The 2012 Hyundai Veloster

Nice Butt

(Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

Here’s the sporty, yet practical Veloster from Hyundai with three doors and a hatchback.

Its rear end is one of the nicest on any vehicle at any price. I’ve had more people stop and gawk at the Veloster in my driveway than any vehicle in a long time. Boy has Hyundai come a long way, in styling and reliability.

The style package has some sweet looking 18-inch wheels, fog lights, a panoramic roof, and a good sounding eight speaker sound system.

If you go for the tech package you get rear parking sensors, a nav system with a seven inch touch screen a much needed rear camera, keyless ignition and much more…A really good bargain. The tech package will set you back 2 thousand dollars

The interior is tastefully done. A lot of tech for your dollar.  The navigation system is easy to program and the seven inch touch screen looks great. Bluetooth set up is a snap . The steering wheel controls are a no brainer. The interior quality is impressive.

This is a new 1.6-liter direct-injected inline-4 that makes 138 horsepower. And great news! There’s a turbo charged version in the pipeline that will crank out 201 horsepower. The manual six speed is pretty tight feeling with good clutch action. You can spend more and get a duel clutch automatic with steering wheel shift paddles.

The Veloster borrows some of its underside from the Elantra Sedan, and that’s a good thing.

Rear visibility isn’t great. Form over function folks. The rear camera is a wise purchase.   The only other complaint is that the Veloster is a tad noisy on the highway. The fact that you get 40 miles per gallon on the highway makes up for all the racket. That and a starting price of $17,300.00.

Mike West