HYUNDAI promised that its Veloster coupe was ready for production and here it is.
On sale in February, it looks great from all angles, and has an odd three door body with a rear hatch in the same vein as the MINI Countryman.
This means there is a single door on the driver’s side, but front and rear doors on the passenger side.
In the case of the MINI, that is rather dangerous for us in Britain, because they don’t swap the door around for right hand drive making it on the offside.
Hopefully, Hyundai will not make the same mistake.
Prices will start from £18,000 and there will be just two trim levels to start with and only one engine.
This is a 1.6 petrol with no less than 140bhp. Best emissions of 137g/km and nearly 48 miles per gallon are achieved with the optional Blue drive model which has stop/start and low rolling resistance tyres.
Interior
Standard equipment will include alloys, a 7-inch touchscreen media centre with the capability of playing console games and films from smart phones, Bluetooth with voice recognition, climate control, reversing sensors, front and rear fog lights and striking LED daytime running lights.
Top Veloster Sport versions get bigger alloys and black leather upholstery with heated seats.
FAST FACTS
Hyundai Veloster
Price: £18,000
Mechanical: 140bhp, 1,598cc, 4cyl petrol engine driving front wheels via 6-speed manual gearbox
Max speed: 130mph
0-62mph: 8 seconds
Combined mpg: 45
Insurance group: 16
CO2 emissions: 148g/km
BIK rating: 15%
Warranty: 5yrs/ unlimited miles
Marks: 9/10
Main rival: Citroen DS3