Looking for a hatchback that gets 40 mpg while offering good handling, brakes, and utility. Good looks are a bonus. The wife and I narrowed the field down to the Sonic and the Veloster. Expected them to be similar, couldn't have been more wrong.
The Veloster is an impressive handling car (this from the guy who drives a Miata in an, uh, assertive fashion and likes to spend Saturdays at SCCA autocross). Excellent cornering behavior with just a hint of push from the front end when you try to make it do stupid things. The tradeoff is a firm ride, but even on rough roads the car is mercifully devoid of rattling or any indication that it is anything less than rock solid.
The seats are nicely bolstered, but climbing into the car I was immediately taken with the impression that I was sitting pretty low (this again from the guy with the lowered Miata who routinely looks UP at the lugnuts of SUVs). Knew this wouldn't sit well with the wife, who prefers to not have to depart a car like climbing out of the bottom of a bucket. An almost bewildering array of buttons and gizmos. Yeah, I'm an old fart. That nifty little screen on the dashboard, the one that will display your photos and videos and let you web surf while driving. Oughta be considered probable cause for a charge of DWS (Driving While Stupid). There's Driving, and then there's All The Other Crap That Isn't Driving. Mixing the two is idiotic, and Hyundai (and everybody else) oughta be banned from selling cars equipped with Yet Another Excuse for Someone to Run Into/Over Me While I'm Driving/Riding My Motorcycle/Walking Down the Street.
Then there's the back seat. While I was initially taken with Hyundai's assymetrical 3 door design, that abbreviated entry isn't up to use by standard-sized adults. Climbing into the back brought up ancient mental images of the Mercury astronauts being crammed through that little hatch so they could be shot into space. Once inside, I discovered that my unexceptional 5'7" height was enough to have me bonking my noggin on the roof where it met the rear window. So maybe the astronaut thing wasn't so far off-base; a helmet might come in pretty handy back there.
The real bummer: the slick-shifting dual-clutch automatic is hooked to the same engine that they put in the utilitarian Accent (test drove one of them too, no comment). Punching the acclerator results in a second or two of lag while the engine revs and the transmission finally decides to hook up and apply power. Instead of accelerating out of corners I was completely straightened out before feeling the car start to change speed. The engine is -just- up to the task of moving the car around. Where's the turbo?
Great brakes.
Significant threshold at the rear hatch, meaning anything that goes into the back will have to be lifted up and over before it comes out. I'm one of those goofy people who works on his own cars and motorcycles and house, so I like to put heavy, dense, and/or bulky things in the back of cars. Being able to pull them out without throwing out my back is a Good Thing (tm).
There's a nice circular well where a compact spare should be, but in its place there's a big round styrofoam plug with a couple of cutouts that house a small compressor and a patch kit.
Bottom line: great handling especially for OEM, gorgeous lines, underpowered, impractical for a hatchback.
The Sonic was everything the Veloster was not; tons of back seat leg and head room, no threshold when you open the rear hatch, and a peppy performer with the 1.8 liter engine. I was pleasantly surprised at the firm-but-compliant ride quality, given that it weighs in at the top of its class. There's a tad more body roll than the Veloster but nothing that's remotely unnerving. And again, excellent brakes. VERY nice interior with a good variety of textures and fabrics and finishes without looking confused or thrown-together. And it has a real pizza cutter spare. Which means something to someone who has both 1) lacerated a tire on road debris and 2) taken out a wheel/tire completely on a curb (hey, the sun was in my eyes). A compressor and snot worm kit just don't cut it sometimes.
Still a bit of throttle lag, but nothing like the Hyundais. Most likely the result of my driving a stick for so many years, and something I'd learn to work around (get on the throttle earlier, dummy!). The 1.4 liter turbo would probably be an absolute hoot; too bad there's not a dealership within 40 miles that has one to test drive. And a shame that, for now, it isn't offered with the automatic that the wife prefers.
Also impressed with the safety features on the Sonic. 10 airbags, traction control, anti-lock brakes with panic brake assist... all standard, and at a very competitive price.
Am pretty sure that one of these is in our not-too-distant future:
The Veloster is an impressive handling car (this from the guy who drives a Miata in an, uh, assertive fashion and likes to spend Saturdays at SCCA autocross). Excellent cornering behavior with just a hint of push from the front end when you try to make it do stupid things. The tradeoff is a firm ride, but even on rough roads the car is mercifully devoid of rattling or any indication that it is anything less than rock solid.
The seats are nicely bolstered, but climbing into the car I was immediately taken with the impression that I was sitting pretty low (this again from the guy with the lowered Miata who routinely looks UP at the lugnuts of SUVs). Knew this wouldn't sit well with the wife, who prefers to not have to depart a car like climbing out of the bottom of a bucket. An almost bewildering array of buttons and gizmos. Yeah, I'm an old fart. That nifty little screen on the dashboard, the one that will display your photos and videos and let you web surf while driving. Oughta be considered probable cause for a charge of DWS (Driving While Stupid). There's Driving, and then there's All The Other Crap That Isn't Driving. Mixing the two is idiotic, and Hyundai (and everybody else) oughta be banned from selling cars equipped with Yet Another Excuse for Someone to Run Into/Over Me While I'm Driving/Riding My Motorcycle/Walking Down the Street.
Then there's the back seat. While I was initially taken with Hyundai's assymetrical 3 door design, that abbreviated entry isn't up to use by standard-sized adults. Climbing into the back brought up ancient mental images of the Mercury astronauts being crammed through that little hatch so they could be shot into space. Once inside, I discovered that my unexceptional 5'7" height was enough to have me bonking my noggin on the roof where it met the rear window. So maybe the astronaut thing wasn't so far off-base; a helmet might come in pretty handy back there.
The real bummer: the slick-shifting dual-clutch automatic is hooked to the same engine that they put in the utilitarian Accent (test drove one of them too, no comment). Punching the acclerator results in a second or two of lag while the engine revs and the transmission finally decides to hook up and apply power. Instead of accelerating out of corners I was completely straightened out before feeling the car start to change speed. The engine is -just- up to the task of moving the car around. Where's the turbo?
Great brakes.
Significant threshold at the rear hatch, meaning anything that goes into the back will have to be lifted up and over before it comes out. I'm one of those goofy people who works on his own cars and motorcycles and house, so I like to put heavy, dense, and/or bulky things in the back of cars. Being able to pull them out without throwing out my back is a Good Thing (tm).
There's a nice circular well where a compact spare should be, but in its place there's a big round styrofoam plug with a couple of cutouts that house a small compressor and a patch kit.
Bottom line: great handling especially for OEM, gorgeous lines, underpowered, impractical for a hatchback.
The Sonic was everything the Veloster was not; tons of back seat leg and head room, no threshold when you open the rear hatch, and a peppy performer with the 1.8 liter engine. I was pleasantly surprised at the firm-but-compliant ride quality, given that it weighs in at the top of its class. There's a tad more body roll than the Veloster but nothing that's remotely unnerving. And again, excellent brakes. VERY nice interior with a good variety of textures and fabrics and finishes without looking confused or thrown-together. And it has a real pizza cutter spare. Which means something to someone who has both 1) lacerated a tire on road debris and 2) taken out a wheel/tire completely on a curb (hey, the sun was in my eyes). A compressor and snot worm kit just don't cut it sometimes.
Still a bit of throttle lag, but nothing like the Hyundais. Most likely the result of my driving a stick for so many years, and something I'd learn to work around (get on the throttle earlier, dummy!). The 1.4 liter turbo would probably be an absolute hoot; too bad there's not a dealership within 40 miles that has one to test drive. And a shame that, for now, it isn't offered with the automatic that the wife prefers.
Also impressed with the safety features on the Sonic. 10 airbags, traction control, anti-lock brakes with panic brake assist... all standard, and at a very competitive price.
Am pretty sure that one of these is in our not-too-distant future:
