2012 Hyundai Veloster: This is How its Done, Honda

[Keef]

Blind spots? I have eyes and they work.

The honestly the only time when I'm not able to see behind me without unreasonable movement and/or a spotter is when I'm back out of a parking spot in a full lot and looking at an angle to see if cars are coming. Instead, I see a C-pillar that is 1.5 feet wide. I back out slowly until I can see and hope an oncoming driver is sensible enough to stop, or honk. But on the road I've never had a blind spot situation. The combination of rear view and side mirrors are adjusted in a fashion to cover 90% of my rearward vision with no more than a head bob, and the other 10% can be seen with a quick glance to my shoulder, but not over. I never have to take my back off the seat the way I see many drivers craning around, I'll put it that way. No blind spots.

Azuremen, I know the blind spots you're talking about in the MRS because I've driven one with the top up. Miatas have a similar problem. The rear window in those soft tops is a tiny little thing and it's almost impossible to get any overlap of rearview mirror and side mirror. To get the side mirrors where I need them there's always a dead zone between their and the rearview's field of vision that requires a good lean back and forth. If I have to move around from my comfortable position then I consider it a problem, and that is is a problem

In most new cars I've driven, the blind spot that really is annoying and that I consider a genuine problem that needs attention is the tremendous A-pillar size. More often than not - like, at every stop sign intersection - I have to crane my neck to look around these columns seemingly stolen off ancient Roman ruins. To make it worse, they're a solid 2 feet in front of me. To make it worse newer, bigger cars require newer, bigger mirrors. Half the time I feel like my mom's Corolla is a friggin F150, and I might as well be towing a trailer. That's how bad the forward visibility is.

The Veloster? It's alright.

I like the idea, and generally it's an attractive car. It would definitely be on my shopping list. Only problem is that from some angles it looks terribly awkward, and from most angles the car looks positively enormous sitting on its tiny looking wheels and rubberband tires.

Now that I think about it, I think I'd rather have a Forte Koup. SX.

 

[Omnis]

Wouldn't that possibly make you lose focus on the road?

No. My lane change involves looking out my window, then the mirror, then leaning back to follow the mirror's reflection rearward down the side of my car. At no point can I not see what is happening in front of me. It takes about a second to check, then to check ahead of the adjacent lane, and then one more to re-check while merging in case of motorcycles or something else that may come up.

 

[TehFunk]

It looks like they couldn't decide which designers idea to use for the front, so they just used everyones at the same time. I like the angle of the windshield and window shapes though, they're very gtr-esque. Wonder how the performance will compare to the cr-z

Cars do not have 'blind spots'.

Being a motorcyclist, its a daily occurrence to dodge traffic merging into my lane. You would think a loud bright green bike would be getting people attention, but the majority of drivers out there lack the competence to simply turn their heads and look where they're going. They trust a quick glance to their mirrors which don't tell them everything, and i end up having to defy death again and again

 

[ranhammerR34]

Blind spot death trap incoming.

It is amazing though how much progress the Koreans are making in the styling and performance. I am liking how the Genesis coupe looks more and more, and the Forte Koup from Kia is quite nice too, certainly better than the Scion and Honda counterparts.

Agreed on both parts. The car looks nice, but I see some blind spot shortcomings popping up. I have noticed that both Hyundai and Kia have made huge strides in all the vehicles. For example, I like the funky Kia Soul because of what it is capable of and its cheaper than the Scion XB or Nissan Cube. I, also like Azuremen, think the Hyundai Genesis couple looks very good and would consider buying it, if I had the money. Now, I wonder if they can make a good truck... But anyway, I like the little Hyundai! --- Randy

 

[Omnis]

And on that note, let's take the time to get back on topic about the actual car and bring out blind-spot discussion elsewhere on the forum.

 

[JCE]

To get back on topic I like this Hyundai. The performance will be good for the money.

 

[Robin]

Looks like a Renault creation from the rear, I have to say it looks kinda neat but the surfaces are slightly too busy with creases everywhere.

 

[Eric.]

What makes this so special? It has completely average power and weight (as I said, identical to a normal Civic), and its not like Hyundai is known for knife-edge handling with anything. Everyone raved about the Kia Forte looking to be a new sport compact competitor in the sporting sense, yet reviews say its terrible to drive.

 

[Omnis]

Yeah, we'll see. Hyundai's transmissions have historically sucked. Hopefully this new dual clutch unit will be worthy of praise. They seem to be attacking problems one at a time. They've really stepped up their game in terms of engine power and economy. Now they're doing transmissions, and I presume that their future goal will be to bring handling right up there, especially when it's time for a new generation of Genesis coupe. They'll hopefully have it sorted by the time they release this car though. If they release a 2L turbo version, they had better.

 

[YSSMAN]

I thought Kia had most of their handling issues sorted already? I seem to remember hearing multiple times that the Forte SX was a heck of a car to toss around, the only real problem being that bad throttle tip-in on the 2.4L. The only problem seemed to be the ride quality, which was a shade on the rough side, but they complain about that with almost anything fun.

My guess is that this would be a hella-fun car to toss around, I'm really eager to try one out. With the couple extra BHP and weighing about 300 lbs less than my current Celica, I would think it to be a lot of fun. I'd like to see what they package in the car on the low end of the price scale, it would likely be a very interesting purchase.

 

[DKLion3s]

Cars do not have 'blind spots'.

When you look at your side mirrors, do you see the same car/cars that are in your rear view mirror? The answer is probably yes.

If a car is behind you and you can see them in your side mirrors, you have a 'blind spot' b/c your side mirrors are not adjusted correctly.

Once a car exits the view of your rear view mirror, such as passing you, that car should then start entering the view of either side mirror. The problem is 99.999% of people on the road adjust their side mirrors so they can see the pin-striping on their car. This is not how it's done.

With correctly aimed side mirrors, blind spots do not exist and there should never be a need to look over your shoulder to see if there's traffic.

Agreed 200%. 👍

And if you like combat parking, such as myself, adding an appropriately styled "blind-spot" mirror to the existing side mirrors will greatly enhance your field of view, and peripheral, during regular driving as well.

All my vehicles are set-up this way.

@ Justin, the last image at the right of that pictogram, is clearly within a drivers peripheral view.


PS. Did not read all comments.


If the Civic Concept is any indication, Honda may be doing a turn around.

 

[homeforsummer]

I know, the new Civic coupe looks great, especially at the front. It's a pity it's probably not as compact as those pictures make it look. Something around the size and weight of the coupe from a few generations back (the EJ, was it called? The coupe version of the EK, basically) would be great.

As for the Hyundai, it's a decent looker but Hyundai aren't stealing the show for me at the moment, not like Kia. I'm waiting for Kia to come out with something really special. They have Peter Schreyer (of Audi TT fame) at the helm. Recent Kias have looked genuinely great, much better than most of the Japanese competition and better than the equivalent Hyundais, and it's mainly down to Schreyer. We just need him to have another "TT moment" and design something that isn't just a great looking Kia, but a great looking car full stop.

If he could coincide that with Kia deciding to create their own take on the Miata, then they'd potentially have one of the most significant sportscars since the original Miata on their hands. Build it Kia, a cheap roadster with an influential design.

Also, virtually all cars have blind spots. Mirrors simply cannot cover the entirety of the road behind you, and the spot they don't cover that also lies outside your peripheral vision is the blind spot. Yes, you can turn your head to make up for this, but it's still a blind spot. Worst car I've ever driven for this was a current-gen Mitsubishi Outlander (in which amusingly the sunvisor vanity mirror actually cut out the blind spot massively if left at the right angle!), and the best is my Fiat which has loads of glass and fairly thin pillars.

 

[eSZee]

few days old but didn't see it in the thread
Looks better from the side than I thought, besides the weird rear hatch angle. Head on it's still awful.

 

[Azuremen]

I know, the new Civic coupe looks great, especially at the front. It's a pity it's probably not as compact as those pictures make it look. Something around the size and weight of the coupe from a few generations back (the EJ, was it called? The coupe version of the EK, basically) would be great.

You are thinking of the EM1. Those were fairly good though a bit heavier than one would initial suspect. But generally, the EK/EM platform was the last good Civic platform in my mind, before they switched to struts up front and kind of ruined the appeal of the platform. And then the European Type R models with their hilarious rear suspension setups...

 

[Keef]

You are thinking of the EM1. Those were fairly good though a bit heavier than one would initial suspect. But generally, the EK/EM platform was the last good Civic platform in my mind, before they switched to struts up front and kind of ruined the appeal of the platform. And then the European Type R models with their hilarious rear suspension setups...

We just call it the EK platform - the last good one, with wishbones - so as not to confuse it with the 2001+, McStrut-equipped US-spec EM2 coupe, and of course the EP3 Si hatchback.

Speaking of that, Civics have always had various letter combinations but the EF, EG, and EK generations are the only ones referred to by one all-encompassing designation. My theory is that people picked up the letters from Japan's top model - the EF9 SiR, EG6 SiR, and the EK9 Type R. Ever since then the Honda community has never settled on a nickname. It's hard to call an EM an EP and vice versa because the platforms are almost totally unrelated. And this time around we've got two different Type Rs, one named after an RX7, and it's not even in production anymore? What?

/Hondagasm

 

[Eric.]

I feel like the Civic Coupe concept is trying too hard. The front would be fine without that black area making it look like it wants to fit into the catfish crowd that started with Audi and has moved to everything. And the rear looks too busy.

The sedan looks way better (again), particularly up front. I don't like the rear a whole lot, but I like it much better than the coupe's.

BUT, I had only looked at the renders on Honda's site. That real photo of the front of the Civic looks a lot better than the render. I still don't like the rear.

 

[Omnis]

I don't get how looking good = trying too hard.

And I think the Veloster would look so much better without those black things on the front bumper. they make the bottom grill opening into a U shape instead of a just rectangular. That looks dumb as hell.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

I don't get how looking good = trying too hard.

It's too busy, not an improvement over the previous coupe.

 

[ranhammerR34]

That Honda Civic, it looks familar. Why is it in an Hyundai Veloster thread? 💡

Giancarlo just tree'd me!

 

[Giancarlo]

That Honda Civic, it looks familar. Why is it in an Hyundai Veloster thread? 💡

Because they're in the exact same vehicle class? And did you read the title?

 

[GTO_VR4]

Never been a fan of hyundai's car design.

 

[Omnis]

I just realized something. The Veloster is less powerful than the Elantra. What the heck? If they don't turbo this thing, they might as well call it the Slowster.

 

[turboash78]

"It's a Honda CRX with back seats"
As a former CRX owner, I find this statement very insulting... comparing the two is laughable. Hyundai has yet to 'wow' me with any vehicle they've made.

 

[YSSMAN]

I just realized something. The Veloster is less powerful than the Elantra. What the heck? If they don't turbo this thing, they might as well call it the Slowster.

The lack of power won't kill all of the fun, but it does make it a different driving experience. Knowing that Hyundai found a way to keep the car pretty light, and assuming that they put a pretty lively suspension setup under the car, it'll be more fun than a majority of vehicles out on the road. It reminds me of the older MKI-III GTI, or the old Civic Si models. Not a lot of power, but enough to keep things interesting.

 

[Omnis]

Yeah but less power and worse fuel efficiency than the Elantra? Bro, I'll take an Elantra.

 

[YSSMAN]

I wonder if they'll be doing a "sporty" Elantra? Or will they just end up leaving that to the Forte? Actually, now that I think about it, if they're offering the suspension bits off the Forte SX on the hatchback version, it almost completely negates the need for the Veloster.

 

[Omnis]

The Veloster is stupid without 274hp.

 

[Zenith]

I can see what the Korean manufacturers are trying to do with this alternative style at a cheap price with some decent muscle, but I drove a newer Hyundai (Genesis?) and the interior felt even worse than 90's American cars and the handling and ride were on the bad side as well. This looks like more of the same, and I hate the styling. It's fat, bulgy but edgy in the least attractive way possible, it's too tall, it looks like the molds for the body panels restricted the designers from giving the grille any depth, and the taillights look like someone threw some red clay at the back of the model during the design process.

and comparing this to a CRX is laughable

 

[Omnis]

Yeah right, Zenith. NOTHING is worse than 90s American cars. The interiors on the newer Hyundais are great. The Genesis Coupe and SUVs have great seats too.

 

[Azuremen]

I can see what the Korean manufacturers are trying to do with this alternative style at a cheap price with some decent muscle, but I drove a newer Hyundai (Genesis?) and the interior felt even worse than 90's American cars and the handling and ride were on the bad side as well. This looks like more of the same, and I hate the styling. It's fat, bulgy but edgy in the least attractive way possible, it's too tall, it looks like the molds for the body panels restricted the designers from giving the grille any depth, and the taillights look like someone threw some red clay at the back of the model during the design process.

Wait, what? I've been in new Hyundais, and they are worlds better than anything the Americans made in the 90s, excluding maybe some Cadillacs and Lincolns. Maybe.