MotorMouths

Hyundai is hoping to capture a demographic that is increasingly falling out of love with cars. If they are going to buy a car at all, it should be frugal, visually striking and practical enough to meet all of their needs. The Veloster ticks all the boxes based on the above criteria.

The most exciting car yet from South Korean automaker Hyundai is the 2012 Veloster. Plenty of standard features mean you’re getting not only an unusual car but also a nicely appointed one, with unexpected highway composure.

The Veloster can go toe-to-toe with other small, efficient, fun-to-drive and relatively inexpensive cars. But the Hyundai’s biggest shortcoming is its engine.

Your daughter or son may already have an eye on the Hyundai Veloster. It’s a mess, but a happy one, not unlike a college dorm room. It rides far better than the economy cars of yore, but nobody will mistake it for an Audi.

with a broad list of standard features, reasonable price, compact platform and 40 miles per gallon capability, we believe the Veloster is another car that proves that efficiency doesn’t have to be bland.

Hyundai’s gamble on the Veloster will likely pay off big. It’s hard to imagine a car so cool-looking, so practical, so efficient, and so inexpensive failing to find a sizable following. And yet we walk away wanting more.

The innovative Hyundai Veloster has great looks, good handling and an appealing price, but a noisy interior, poor iPod and phone compatibility and troublingly large blind spots reduce its appeal.

It’s not door count or horsepower or weight that disqualifies the Veloster from second-coming-of-CRX status. It’s that the Veloster just isn’t that much fun to drive.

The Hyundai Veloster has a youthful appeal, including an outstanding interior. But if you care about horsepower and acceleration on the open road or in the passing lane, buckle up for disappointment.