Fresh Hyundai Veloster revealed

The covers have finally been whipped off the 2015 Hyundai Veloster after months of spy photo teasers and an unfortunate leak, revealing minor visual changes and the adoption of a seven-speed auto and torque vectoring for the Turbo SR variant.

Due on sale in Australia by mid-year, the facelifted Veloster made its global premiere at the 2015 Chicago motor show last week, presenting virtually undetectable visual changes including tweaks to the bonnet, grille and fog light nacelles. The rest of the car appears unchanged.

Entry-level non-turbo models get a new 17-inch alloy wheel design, and a handful of new interior items including a wider array of colour schemes and more advanced infotainment and smart phone streaming systems.

The Veloster Turbo, dubbed Turbo SR in Australia, is offered with Hyundai's dual-clutch seven-speed automatic transmission for the first time, along with new 18-inch alloy rims fitted with 10mm wider 225/40 aspect ratio Kumho Solus tyres.

Hyundai's 2015 Veloster Turbo models also get "sportier front seats with more aggressive bolstering" which together with the interior décor can be had with orange accents. An updated "electroluminescent gauge cluster" is fitted, as are red seat belts.

Engine changes have not been made to the Veloster, which means the entry-level 1.6-litre four-cylinder GDi petrol model continues with its 103kW/166Nm, and the turbo 1.6-litre T-GDi turbo gets 150kW/265Nm – although in the US market the latter represents a slight increase in output.

Hyundai Australia spokesman Guido Schenken previously told motoring.com.au that pricing and specification levels "not all of the changes and features shown on the US model will necessarily feature on the Australian update." A US-only Rally Edition version was also shown in Chicago.

Pricing for the Veloster in Australia currently starts at $24,990 and tops out at $35,290. The car was Australia's second best-selling vehicle in the 'Sports' car category in 2014, with 3405 sales accounting for 23 per cent of the segment – second only to the Toyota 86, which found 4257 homes and a 28.7 per cent share.

The mild update Hyundai has carried out on the front-drive Veloster comes after news that many European markets have axed the Veloster, leading to speculation the Veloster may not survive beyond this facelift.

Hyundai recently also revealed a facelifted i40 and is expected to show a facelifted version of the i30 at next month's Geneva show. All three revised models are due here in the first half of this year.

However, the Korean car-maker is quiet on its second-generation Genesis Coupe, a more powerful rear-drive two-door that could replace the Veloster as its headline sports car in this country.