WOW!! All this for under $16K? This car will turn more heads than a Ferrari or a Porsche costing about 10 times as much... It's a really stylish, fun car to drive. This is coming from a young guy (that'll be me :)) who likes big, floating, "old-man" American cars like Buick and Cadillac.
OPINION ABOUT HYUNDAI IN GENERAL
Since I had an interest in cars since I was a kid, I like to read about as many things related to cars as I can. So for people like me, let me offer a little background on Hyundai in general. Americans first saw Hyundai in 1988 (the dreaded Excel, which was knows as "Pony" in Korea at the time), and it had only one thing going for it: the price. It was cheap, cheaper than Japanese economy cars, and that was about it. It was low quality, had a lot of problems, and it was generally a nightmare for Hyundai and they basically made a BIG MISTAKE that they are still trying to recover to this day: their image and reputation.
In Korea, it's a different story. Hyundai is the biggest car maker in Korea and also the one that makes the best, highest quality, most reliable cars. Their top-of-the-line luxury cars (the Grandeur V6, and now, the Dynasty and Equus: see photos of them here on Hyundai's Korean website: http://www.hmc.co.kr/kor/cybermall/cm-subindex0101.htm) sell very well because they are comfortable, reliable, luxurious cars. My uncle still drives a Grandeur that's more than 10 years old and it's one of the most reliable cars I've seen. In comparison, it's like what Lexus and Infinitis and Acura are in Japan (well, actually Toyota, Nissan, and Honda). But because of Hyundai's management mistake of exporting their low-end models to the US first, they'll never be able to export their high-end cars, unless they have good marketing savvy and export them under a different name (like the Japanese car makers). But one thing they're trying to do to change their soiled image is offering an unbelievable 10-year warranty and encouraging people to drive Hyundai cars and see for themselves how much Hyundai has changed. Their 2001 offering of the XG300 and Santa Fe SUV is a step in the right direction.
My family never doubted Hyundai's quality, since we've been to Korea many times and know they are the best Korean cars. My sister wanted a new car, and she was set on a Hyundai from day one. She considered the Elantra, but chose the Tiburon for $2000 more: "Why not get a sporty car while I'm still young?"
DEALER: 0
I don't want to go in detail about our dealer, but he gets zero points from me: M** C** from Millenium Superstore in Hempstead, New York (Long Island). The usual car dealer jokes and stereotypes apply here: false promises and lies ("Yes, I've tinted the windows"), slow service ("We couldn't do the paint touch up today, come back another time and leave it with us for TWO DAYS" [there were two scratches on the body about 10 inches long]), aggressive finance department trying to sell you things you don't need, etc... Not recommended. We should have ordered it online as we were going to do, but my sister wanted the car right away, and the online dealers (CarOrder.com and DriveOff.com) said 3-4 weeks. The car, however is a dream:
EXTERIOR: 9
The styling is very bold. You'll either love it or hate it. It's the most curvy car on the road today: the sides have a lot of folds that extends to the hood where the pair of two round headlights meet, which bulge out above the hood and looks great. (The headlights remind me of those on the Acura Integra, Jaguar S-Type, or Mercedes E-Class, but much more "jazzed up.") The big lights in the back is a redesign from the previous year (1999). The 5-spoke star alloy wheels are stylish and the color (we got Jazz Orange) is nice and metallic: It's actually more of a red than orange: you have to see it for yourself. One downside about the wheels is that the car looks like it's designed to accomodate a much larger and wider tire/wheel combo (maybe a 17" x 8"). The stock wheels/tires (15") look a bit small and thin for the body, as it is a bit "indented/pushed into the tire well."
The quad projector-beam headlights are very bright and like the Xenon lights found on luxury cars like Lexus and BMW, it's got a slight blue hue and is "ultra-white" and bright. The side mirrors are large, and the trunk is actually a hatchback-type: the entire rear window/trunk lifts.
Couple gripes about the trunk: when you pull the trunk release lever, the truck opens about 1 inch, and you have to lift the thing up yourself (it's hydraulic). I'm used to having the whole thing just pop right open, but maybe on hatchbacks they don't (to prevent you from hitting something and breaking the back window?). Also, you have to close the trunk with a lot of force, otherwise you'll leave it about 1/2 inch open and the "trunk open" light will flash. Also, there is no handle/lever to open the trunk, so you have to get your fingers into the 1-inch gap to lift it open. A little ergonomic flaw on Hyundai's part that I hope they fix in later models.
INTERIOR: 9
Styling in the interior is just as bold. It feels like an airplane cockpit: the black dash with silver accents. The climate control knobs are rubberized, big, and very user-friendly. Everything is within reach and easy to see. The cruise control on/off button is misplaced: it's on the dash while the control itself is on the steering wheel column. (I'm used to GM-style cruise control that has it all on the turn signal bar). You sit fairly low in this car and the seats are comfortable: not too soft and not too hard, and contoured to fit your like a glove. They are "sports seats" which are raised/curved inwards on the sides to support your thighs and back. They are cloth, but the material and stitching is of much better quality than all the cloth seats I've sat in comparable economy cars and cars in this price range. The little wavy pattern (dark gray on black) on the cloth is subtle and nicely done, I think.
The back seat of a sports coupe isn't meant for passengers on a regular basis. That being said, it could probably fit two kids, but that's about it. Even short people like me will have their heads barely miss the rear window. And your scalp will get sunburned too, because the rear window extends into the rear seat like that (it's a hatchback). The rear seats fold down (split 60/40) which is a very nice feature unheard of in a sports coupe!
However, one annoyance is that the front seats do not have "memory" when you fold them down to allow people to access the back seat-- they do not return to the original position and you have to redo your back angle settings. For comparison, Honda Civic coupes also lack this feature while Mitsubishi coupes come with "memory" seats.
The trunk is spacious, and you can fit quite a load there. The doors close with a very confident "thud" found on large American cars. I was very impressed. The door handles are designed very well and ergonomic: It's a "pull" type of handle: better than "lift" types.
The sound system is actually pretty decent. There are 4 large speakers and the bass response is good. As soon as my sister got the car, I put in a Sony CD in-dash CD player (installation was very easy: got the Crutchfield kit) and the sound is clear. I might not have to replace the factory speakers at this rate!
Visibility is a bit of a weakness here. Although it has large side mirrors, I sit fairly low in this car and the blind spots are hard to check because of the rather small rear side windows. And although the rear window is large, it has a slight upward slope (like most recent model cars) which requires me to stretch my neck up a bit to be able to see the end of the trunk/spoiler while backing up. I'm a bit more anal about visibility than most folks, so perhaps these things won't bother you.
ENGINE: 9
The Tiburon has the exact same 140hp 4-cylinder engine found in the Elantra. But the "sound" is different because the Tiburon has a nice muffler/exhaust (a big single exhaust that looks very stylish like a custom aftermarket exhaust) and gives a nice low "vrooom" sound. I never thought I'd like the sound of a 4-cylinder engine, but this hits the right note for me. It's fairly quiet for a 4-cylinder engine when you are driving it gently. And when accelerating, it is quick and responsive, and it starts to make a nice "low" revving sound at around 3500rpm and above. It's not exactly a 6, 8, or 12-cylinder sound, but like I said, nice for a 4-cylinder. My sister got this with automatic transmission (she can't drive stick), but if I were to get this, I would definitely get stick. The auto shifting is very smooth, however, even under lead-foot acceleration, with no "jerky" shifts. But I wish it would let me rev past 4500rpm without shifting up to the next gear...
RIDE/HANDLING: 7
Before driving this car, I was not used to sports cars and sports sedans with tight suspensions. That being said, the Tiburon has a sporty ride: you feel the road, and it doesn't really "float" like big American cars do (my type of car). It's not that jerky though: on the highway, it's pretty smooth and stable. The handling is great, however. I can turn corners on this thing at a decent speed without feeling like I'm gonna roll over or the tires are gonna screech. The other day, I did 35mph on a 90 degree corner while it was raining (wet asphalt) and the Tiburon did not even complain. The sport seats (with side bolsters) kept me well planted on that cornering move. By the way, Porsche helped in developing and tuning the suspension on this car, and that was research money well spent, Hyundai.
I think one way to describe the ride of this car is that it is very fun to drive. I always come out smiling after driving this thing. My sister says the same thing-- she enjoys getting behind the wheel. That's the subjective part about the "ride" but I think it says a lot...
The stock tires on this car are high quality Michelin XGT V4, 195/55R15, Treadwear 220, Temp A, Traction A, V-Rated. They are performance tires, but is an M+S so it can also be good in all seasons. ( Epinions on these tires are here:
http://www.epinions.com/auto-Tires-All-Michelin_XGT_V4 ). I was actually surprised that Hyundai put Michelins on this car (they also put Michelins on the Sonata and XG300). Most Korean carmakers just slap on some Hangook tires or something else less well-known, so I was pleased.
SAFETY: 8
Dual front airbags are on this car, and we didn't get the ABS option. It has 4 disc-brakes all around (front = big, ventilated discs), and braking is very responsive and quick: what you'd expect in a sports coupe. With so many dangerous, excessively large cars (SUVs) on suburban Long Island, I don't feel extremely safe in the car, being low to the ground (you'll get crushed by those behemoths), but at least it has better handling and brakes than SUVs, so I can probably avoid accidents better in the first place...
VALUE: 10
You can't get another sports coupe for under $16,000 with this many options standard (A/C, power locks/windows, alloy wheels, cruise control, split folding rear seats) and with this great a warranty. It's so stylish too! Tiburon means "shark" in Spanish and it sells very well in Spanish-speaking countries and there is a huge aftermarket/modification market for boyracers in Spain and such who own the "Tibby."
Whenever we go driving in this car, EVERYONE looks at you, and wonder what kind of car it is. If you meet any other Tiburon owners, I bet you 100% that they will tell you the same thing: people are always looking at your car and asking you what it is: "Is it the new Lexus sports coupe?" "Is that a modified Mitsubishi Eclipse, or Acura Integra?" "What kind of car *IS* that????" We've had countless number of rich folks in their Porshe 911s, BMW M roadsters, Ferrari 348s, Lexus LS300s, Mercedes CLKs, etc. turn their heads our way and check out this car, thinking "wow, that car looks great! what is it?" and meanwhile, we're just saying to ourselves, "suckers, we paid so much less for this than your overpriced car which you'll probably never take to the race track anyway...!" and drive away. :)
---UPDATES---
9/29/2000 (~1 month later): No problems mechanically with the car at all. We've loaded so much big items (boxes, furniture) and really appreciating the trunk space and fold-down seats. It is really a very fun car to drive and to ride in. Lots of looks from people on the road: everyone (gas attendant, valet parker, neighbors) asks what car it is, ALWAYS surprised that it's a Hyundai. The dealer is still a d*ck about his promised installations.
11/3/2000, 12/17/2000: Car is solid and reliable with no problems whatsoever. The front bucket seats are very firm yet comfortable, as I found out in two recent 2-hour road trips. I've been seeing a lot more Tiburons on the road lately, mostly driven by young men. The dealer: no go. I wish Hyundai would monitor their dealers more closely because they make great cars but the dealer experience will scare off any potential customers!
A recent trip to Korea made me realize a few things: The Korean models come with a rear windshield wiper and foglights are standard, but everything else seems identical. The price of Tiburons in Korea are much higher than that of the Elantra, unlike here in the U.S. It confirms that this car is a great value here in the U.S.
2/6/2001: Not surprisingly, the car is reliable as a rock. Not a single thing wrong with it, and it's enduring the New York snowstorms very well. When Spring comes around, I'm going to change the engine oil on it, which will be its first maintanance cost! No doubts about Hyundai quality from us!
For those in the market now (2001 models): Rear spoiler being standard and new wheels are the only differences between the year 2000 and 2001 models. That's good, because the car doesn't "look right" without the spoiler. I think the price has stayed the same, though. I recommend going through carsdirect.com to buy it online (to avoid the dealer experience), as they have the best deal on the car right now. Or be extra cautious with the Hyundai dealers if you plan on doing it the "old school" method and negotiate in person-- get everything in writing!!
