In our current generation people are looking for cars with better fuel mileage without taking the fun out of driving. Cars such as the Honda CR-Z were made to fill the needs of that particular group. The CR-Z is a Hybrid with 122HP with an MPG rating of 37MPG on the highway. Its not a car that is particularly fast, nor is it a car with the best MPG for a hybrid. The power train option is 6 speed manual or the 1 speed CVT. If you want sportiness CVT is not your friend since there is no real gear switching.
What if there was a gas powered car that gave 40MPG with 138HP. Will you drive that? That is more power per-gallon then a Corolla or a Civic. What about a car with 6 speed automatic with dual clutch system for quick gear switching? What about a car with 7inch touch-screen display as a standard option? It is capable of streaming Pandora internet radio, virtual CD downloading, video playback and can hook your Xbox up (yes really)!
The car also comes with convenience features found in the more expensive vehicles such as when the car alarm goes off you will be notified via text message. You can share your locations with Facebook on the road. Texting while driving is dangerous, so this car has Voice to Text so you can keep your eyes on the road. If you car every gets stolen the car has GPS tacking to pin point the location of your car. Of course it has the standard features like live traffic, POI, gas station location with gas prices, restaurant rating, weather, etc…
This car features Blue Link, which rivals features of On Star. You can remote door lock/unlock, remote car start, and remote horn and lights. Blue Link also offer automatic crash notification.
Ever wonder what the valet parking guys do after you hand over the keys? With this car if the valet parking guys drive your car for more then the preset distance, you will be notified instantly.
The car is a 3 door coupe. 1 door on the driver side and 2 on the passenger side. The 3rd door can be opened even though the front is not opened. But the door handles are hidden from view to give it that 2 door look. Its having a coupe without the hassle of getting in and out of the car.
And finally something great for parents, but horrible for teens, safeguard features of the car. If your teen is speeding past the limit you put on the car, you will be notified by email, text message or a phone call. You can even get monthly reports on different driving patterns on the vehicle. Set up curfews on when the car on when can be operated. If the moves outside the time you have set, you will get notified. Even if the car goes out of the area you have preset, car will notify you.
With all these features how much are you willing to pay? $35,000? $25,000? The CR-Z without half these features start at $20,000. If the car starts under $20,000 will you drive it? Pricing is not yet announced but it is expected to be under $20k. So what is this car? It’s a Hyundai (like Sunday) newly announced 2012 Veloster. This Hyundai has more room, more features, and most importantly will cost less then a CR-Z.
-Young N