hyundai ever, and with an attractive modern fuel economy, interior and excellent service, would be very difficult to find better prices at this time.

Exciting sports coupe Korea are almost as common as hot days, warm in the Pacific Northwest, or the three-door car passengers. But a couple of days in the tail of the summer, I was the beneficiary of the three.

Hyundai is synonymous with good cars, attractive. The formula has led to become the largest automaker worldwide fifth, which is fine, but fails in the range was a car type of personality. A car that was not neutral. A car that was attractive and pleasant, but forced to do a double take. A car that divisive, and apologize later. That car is this car.

The 2012 Hyundai Veloster is meant to trend younger, but we believe that the Veloster could end up attracting a wider audience, including the popular Ford Fiesta does. The Veloster can count on Scion tC and Honda CR-Z as competitors, and may even attract a limited budget Mini Cooper and Volkswagen Beetle owners less concerned with the heritage of the brand.

2012 Hyundai Velosters a traditional manual transmission will start $ 17,300, and dual clutch models start $ 18,550. Two packages are available. A $ 2000 style package updates the standard 17-inch alloy wheels, 18 inches, adding a better sound system, chrome on the grill and wrapped steering wheel and leather shift knob, leather seats and reinforced plastic coatings doors, among other things.

The technology package is an additional cost of $ 2,000 on top of the styling package. It includes inserts painted alloy wheels 18-inch backup sensor warning, navigation with rear view camera, automatic headlights and starter button. Three levels of telematics services Blue Link packages are available for subscription, offering everything from roadside assistance to Pandora radio and features hands-free voice.

At first glance the Veloster is appropriate, aggressive and a bit cheeky. Send your attention, draws the eye in the body as you explore and follow the lines. The style takes the signals from the popular and very lost, Honda CRX, with some accents of the most modern and more expensive Nissan 370Z. In the driver's side, the body is definitely a sport coupe, but the two passenger side door does not seem crowded or out of place. The third recessed door handle is barely perceptible, hidden in the rear pillar is Veloster.

A center dual exhaust and a panoramic glass roof at the rear give the appearance of a sports car. Hyundai signature hexagonal grille in the front, and some new elements "fluid sculpture" design we've seen in the new Hyundai are present, but the Veloster almost seems to be a generation ahead in its exterior aesthetics. It would be nice to think of the many looks we got in the way had anything to do with us, but people took the liberty of doing a walk around when they were parked, so the Veloster may have played an important role. The car does not turn his head. What they're thinking, I can not tell me.

The first model was leading the pack in style, and accents of leather and skin, along with an attractive dash and instrument panel, the car gave a fresh and modern. The seats, with the combination of soft synthetic leather and fabrics were elegant and comfortable, while decidedly sporty. The Veloster has ample space and a spacious cabin unexpected, especially on the front. Although there is enough legroom for rear seat headroom under means taller passengers may want to avoid the back seat. Cargo space is adequate, and with the rear seats folded is more than enough. On the negative side, rearward visibility is poor, and has nothing to do with a cloud of smoke that we were at times - the word forest fires burning somewhere nearby - but he's a victim of the design attractive exterior.

Audio controls and air are logical and accessible. The shifter is conveniently at hand, which offers smooth shifts and short and effortless. Some may want a more pronounced sense of change with the manual transmission. The interior materials were a mixture of smart, polished and hard, soft and comfortable materials mixed with the cabin in general had a premium sports, are more often associated with more expensive cars.

The 2012 Hyundai Veloster has a 1.6-liter, 138 horsepower engine, shared with the recently introduced Hyundai Accent. The Veloster, which is available with a six-speed manual transmission or a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, a transmission type most commonly associated with an increased price of vehicles. In little more than 2,500 pounds, is extremely lightweight sports coupe, which helps the front-drive small car by car to get the most out of your small engine. We handle both six-speed manual and six-speed dual clutch models Portland, Oregon, in the northeast along the historic Columbia River Highway, along the Columbia Gorge and the Bridge of the Gods in the state of Washington. The route gave good preliminary indications of what is Hyundai Veloster.

Narrow roads winding through the historic landmark on the northern Oregon Columbia River found the gearbox double clutch very smooth, almost imperceptible changes. The six-speed manual is sporty, but really had to go hard on the accelerator to get a response and an extra boost of energy. Although not fast, the Veloster is still fun to drive. Torque through mountain passes, which flew for the streams and greener reflux in the Federal Reserve ... although these days, including Arizona drivers could make the same claim.

The corners are Veloster confidence and the engine had a slight hum, nice when accelerated. Yes we have detected a low hum of dual-clutch models at highway speeds, and no significant road noise, especially in the secondary roads in the region, despite decreases when we are in smoother surfaces. The brakes were sharp and sensitive, with an aggressive mix of city and highway driving, still a star averaged 36 mpg. Barreling down Interstate 5 on the following day, the Veloster blocked the wind noise, but the sound emanating from the road was still present in the cabin. On the road from the Veloster units like an economy car, but in several diverse units Veloster was prepared for the challenge, offering a sporty feel as involved with the road.

The 2012 Hyundai Veloster impressed us with its commanding looks and sporty interior. Driving was fun, though in truth the aggressive styling promises more than the economy car engine can deliver. But shoppers in this segment should give the Veloster a look. If you're looking to pony up about 20k, there aren't many options that would give you more than this sporty three-door.

We're anxious to get behind the wheel on our local roads where we can really gauge road noise, tinker around with the stereo a little more, and see what kind of mileage we average in our Southern California commute. We're also curious to see if the car will turn as many heads around car-conscious Los Angeles, a true test for the highly styled Veloster.