Hyundai really is going premium. That’s worrying, not only for the competition, but for the buying public who are currently purchasing their Hyundais based on a value proposition. Perhaps premium is a little ambitious for now. Perhaps upmarket would be a more appropriate word to use. Take this new Veloster hatchback which was presented in Detroit. Hyundai says its sole aim in life is to remove the MINI from its top position, while fending off fellow challengers like the Alfa Romeo Mito, Citroen DS3 and the new Audi A1.
It’s a tough ask for anyone, but Hyundai believes its recent successes that have made it and sister company Kia the world’s fourth largest manufacturer of cars, will rub off and accelerate the Veloster’s future success.
A unique feature of the Veloster is the third door which is located near the passenger side. Yes, that means there are three doors (making it a four-door, including the boot door).
Possibly the car’s stumbling block will be its 1.6-litre naturally aspirated, four-cylinder engine. At 103kW it takes the middle ground against its turbocharged rivals, but brings nothing really special to the table. Perhaps the optional double clutch gearbox is something special, or maybe the fact that it weighs in at 1 172kg. But in high altitude places like Gauteng it will shed a tear upon confrontation with steeps and hills. Hyundai doesn’t really care about that though, since most of these cars are expected to sell in the US, Korea, China and Europe.
Among the goodies listed are a sound system that’s able to store music equivalent to 10 CDs on board, play back videos and iPod content. The target market demands such gadgets these days.
Should the market look positive this year we will get the Veloster in South Africa later in 2011, or in early 2012.
Bayazama shame.
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