First Drive: 2003 Hyundai Tiburon

[NFS4]

http://www.edmunds.com/reviews/roadtests/firstdrive/49220/article.html

 

[RossMAN]

Where's wyst been lately?

 

[BigSmooth]

What, no comment?

Although I will never buy another Hyundai after owning an '89 Sonata which was absolute junk, they have really come a long way and I must admit that the new Tiburon is actually a pretty nice-looking car (that's what happens when you copy Ferrari). Unfortunately, I think the V6 in the Tib is the same one that has had some problems in the Santa Fe.

 

[Jzero]

They put a V6 with a 6-speed in a hyundai?!
This is funny...my mom was at work one day and one of her coworkers came in and was like "Hey! My son just bought this brand new expensive sports car!"
My mom doesn't know TOO too much about cars.
She went out to see it and walked right past it. The guy points to his son's Tiburon and was like "here it is!"
My mom was nice at the time but came home asked me:
"Aren't those Tiburons cheaper than the Ford Escort we bought?"
Probably....and not...not by much. If he was trying to show off his son's affluence, he picked the wrong car to do it with

 

[Vegito]

once kia and daewoo came in, it bump the hyundai up a little..

I think kia is in the state that hyundai was in 10 years ago...

 

[Scarpozzi]

I personally wouldn't buy any of those, but I do hear that the Daewoo's have engines that are made in the same plant as mercedes... I don't know how true that is, but I'd say they're pretty high quality even though they're Korean built. The Hyundai and the Kias and the Daewoos may be fine automobiles, but they'll have to prove it in the next 10 years. Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi, and Mazda already have a lot of name recognition among their customer bases...

 

[aphex]

Much better than the current model, but i still wouldnt want one

 

[ivol]

Hyundais Rock now. I debated for a long time on whether or not to get my 2001 Elantra and finally went for it. It was cheap and I knew I was going to drive the sh!t out of it. So I did'nt want to get an expensive car because by the time I was done with it it would be worth ten bucks. That was in April. Now I have about 26K miles on it and have'nt had not one problem. Well actually, last night I got a flat tire at about 11:30. I had to pull over in the ghetto. But I whipped out my Hyundai roadside assistance and they came and changed my tire within a half hour, FREE. I would HIGHLY recommend Hyundai to anyone who is looking for a great transportation car. The 2003 Tiburon looks great. My fiance actually wants to get one. I don't think I would have a problem with her getting one. I think it will be reliable. I'm sure it's not the fastest car ever. But for the price I'm sure you'll get more than if you buy a celica or something.

 

[mrCide]

kind of looks like my weekend car.

I prefer something more luxery like my weekday car.

Sorry about the open trunk, my wife, Britney (yes, Spears) was taking my groceries in.

 

[Thump553]

Interesting article. I bought a used Hyundai for my kid's car a few years back, it was absurdly inexpensive. Of course it totally fell apart at 80k miles or so-I mean every aspect of the car was worn out-even the (exterior) rear view mirrors fell out.

I have heard they have improved quality enormously, maybe someday I will be foolish enough to get one (hey, with kids in college, if I need a new car, this will be the top end of my possibilities).

One question for you car fans. I've been driving standard for years, but never heard of a six speed in a car. What is the possible advantage of one more gear-is it an ultra overdrive or do they just gate the gears closer together (which seems kinda silly to me). I learned to drive on a farm tractor with something like 21 forward gears, but have no desire to repeat that driving experience.

 

[loup garou]

I saw a kid driving one of those around the other day. The redesign really looks good, but the kid obviously thought that the looks = performance. Sucker kept on pulling up next to everyone on the road (even old ladies ) and dropping it into neutral and revving it up.