DOWNTOWN FUNK

With standout styling, the Veloster does sporty, slowly THE EXPERTS SAY

Two doors on one side, one on the other. It’s quirky but the Hyundai Veloster’s asymmetric styling means there’s a kerb-side door for rear passengers and the driver gets the purity of two-door coupe styling on the opposing side. Call it genius, call it daft but until Ford’s Mustang arrived the Veloster was often the country’s best-selling sports car. The sales tally since 2012 exceeds 18,000.

With four usable seats and a decent size boot, it had the practicality of an everyday hatchback and was one of the cheapest sports cars you could buy.

The Mazda MX-5, Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ are more in the sporty roadster or coupe mould but the Veloster trumped them as a viable daily driver.

A new Veloster is to go on sale later this year. Meanwhile, the used market is the only place to find one today.

HYUNDAI VELOSTER 2012-17

PRICE NEW $23,990-$33,150 ENGINES 1.6-litre 4-cyl, 103kW/166Nm; 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo, 150kW/265Nm SAFETY 5 stars

TRANSMISSION 6-speed man, 6-speed auto, 6 or 7-speed double-clutch auto; FWD THIRST 6.4L-7.6L/100km The Veloster’s asymmetric styling polarised opinion when it arrived seven years ago. It looked like a coupe from the road and a conventional five-door hatch from the footpath.

By 2017 the importer sold more than 18,000 examples of the first-generation Veloster. Among used listings, half are turbo versions and more than 60 per cent are automatics. Tracking down an SR Turbo + can be hard as it accounts for just a fraction of listings.

For 2012, the base manual Veloster ($23,990 new) is valued at $12,600. The flagship Veloster + with dual-clutch transmission ($29,990 new) is worth $15,750.

For 2017, the base Veloster ($29,590 new) is $23,550 and the range-topping SR Turbo ($33,150 new) is $26,850.

The front-wheel drive Veloster’s rivals are rear-drivers: the Toyota 86, Subaru BRZ and Mazda MX-5. For 2012, the Veloster retains value better than the previous series MX-5 and is close behind the 86 and BRZ.

For 2017, the Hyundai isn’t valued as highly as the recent MX-5 and the 86 and BRZ remain well ahead. Carefully maintained Turbo models from 2017 are attractively priced.