Just test drove a 2003 Tiburon

[JD_Spoon]

Disclaimer: These are just my opinions. Please not to flame too hard, I'm neither a professional writer nor car tester, just an interested individual with some imput to share.

Well, I've been in the market for a new car recently, so I've been testing a lot of cars lately. Most recently I tried out a 2002 SE-R Spec V and the 2001 Tiburon, both of which I found to be sufficient for my needs, but I decided to hang back and wait for the 2003 Tiburon to come out because I'd heard all the new and better stuff about them. So yesterday I go to check out the new shipment at the local dealer. Car was stickered at about $18,300 and had the first level sport package, cloth seats and six-speed manual. Listed fuel economy is 18/26, which shouldn't really surprise anyone considering the V6 upgrade, they suck up a lot more fuel.

The car looks sweet up close. I love the new lines, the dual exhaust, the wheels and the spoiler (thought the old one looked rather... well, lame). Engine compartment is kinda funky with a lot of trim covering all the stuff, but the basics seem pretty easy to get to. Actually, I have to confess I'm not real fond of the way they do it, but for people who don't care to tinker, it's not gonna matter except maybe for a little extra inconvenience getting to the battery.

Interior is a bit roomier than the 2001 models, although it still has only the vestigal back seat. (Hey, it's a sports coupe, whaddya expect?) Seats and trim were nice, and the instrument panel was well laid out with the controls easy to get to. Trunk release is in the door, which took me a moment to find, but seems pretty logically place after you know where it is. The Trunk is well laid out, with the subwoofer in the left corner to minimize the space you lose for it, which was a far better than the SE-R Spec V, which put the sub right behind one of the seats. While I'm talking about the sound system, I have to say this is one of the best stock systems I've seen in a car, let alone for a sub-$20k car. For those who aren't aware, the 2003 Tiburon uses a 360W Infiniti sound system with (I think) six speakers. Sound was clean all across the board, which saves me a lot of money since I won't have to rip it out and put in my own system. The only system that I felt sounded better was the $1200 optional 400W system in the Volvo C70, which is nearly a $40,000 car to begin with.

For the test drive, I took it onto the highway, and through a couple of residential areas, one with some very curvy roads. The V6 is pretty torquey, and it felt like it had a fairly wide powerband. The real problem I had with the 2003 Tiburon was that the sporty suspension and 17" tires didn't seem to improve the handling much at all, but it did improve my ability to feel every bump in the road. This may have been one of the roughest riding cars I've tried. I was incredibly disappointed with it, especially since I didn't feel there was any handling performance improvement to counteract. It felt like they had just stiffened the springs without any other changes. On the highway, things smoothed out and the six-speed tranny makes passing cars a breeze. The throw on the stick is short and crisp. I'm pretty sure I had the car going 90MPH+ at one point without even realizing it. It feels like it has a pretty good top end, but since I was just testing it, I couldn't quite justify flogging it that hard. The brakes are pretty crisp, nothing to complain about there. Reverse is engaged by pulling a slider up on the stick disengage the lock, a setup I've not seen since my days driving a Volvo 740, but it didn't take any real getting used to.

So, will I buy this car? Ultimately, no. My money is going for an Nissan SE-R Spec V, as this car meets my needs and wants better. The only real tradeoffs for it are the trunk space and the sedan body. The speed perfomance is about the same, and the handling felt much better on the SE-R.

However, if you already own a Tiburon and want to upgrade, or feel that a sports coupe is what you need, the 2003 Tiburon does have quite a bit to offer. The modifications Hyundai has made to the aspects of the car by and large make this quite worth the price of admission. It's got a racy, shark-like look, a strong engine, and a whompin' stereo system, all for under $20k. With Hyundai's huge warranty, it's already a serious challenge to the import sport coupe crowd, and with some suspension refinements, it could blow them away.

Pros

* Sharp, sporty look, good asthetics inside and out
* Torquey V6 with 40hp more than previous model
* 360W speaker system
* Roomier interior

Cons

* Lower fuel economy
* No real gains from suspension tuning
* Rough ride on city streets


John David Spoon

[gHeTtOAZNbOi206]

why dont you like this car man??? i think its tyte hahah i havent driven it yet but since you were talking about how the suspension was bad... mabe people can buy new ones to replace it. oh well just a thought

[JD_Spoon]

Originally posted by gHeTtOAZNbOi206
why dont you like this car man??? i think its tyte hahah i havent driven it yet but since you were talking about how the suspension was bad... mabe people can buy new ones to replace it. oh well just a thought

Well, I thought I was pretty clear in what I did and didn't like about it.

As for the aftermarket stuff, I'm sure there will be plenty of stuff for it, but my thought was, why spend the same amount of money on a car as you would for one that has similar performance but better handling and then spend the extra to get the handling as good as the other car? I guess if you're primarily concerned with how the car looks this would work fine, since I still think this is one of the best looking sports coupes out there. I'm a bit more concerned with the overall value, and I didn't enjoy getting my teeth rattled on roads that my old beater Escort handles with barely a bump.

My $0.02 (minus federal witholdings)

John David Spoon