Hyundai Veloster

I remember it was back in 2012 during the Super GT event, I first laid my eyes on the Hyundai Veloster. The first thing that I saw was the slogan "The first 1+2 door car" and thought to myself why not just say it as a 3-door car ? What we are used to when we hear 3-door is a hatch back with 2 doors and the boot is a door. I went and saw what was different with this particular model and I was surprised. The concept is 1 door on the driver side like a coupe or sports car while having 2 doors on the passenger side. It is a new model to replace the Hyundai Coupe name. 

Nice sticker on grill area and Nice LED lights

Twin Pipe Design in the center

1 door on driver side

2 door on passenger side - Shorter front door and rear door handle on arrow area

When one of my friend told me he was getting one for daily drive, I looked forward to seeing the Veloster in the flesh and after months of waiting, it is finally here. He first told me he was getting a manual version but due to low demand he had to change to the premium 6 speed auto version. His brand new white car is definitely a looker with many high tech goodies. I am impressed with the overall design. First thing that caught my eye is the actual size of the car. It looked bigger and wider than I remembered.

3rd door

Mid sized but deep boot area for good storage space

18 inch rim as standard issue

Large sunroof

Since the exterior looks great, the interior becomes the next to look into. Rather than going into the driver seat to check out the interior, I was more interested on how it will sit in the rear sits. The Veloster  sits a total of 4 person. At the rear there are only spaces for 2 as the middle section does not have a cushion that is where the cup holders are located. When I first when in, I could see that there is enough leg space for someone with 175 cm in height but because of its coupe design, the roof is low and slanted giving me not enough head space. However, it could still be comfortable. I particularly love the red and black theme of the seats.

Front Seat

Rear Seat

Door panel with cool design handle 

Alloy Pedals withe Red Black carpets

When I move over to the front seats, I was expecting a blue lit interior with high tech feature since I have a Hyundai at home too. Indeed I was not disappointed. The cluster meter looks great and the buttons and player is well organized with a hint of design sharing with its sibling the Elantra. I especially like the steering wheel design. It is functional with buttons on the steering wheel but most importantly the design is nice and great to hold for good grip unlike the bulky Tucson's steering wheel.

Multifunctional Steering wheel

Player and perfectly aligned buttons

Sporty Cluster

Engine Start Stop Button

Enough with the looks and let's get down on the performance. Hyundai only have 2 names before that belong under performance range which is the Hyundai Genesis Coupe and Hyundai Coupe and its engines are not found in the Veloster so it should perform like a normal car. This being an auto and a NA engine, it only has 138 hp from the 1.6L block. I did not test drive the car so I could not comment much on it. This car is promoted as a city driving experience with sporty looks. I think without moving, it already appears fast. For looks I definitely would give 5 stars. It is sporty and big and it sits 4 persons but the one behind the driver have to wait to get out of the car. It is up to my friend to test the acceleration, handling, braking and fuel consumption of this car. As for me, it would be a nice addition to the house stable.

1.6L Gamma Engine NA

Hood Design

Well Hidden Rear Camera

It is Back

After the scare I gave myself, it appears that the cause of my car's breakdown is the malfunction of the heating coil. This heating coil is responsible for giving hot air when the aircond is set at hot. Since its leaking, there was excessive hot water in the system causing overheating. The solution was either to replace the heating coil or to bypass the system. The solution is to bypass the system because it is easier and cheaper to do so.  The related hoses are removed and or closed with stoppers. The biggest reason is because the heating coil is not used especially in a country like Malaysia where there is no winter and it is hot every single day.

Hoses not connected

I am really happy that it finally started and is ready to be driven. The moment it started, I was relieved. It has come back alive. There is another good news. I finally located a cheap carbon fiber hood for my Celica. I got it cheap but it is in terrible shape. There are many sides where it is broken and it requires a lot work to get it ready to be used. The good thing is it is a carbon fiber not a FRP, I got it cheap and it comes with a nice hood pin. The hood scope is almost 3 times higher than stock which increase the cooling of the exhaust manifold. On each side there are shark vents but it is just for show. It will take some time to get it all patch up and painted before I can use it. I am surprised it could fit in the back of my car. It shows my car is big.

Deep Troubles

2 weeks after my radiator was fixed, similar signs appeared again. It seems that the previous fix has not completely heal my car. I checked the part that was fixed to see whether was it the same problem. It was not and that completely baffled me. In addition, the temperature meter seems to be malfunctioning as it goes up and down as it likes. I started to suspect that the meter or the sensor has malfunction and drive my car normally. When my mum see my car with its hood up, she asked me why and said that it might have burnt something else.

Ever since that, I have been getting the feeling that something bad might happen. Tonight when I was fetching my friend home, I noticed that the engine check light is lit, M signal of manual mode is blinking and there is sound when I step the accelerator. It is the sign that something is amiss and the problem might have escalated. I once saw the M signal blinking and it was due to overheat that the transmission could not be controlled.

Fearing the consequences, I stopped by a nearby Shell petrol station. I popped my hood and cool the coolant tank with water before filling it up with water. I could see the water boiling and smoke coming out. I thought to myself that this is it. I called my mechanic and he told me to let the car cool down and then go home. By the time it did, the car could not be started. It sounds like the starter is not working. In the end, I had no choice but to call for a carrier to send to my mechanic's place. It was sad to see my beloved Celica go that way. I could only hope for the best.

Kuantan Trip

Last weekend I attended my friend's birthday that took place around 240 km  away from my place. I took my family's new Toyota Vellfire as I had to fetch a few friends along and wanted to be in comfort. It was a good chance for me to get familiar with the Vellfire and have a good test of the car's capability. The road there consist of a highway that has many winding and sharp corner while the 2nd part is a highway with many straights.

First of all, the Vellfire is the widest and tallest car I have driven to date. It does require a lot of work to get used to it especially in tight underground parking and when maneuvering during parking. Luckily there are sonar sensors around the front and rear bumper along with cameras in the front and rear that helps with the parking. The Vellfire is very heavy becaue of its size and technology on board and the version that I have is the 2.4l variant instead of the 3.5l V6. This contribute to a slow acceleration and lower torque, making it sluggish when pulling away from a complete stop. It is equipped with a 7 speed auto transmission for better fuel consumption and it changes gear quite smoothly in manual mode compared to other cars I have driven before.

During the first part of the trip, the winding roads and sharp corner was difficult for the Vellfire to handle. The high height of the car makes the car highly unstable during those corner and there was high body roll for the passengers especially for those in the third row. The ride of the Vellfire is also very bumpy (due to lowered sports spring) making it even more wobbly when attacking the corners. I had to engage in manual mode and constantly shift between the 5th and 6th gear for better grip during corners.  It is fun and it keeps me awake but nevertheless it makes me feel that this car is not meant for roads like these. I would have more fun with my Celica here.

The second part of the trip were long straight highways. Here I could test the top speed of the Vellfire. The Vellfire easily could reach high speeds on the straights when there are not much car on the road. I went up to 170 km/h easily and not much engine grunt could be heard proving it is a well made car. However, the sport spring is making it bumpy when the road is slightly uneven. One might wake up from a deep sleep when that happens. While I was at Kuantan, it was difficult to catch up to my other 2 friends driving a Perodua Myvi 1.3l and a Nissan Murano 3.5 V6. It would seem normal to not able to catch up with the Murano but not likely with the Myvi. This was due to the difference in weight and the bumpy ride making me unable to drive at high speed.

Overall, the comfort of this car for the passengers is at a luxurious and high level but for the driver it would take someone with high sensitivity especially with body roll to drive this car properly without giving the passengers discomfort. On the way back, I was so sleepy so I let my friend drove the Vellfire and although I could easily fall asleep, not much sleep was attained because every corner he takes woke me up making me feel like I was on a roller coaster. Obviously, he drives with no concern of body roll or the comfort of its passenger. I guess you had to be trained to drive it well. Even my dad with supposedly 30 over years of driving experience manage to dent the front bumper of the Vellfire because it was too low and wide to see. Currently, the Vellfire is away for repair and replacement of the sport spring to the original ones. I hope the ride could be more stable with the original springs.

Leaking

One day while I was driving some distance, the temperature meter in my meter cluster went higher than usual even reaching the maximum but would fluctuate. In my 3 years of driving my Celica, even at high speed and long distances, the temperature would stay at the optimum level. This is why I was so surprised and dumbfounded as to what has happen. While I was waiting for my friend, I pop the bonnet to do a small check. I was thinking of finding some burnt leaves or something blocking the vents and holes on my front bumper. The fans are working and I could not see anything out of order.

I thought of other reasons that could contribute to this increase in heat. These includes faulty radiator, cooler and liquids that help cool the car. At home, I popped the bonnet once more to do a more thorough check. I started to notice that the coolant tank or reservoir is empty. So I filled it up with water to ensure the whole tank is filled. Just when I thought I found the source and solution of heating problem. However, as soon as 30 minutes after driving the same incident happened. It is as if the water did not helped at all. I checked the tank everyday after I drove and the tank would be as dry as the dessert. It has to be a leak but I do not see piles of water on the ground where I park.

I happened to go for a trip one weekend. Before I left, I filled the tank with water because I want to test whether is there a leak. After 2 days, the water level was as I left it. I was sure that there is no leak because if there is a leak, it would be all gone when I reach home. I kept driving the car with filling water before every drive until I was free to send my car for repair. Finally, the source of the leak was found located under the air filter box. The radiator side plastic cover inlet broke and water was leaking from there. According to my mechanic, I was lucky that the box was sort of holding the pipe together which is why there were no signs of a leak and the Celica could still be driven. 

I had to leave the car overnight in order for my mechanic to remove the radiator to send for repair. The faulty plastic cover is replaced with a new unit and sprayed black. Since all the water and coolant from the tank was leaked, it is time to pour in some coolant. Usually it is a mixture of coolant and water in the tank. The Honda coolant that is blue in color was chosen by my mechanic and it took quite some time to ensure the radiator has enough water to fill the whole radiator for cooling purposes. After this, the car seem faster and to a surprise, some time it is cooler than it should be. I wonder is the coolant used too cool ? So far, it is working fine and what I learned from this is to make sure to check your coolant tank once in a while to ensure your car do not overheat. Do take note on this.