Toyota Celica GT-S vs Hyundai Tiburon GT v6

[slyspyderspy]

Cant decide which to buy.. which sounds better?


2000 Toyota Celica GT-S - Black, 6 Speed, leather, sunroof, 180 horsepower, 2500 lbs curb weight, 80,000 miles, flawless condition, requires premium gas

$11,000

.............VS.............


2003 Hyundai Tiburon GT v6 - Blue, 5 speed, leather, sunroof, 170 horsepower, 3015 lbs curb weight, 40,000 miles, flawless condition,

$10,000

[NISSANSPDR]

If you want something dependable and that you can modify later, choose the Celica GT-S.

[drunken monkey]

if you're going to keep them stock, all reports point to the hyundai being the better car and the engine being much easier to live with than the more manic I4 in the celica.

arguably the better looking car too.

[slyspyderspy]

After test driving both consecutively today - and comparing their overall performance.


*drum rolls*


I have no idea!

The celica handles turns like no other, whereas the tibby's acceleration conquers all.

Upgrades... you bring a valid point. I'll have to research available upgrades for each vehicle, unmoddable car = no flippen fun !

[Dave1669]

I thought the Tiburon V6 came with a 6-speed manual as well, maybe not. Anyway, I would go with the Celica. Personally, I think it looks better. I also believe it handles better and is slightly faster despite it having a good bit less torque (mainly because of the weight).

[del]

that's a tough one. i'd probably opt for the tiburon. the things i dont like on the celica is it's extremely peaky engine (car drives like an echo unless you're already in the higher rpms), it can be fun but around town the lack of torque on the bottom end gets annoying. the premium gas thing is also a killer - dont' know where you live but premium here is at $3.50 a gallon. i think the tiburon has better looks and reasonable power.

also it can be easier and cheaper to make a car handle better than make a car faster. lowering springs and shock combo are reasonably affordable. add some sway bars and grippy tires. you should be able to do that for under a grand i would think. i could be wrong on that though.

[mason_RsX]

I think I would go with the Tib in this case

Performance wise you seem to really like the torque, and aren't looking for a high rev machine...in that case the Celica will torment you as you will have to make that engine scream to get desired performence

Suspension can be altered on the Tib, but it will be extremely difficult to make up for the extra weight it carries...

You'll get it a bit cheaper, with less miles, and you will enjoy it just as much

[TatII]

i also think the tiburon looks better. also if you really want to add more power to the car, they do make super charger kits for it. its fine unless you want to go crazy with it and make like 300+whp. but of course the celica GTS has a hard timing doing that well since it has a 11:1 compression ratio and a returnless fuel system.

[Hofmeister]

I'd take the Celica hands down.

To Quote Car and Driver after a comparison test in May 2002 between the Hyundai Tiburon GT-V6, Mitsu Eclipse GTS, Toyota Celica GT-S, Acura RSX, and VW New Beetle ....... "We'd like to report that we've found a $24,000 sports coupe for less than $20,000. But after 750 miles of evaluation, we think the Tiburon is priced about where it belongs." In the comparision the Tiburon got 4th place and the Celica tied for 2nd (the RSX won).

If you're concerned that the Celica uses premium gas you'll be reasured that it still costs less than the Tiburon. According to the EPA, a 2000 Celica GT-S 6-speed will cost $1808 a year for gas (premium). The Tiburon has an annual fuel cost of $1993. (http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm). The Celica gets 23 mpg city, 32 mpg highway. The Tiburon gets 19 mpg city, 26 mpg highway.

[Rand Race]

Tiburon. I shopped these cars when I was buying (RSX and Mini too) and the Tib was the easy final choice.

The Delta engine is underated and a bit stepped on which makes it easy to mod for some decent power. CAI, headers and exhaust make MUCHO gains. Celica's 2ZZ is already fairly tuned from the factory (Lotus got, what, 10 HP from cams, head and chip?).

The Celica is much nimbler though. Bigass front swaybar is a must for the Tiburon in the twisties unless you can left-foot brake really well.

Interior isn't even close. Celica seemed like typical cheap Toyota interior while the Tiburon still seems nice after three years of ownership.

I thought the Tiburon V6 came with a 6-speed manual as well, maybe not.

It did. I prefer the 5-speed though... torquey motor like that doesn't benefit so much from the shorter gear ratios. Plus (in 03 at least) you avoid the big spoiler which I don't think compliments the car. And, although not applicable here, you couldn't get a 6-speed V6 without the sunroof and I hate sunroofs.

[silentscreams85]

celica. hands down, you cant deny the quality build of Toyota. A co worker of mine bought a brand new tibby and hes had to replace that POS tranny 3 times ( he does not drive his car hard either) although the tibby definetly has the torque advantage, the celica is just a little quicker (according to modernracer.com) is about 400 lbs lighter, and imo is wayy sexier than the tibby. my 2 cents.
celica
Engine : 4 cylinder, DOHC, front engine FWD
Displacement : 1,796 cc
Valve : 16 valves, 4 valves per cylinder
Transmission : 6-spd manual, 4-spd Sportshift
Fuel economy : city - 23 mpg(manual and automatic)
highway - 32 mpg(manual), 30 mpg(automatic)
Suspension : F - Independent MacPherson strut
R - Independent double wishbones
Brakes : F - Vented discs
R - Solid discs
Horsepower : 180hp @ 7600 rpm
Torque : 130 lb-ft @ 6800 rpm
Redline : 7800 rpm
Top speed : 134 mph
0-60 mph : 7.2 sec.(manual)
0-¼ mile : 15.4 sec @ 91.6 mph
60-0 braking distance : 120 ft.
Curb Weight : 2500-2580 lbs

tiburon
Engine : V6, DOHC, front engine FWD
Displacement : 2,656 cc
Valve : 24 valves, 4 valves per cylinder
Transmission : 6-spd manual, 5-spd manual, 4-spd automanual
Fuel economy : city - 18-20 mpg
highway - 26 mpg

Suspension : F - Independent MacPherson strut
R - Independent MacPherson strut
Brakes : F - Vented discs
R - Solid discs
Horsepower : 170-172 hp @ 6000 rpm
Torque : 177-181 lb-ft @ 3800 rpm
Redline : 6500 rpm
Top speed : 137 mph
0-60 mph : 7.4 sec.(manual)
0-¼ mile : 15.6 sec @ 88.8 mph(manual)
60-0 braking distance : 122 ft
200 ft skidpad : 0.82 g
Curb Weight : 2969-3010 lbs

[slyspyderspy]

Anybody else here noticing a massive dilema here? What this debate seems to come down is, has Hyundai become more reputable over the years? Or, does Toyota still uphold its title alone. According to my mechanic who owns two Toyota's of his own, Hyundai takes the cake hands down.

Like I said though, the Celica GT-S handles beautifully... but it truly seems to lack any low end power and torque. While the tibby excels in the same area - also it comes fully equipped under warranty (amazingly our local toyota garage will service it...) plenty of torque, and debatably better styled too. The 7 speaker sound system will be sufficient and save me from blowing a grand on a new one. All that I noticed the Celica has over a Tiburon was debatably a better name, and better overall handling.

Just hate how far it must be revved to find any real potential..


Still a hard decision tho -
Perhaps another similar car might catch my interest and save me from making this decision final... Hmm...

[blakscorpion21]

easy decesion. celica. it is faster, handles better, gets better gas mileage, more reliable, looks better(opinion) although the new tiburon looks pretty good. the celica also has a better aftermarket. the only downside i see is the lack of torque, which can be avoided with the 6 speed. its acceleration is also underrated because ive seen a stock gt-s run a 14.7 in the quarter, almosta full second faster tyhan the tib. they made the redline too low at 8400ish and the magazinne drivers arent allowed to go over that. its a freaking yamaha engine, it still makes power at 9k. i think the choice here is obvious. maybe im biased. .

[del]

Originally Posted by blakscorpion21

easy decesion. celica. it is faster, handles better, gets better gas mileage, more reliable, looks better(opinion) although the new tiburon looks pretty good. the celica also has a better aftermarket. the only downside i see is the lack of torque, which can be avoided with the 6 speed. its acceleration is also underrated because ive seen a stock gt-s run a 14.7 in the quarter, almosta full second faster tyhan the tib. they made the redline too low at 8400ish and the magazinne drivers arent allowed to go over that. its a freaking yamaha engine, it still makes power at 9k. i think the choice here is obvious. maybe im biased. .

8400 redline too low? you're EXACTLY right, it's a yamaha engine, and redlines like that belong on motorcycles for good reason - coz of the lightweight nature of a bike. not for a car that needs torque to get moving without having to wind up the engine so much. there are some terrific cars with high redlines, the s2k, ferraris and bmw's, lotuses butthat kind of engine characteristic isn't everyone. most people ideally prefer to have power at their hands at any engine speed. running the car at high redline is a lot of fun. i've spent a lot of time at 7000+ on my buddy's S2k and it's a blast. not for around town everyday though. why do you think toyota lowered the redline on the most recent gen celica?

[blakscorpion21]

yea, it is a high redline lol but i was just making the point that the car still makes power at 9k and if you rev that high, which you easily can, you can pull of a significantly better time. and the good thing about all the high end power is that you can cruise around below 5k and get GREAT gas mileage but still have the option to wind it up when needed. i guess the decision is really up to whos buyin, while the celica is a better performance car the tib is a better dd(even though it gets worse gas mileage).