2012 Hyundai Veloster Tapped as Urban Car of the Year

The Urban Car of the Year award is going to be presented on the eve of the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, which is a triumphant homecoming of sorts for the Veloster, which was introduced at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show. Besides, you can't get much more urban than Detroit.

“The Urban Vehicles of the Year” awards are selected by a panel of independent automotive journalists who include Camilo Alfaro of Auto Proyecto, freelance reviewer Mary Chapman, Arv Voss of Auto Impressions, and Frank Washington of AboutThatCar.com. They spent several months evaluating the most stylish, practical and attainable vehicles annually. After driving dozens of cars and trucks in a variety of North American urban settings, the panel selected Veloster as a standout performer in the 2012 class.

At least the 2012 Veloster is onsale now. Earlier today, Decisive Magazine announced that the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid had won the Urban Green Car of the Year award. That car doesn't go on sale until next year. By the way, the folks at Decisive might want to have a little talk with the writers at CleanMPG.com who declared, "2012 Prius PHEV Wins Obscure Urban Green Vehicle Award." Not sure why CleanMPG.com felt it had to disrespect the Urban Vehicle Awards.

“The Hyundai Veloster is a combination of a hip and edgy image, along with exceptional value to price and outstanding fuel economy that is perfectly suited for urban drivers,” said Lyndon Conrad Bell, Decisive magazine’s editor-in-chief. “Hyundai’s choice to make its halo car an entry-level model excites us even more. With Veloster, Hyundai definitely proves that high style and reasonable pricing absolutely can go together.”

The Urban Vehicles of the Year winners and finalists will be honored at the 16th Annual Urban Wheel Awards (UWA) on Sunday, January 8, 2012, the MotorCity Casino Hotel’s Sound Board Theater in Detroit, Michigan. The 16th Annual Urban Wheel Awards, hosted by the Emerging Diversity Education Fund (EDEF) and Decisive Media, has been named the Official Multicultural Event of the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) by the 2012 NAIAS Executive Committee.

Hyundai’s all-new 2012 Veloster delivers innovation to the compact coupe segment with standard features such as a unique third door for easy rear-seat access, Hyundai’s Blue Link telematics system, Pandora Internet radio, seven-inch touch-screen display, and a new 1.6-liter Gasoline-Direct-Injected (GDI) four-cylinder engine and six-speed transmission. GDI technology helps deliver highway fuel economy of 40 mpg, lower emissions and higher reliability. With a starting price of $17,300 (plus freight), Veloster adds great value to its compelling list attributes.

“Conceived to attract new, youthful drivers to the Hyundai brand, Veloster stands out from the crowd with a stylish yet functional design that combines the best characteristics of both a coupe and hatchback,” said Scott Margason, director, Product Planning, Hyundai Motor America. “The unique personality of the car is attracting many different types of shoppers and we’re honored that the panel of experts with Decisive magazine felt it met the needs of urban drivers so well.”

For those keeping score at home, the Urban Truck of the Year award went to the Range Rover Evoque, which is just cleaning up on the awards front. Yesterday it was named the Motor Trend Sport Utility Vehicle of the Year largely because it's inexpensive, by Range Rover standards, and it has the best fuel economy ever for a Range Rover. Decisive did not explain in its official press release why it selected the Evoque for the honor.