2012 Hyundai Veloster Confirmed For Australia

HYUNDAI VELOSTER

Mere hours since its unveiling at this week's Detroit Motor Show, Hyundai has confirmed an Australian launch for its upcoming 2012 Hyundai Veloster sports car.

Speaking with TMR today, Hyundai Australia's Ben Hershman confirmed that while a launch date has still to be confirmed, the Veloster is expected to make its local sales debut later this year.

The arrival of the Veloster in Australian showrooms will see the Korean carmaker's line-up once again offer a genuine sporting model, following the retirement last year of the Tiburon sports coupe.

The 2012 Hyundai Veloster

As teased last week, the uniquely-styled Veloster offers an even more intriguing take when it comes to its doors: on the left-hand side, the would-be coupe features one door and a regular rear quarter window. 

On the right-hand side - the driver's side in Australia, but the passenger side in most other markets - the Veloster features both a front door and a rear passenger door, allowing rear passengers to exit without unseating the front occupants.

For Australia and other right-hand-drive markets, this arrangement will be reversed, putting the extra door on the left-hand side - allowing rear passengers to exit onto the footpath.

Apart from this unique design quirk, the Veloster maintains much of its concept predecessor's general styling, while pushing most of its elements to a new level. 

The Veloster represents a leap forward for Hyundai, including the debut of an all-new 1.6 litre 'gamma' four-cylinder engine producing 102kW and 166Nm of torque. While certainly not overburdened with power, weighing in at just 1170kg, the Veloster should still have some shuffle.

Official fuel consumption figures have yet to be confirmed, although Hyundai says we can expect a return of about 5.9 l/100km, bettering the likes of the tiny Ford Fiesta in its regular petrol specification and coming close to the 5.6 l/100km of the even smaller 1.2 litre Barina Spark.

Importantly for Hyundai, the Veloster also bests the one car it will most likely be compared to: Honda's CR-Z hybrid sports car, offering around 90kW and using 6.4 l/100km of fuel on the highway.

Hyundai says we can expect a properly sporting drive from its new coupe-hatch, with a lightweight V-torsion beam rear suspension arrangement, a 23mm stabiliser bar and sports-tuned electric power steering. 

Front-wheel-drive, the Veloster will feature Hyundai's brand-new and first-ever six-speed dual-clutch transmission.

Guards-filling 17-inch alloy wheels with 215/45 rubber come as standard, and 18-inch wheels will be available as an option, wrapped in 215/40 rubber.

Inside, the Veloster features a seven-inch touch-screen display with video playback and video game console connectivity - the latter likely being a world first.