Thread: My big news! veloster related....

Sweet Derek, Hows everything going with you?

going very well...i graduated on the 19th of this month and i sit for my 2nd board exam tomorrow! (i passed my Physics board which lets me sit for the OB/GYN board (tomorrow) and the Abdomen board on friday). I actually have a resume into a local place...so i might be staying in the neighborhood a little longer...if not i'm on my way to CO or Mass.

man we have to get together someday! (after this friday though.hahaha i'm busy studying! LOL)



im hoping to get all information hyundai has to offer about ALL vehicles not just the veloster...i hoping to get some insider stuff on the 2013 coupe (maybe good pics? or the car?? same goes for the Veloster turbo)

Derek! That's such good news man. Congrats on the opportunity to get out and explore Hyundai's newest stuff and also great work on the exams and hopefully a very nice career ahead of you.

thanks i just passed my OB/GYN board this morning....i have one more to pass on friday. then next week is HYUNDAI!!!yes!

i must saw that Portland is gorgeous!!! Im heading to breakfast then a Q and A with ceo and then off for a drive!!


i'll post up some pics and my expeirence this afternoon!

Dude how amazing is that? Such an awesome trip. Wish I could've gone too!

it was fantastic!! the car is amazing and the pictures DO NOTHING for the shape and looks for the car!

i'll be starting my own blog and review for the car. (and all things hyundai for that matter haha)

hey guys/gals...my trip was incredible! the car is really sweet.

I started a Hyundai Blog...this has more about the trip...All Things Hyundai


here is my review of the Veloster. Although the last paragraph has been omitted. I'm not allowed to say anything about the characteristics till the 19th.

First off, I would like to thank Think Tank for the invite to Portland, OR. I would also like to thank Brandon Ramirez, Michael O' Brian, Derek Joyce, John Krafcik and a whole host of others that helped along the way. It was a great trip and an even better car! The last couple of days have been fantastic! Although I'm not really a fan of all day travel via plane, but it I guess its the price you pay for such an awesome experience.


Lets get to the car.



Style


The exterior of the car is a variation of Hyundai's Fluid sculpture design. The Veloster's front end is quite aggressive with its large front grill and long headlights. The strong wheel arches can be seen on both the front fenders and the rear quarter panels. They house 17" on the base model and optional 18" wheels that fill the void quite nicely. This car does not suffer from the same intense wheel gap as say its cousin, the elantra. The A-pillars are painted piano black and is a nice touch no matter the body color. The hint of a motorcyclist full faced helmet can be realized with the A-pillars and windows acting like the sunshade of the helmet. Moving to the rear of the vehicle, you notice the center exhaust surrounded by another piano black accent piece. The tailights are mounted outbound with the lines of the lights continuing onto the almost all glass hatch. Walking from the rear of the car you notice the double door configuration. The handle for the rear passenger side door very well hidden in the C-pillar. Its simple pull down design is nicely placed.



The interior of the car continues with the motorcycle design with the center stack in the dash angling toward the floor. Its centered around the 7" LG screen which is bright and well placed. The gauges infront of the driver are nicely placed and if you are like me you will like the fact that the plastic extends out on both sides. I'm sure this is to limit the amount of glare on the gauges, but it has a nice side effect in that the passenger (my wife) cant see past 40mph. The seats are very comfortable and well bolstered. Our car was equipped with the optional red leather on the seat bolsters and on the doors. It is very sharp, and definitely my choice of interior. The red leather, however, is only available on Ultra Black, Boston Red, and Century White. Other choices are a light grey or black leather. The crash pad has two types of textures with silver accents. I was hoping that the top portion of the dash was a soft touch, but alas it is not.


Under the hood


Under the hood you'll find one of Hyundai's most fuel efficient motors, the all aluminum 1.6 Gamma. This motor has is chuckful of techno goodies not found elsewhere. Dual Cvvt helps time both intake and exhaust cams to aid in cutting down emissions. The adjustable intake runners help provide low end torque while shortening the runners at higher Rpms. This motor is also equipped with Gas Direct Injection (GDI). This helps save fuel, lowers combustion chamber temperatures, and allows for a higher compression ratio. Slick tricks like the off centered piston ring help create less friction and help this motor achieve its EPA estimated 40mpg highway. Hydraulic motor mounts help this 138hp with 123 ft/lbs of torque deliver its power to the ground. It does so through two different gear boxes. One is a 6 speed manual box while the other is Hyundai's first Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT). The DCT uses a set of dry clutches and actuators to select the proper gear. The transmission can be set into auto mode and it will act just like your traditional automatic or start hitting the steering wheel mounted paddles to manually select gears. Have no fear though, once redline is achieved it will shift into the next gear. It uses triple cone syncros on gears 1, 3, and 5 while 2, 4, and 6 use single cone syncros. The shifts are rather quick at just .5 of a second. With the manual you will see the estimated 40mpg with 28 in the city. The DCT will give you 38 highway and 27 city. Either way your doing better then competition and for less money. The car also features "Active Eco" this evens out the inputs from the drivers right foot, as to not waste any gas. This can be turned off if you prefer to put the pedal down and have some fun.


What makes a car fun?


Chassis stiffness was a priority for Hyundai, as seen before with the Genesis coupe, this little car is very stiff. In fact, if you followed the numbers its stiffer then the newest edition of the Volkswagen Scirroco. Hyundai forged its own high strength steel right near its production plant in Ulsan, S. Korea. As a matter of fact 65% of the vehicle is caged by this high strength steel. This allows Hyundai engineers to raise the spring rate and use more aggressive dampeners. The front suspension is a standard McPherson strut with a 24mm sway bar attaching directly to the strut. Outback there is a torsion bar with a 23mm sway bar added to the mix. Unfortunately it is welded into place. Steering is assisted by an electric motor and quick ratio steering rack. The steering wheel itself is thick and proper in size. It also has all of the radio, bluetooth, and cruise control buttons located on the lateral sides of the three pronged wheel. They are easy to use and well placed.


Is it fun to drive?


My day with the Veloster starts in Portland OR. I was eager to just see the vehicle in person. While waiting for the elevator I looked down into Pioneer Square and there the car sat tempting me to skip breakfast and go straight to it. My stomach and the time difference said otherwise. I sat down with people from Hyundai who more then happy to answer questions as long as they were the right questions. They are very tight lipped about future products. Sorry guys I tried! After breakfast there was a presentation about the vehicle followed by a Q and A session. Now it was time for the fun! The cars awaited in Pioneer Square. I was instantly drawn to a black Veloster with the red leather interior package. Our car for the first leg was fully loaded with both the style and tech packages which included 450 watt sound system, panaramic moonroof, push button start with proximity key, 18" rims with 215/45 Kuhmo tires and the list goes on. The 7" LG touchscreen is standard on the base Veloster and so is the subscription to Hyundai's Bluelink if you choose to opt into it. I opened the passenger rear door and took a seat in the rear. Head room for me was very good (although I'm only 5'6"). Entrance and exit out of the back seems fairly good as well. I did find though that while getting in and out you rub up against the rubber surround on the body. I can see this being a possible wear issue if adults are constantly getting in and out. The trunk is rather large and with the seats folded down there is quite a bit of room to haul stuff around. Seems to be quite a versatile little car. It also leads the class (if there is one for this car) in cargo space. Beating out the Mini cooper and Scion TC.

My partner and I headed off from Pioneer Square out into the city. The car was definitely stiff but it did do a decent job of soaking up the bumps on the city streets. Up on the highway, I started messing with the stereo. Hyundai has multiple ways to hook your media to the car. We first tried an iPod with the included cable. Using Gracenote the artist albums and information came up as it would appear on the iPod. However, we did have some trouble with the voice command while trying to select tracks. Not sure if there was an interface issue or perhaps we were simply using the wrong commands. I'm sure that if we had read the directions we could have figured it out. I then decided to pull my MicroSD card out of my phone and used the USB adapter to plug it directly into the port. My 16 gigs worth of music came up almost instantly. The mp3's were organized on the screen as if they were on the computer. Simply touch the artist, then the album and on the song of your choice. I would also like to mention that if you turn the car off while your song is playing, it will come right back to it as if there was a CD in the player. The 450 watt system with the 8" woofer easily played whatever I decided to play. It could use a little more midbass, but the woofer did a good job of keeping up with the rest of the music when the volume was increased. The miles on Highway 84 slipped away and we soon turned off onto the Columbia Rive Gorge National Scenic Area. Highway 30 winds us down next to the river. We came to some gorgeous look outs and eventually to our driver switch point. My nerves had calmed down by this point and I was ready to drive!