During 2012 Auto Expo, South Korea based car manufacturer, Hyundai showcased a bevy of vehicles. The pavilion of the company saw one of the highest turnout of people because of the display models that included Veloster, Sonata and Elantra and HDN-7 concept. The design of these cars were mainly inspired from the fluidic design language, which is currently adopted by the auto maker on most of its vehicles. Out of all these models, Hyundai Veloster was touted as the show-stopper owing to its power packed engine and striking look. The compact sports car, Veloster was looked upon as a replacement for Tiburon. Since its showcasing at the 2012 Auto Expo, Indian buyers are desperately waiting for the arrival of Veloster in India. At present, Veloster is on sale in major European and Asian countries.
At its unveiling at 2012 Auto Expo, there was a lot of buzz generated that Hyundai might be planning to launch its vehicle in the Indian car market by 2013; however the company officials have maintained their silence on this news. However, as of now, the company has not provided any concrete information regarding its compact sports car's launch date in the Indian auto market but sources are citing that 2014 Auto Expo will play host to its introduction. According to industry experts, once Veloster is introduced in the country, it will create a niche for itself as the cars of Hyundai are generally favoured by Indian buyers. Industry experts are of a view that it will target young customers who particularly prefer driving stylish cars that are high in terms of looks and performance. The noticeable feature of Veloster is its three-door design, which included one on driver side and other two on passenger side.
The model showcased at the 2012 Auto Expo had a 1.6-litre direct injection petrol engine which gave away a power output of 138 bhp alongside a torque of up to 167 Nm. The car was offered in two gearbox options, namely a 6-speed manual and 6-speed dual-clutch transmission with paddle shifters. However, the car has gone through a lot of updates in the engine and performance section as per different market but the standard version still remains the same. Also to mention, Hyundai has also launched a turbocharged model of Veloster, which uses the 1.6-litre T-GDi Gamma powertrain that gives produces 201 bhp of power and 265 Nm of torque. In major European markets, the turbo charged version gets new body kits, LED lights, large twin exhausts, side skirts, and turbo badges besides the SatNav system and push start/stop function.
Experts believe that Hyundai Veloster might be be priced somewhere around Rs. 15 lakh to Rs. 18 lakh category but if the company plans to bring the car through the Completely Knocked Down (CKD) route, then the figure could down significantly. On assessing the competitors of Veloster, it will compete with BMW owned Mini cars and Fiat 500. Once launched in India, Hyundai Veloster would offer competition to Mini Cooper and its other models as Fiat 500 was recently discontinued in the country. While in the recent past, few sporty hatchbacks were launched in the country like General Motors SR-V and Fiat 500. However, over time, the models did not rake in good sales and later were discontinued by their respective companies. Keeping in mind the track records of such cars in the country, it will be interesting to see how Hyundai Veloster fares.
