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Hyundai Veloster first look

We had a chance to have a quick first look at the new Hyundai Veloster coupe-slash-hatch when it was on limited display at the Sydney Opera House.

Derek Fung
Derek loves nothing more than punching a remote location into a GPS, queuing up some music and heading out on a long drive, so it's a good thing he's in charge of CNET Australia's Car Tech channel.
Derek Fung
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1 of 13 Derek Fung/CNET Australia

Due date

We had a chance to have a quick first look at the new Hyundai Veloster coupe-slash-hatch when it was on limited display at the Sydney Opera House.

The Veloster is due in Australia in Q4 2011.

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How many doors? Part I

From this side, the Veloster looks like a sporty three-door hatchback in the vein of the VW Scirocco.

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How many doors? Part II

But swing around to the other side and (what's this?!) there's a rear door for those sitting in the back.

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How many doors? Part III

Hyundai says that when the car enters right-hand drive production it will feature two doors on the left (passenger's) side and one on the right (driver's) side; the car on display here is a left-hand drive model, so the configuration is the other way around.

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How many doors? Part IV

The handle for the solitary rear passenger door is semi-hidden Alfa-style.

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Please come to Oz!

The display car had a good quantity of tech on board, although with details still being nutted-out none are a definite for Australia.

Inside, there's climate control air conditioning, cruise control, touchscreen navigation, Bluetooth hands-free, voice recognition and a USB port with iPod compatibility.

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LED

There's LED tech powering the driving lights and the tail-lights.

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Shift or be shifted

The six-speed manual (pictured) will be joined by an optional six-speed dual-clutch transmission, a first for Hyundai.

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Glassy

Both of the glass panes seen here are part of the rear hatch. In front of them is a glass sunroof.

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Beep, beep, beep!

Given that rearward vision is split in half, it's a good thing there's a reversing camera.

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Moo!

The display Veloster's seats were comfortable and the leather seems to be a cut above the stuff currently employed in Hyundai vehicles.

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Go!

Powering the front wheels is a 1.6-litre direct-injection petrol engine.

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Touch it

Like the leather seats, the interior trim feels almost luxurious.

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