On tight, two-lane roads, the Tiburon dances through turns, with quick steering response and so lid suspension control. On city streets, formerly unnoticed irregularities become significant thuds.īut you have to admire engineers who chose handling over comfort for this sports coupe. On the freeway, the tire noise gets annoying. Handling is excellent, but the tradeoff is a stiff ride and tires that rumble and thump. There’s also an available four-speed automatic.Īlthough the Tiburon is front-wheel drive, the torque-steer effect is negligible, and understeer is well-controlled. The optional six-speed – a five-speed is standard – shifts nicely, and the close gear ratios help keep the engine’s power band right in its sweet spot. That certainly would be adequate, but there’s no way the strong, flexible V-6 should be passed up, considering the performance edge it represents. The base model Tiburon still soldiers on with a 140-horse four cylinder, with the base price around $16,000. Or the 2.7 liter V-6 from the Santa Fe and Sonata, still putting out 181 horsepower but delivering more spark in this lighter vehicle. Part of the budget equation is Hyundai’s reliance on existing components, such as the platform from the Sonata, which was tweaked by suspension engineers for greater response. It’s really an object lesson on how much car can be offered for how little. Other than that glitch, I was pretty well impressed with the Tiburon. Nothing that a dollop of epoxy wouldn’t fix, but it made me question how the rest of the car was put together. It kept coming loose and spinning around, even coming off in my hand. That was the shift knob, a two-piece assembly held together by what seemed like a sheet-metal screw. Hyundai seems to have its quality problems under control, but one thing had me wondering. In the past couple of years, Hyundai has moved up into the big leagues, with decent products and booming sales.įrom the highly successful Santa Fe sport utility vehicle, the Sonata family sedan, XG350 luxury sedan and now Tiburon, Hyundai keeps raising its standards and undercutting the competition. Tiburon continues Hyundai’s march from obscurity, when it was building lumpish, unremarkable economy cars with a sour reputation for falling apart. In this price range, most automakers flounder with low-end base models that often offer little more than image, while Hyundai brings in a satisfying performer with few complaints. In the Tiburon GT V6, there’s a hot little V-6 engine with a sweetly aggressive exhaust note, an optional six-speed transmission, handling that is lithe and balanced, and a well-equipped interior with supportive seats and an excellent stereo.Īll for $18,000. Tiburon for 2003 has been significantly changed and upgraded from a bland little cruiser to a fast and attractive craft that performs as good as it looks. Hyundai takes another giant step forward with its quick, enjoyable Tiburon sports coupe.
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