2007 Hyundai Tiburon

Editor: Sam Moses
Well-equipped sport coupe for $17,000.

Walk Around

The Hyundai Tiburon has nice, rakish lines. From the side or three-quarters rear profile, it looks like it should start rolling off downhill. A crease on each side extends precipitously, from above the rear tire and slightly higher than the door handle, to a point on the front fascia below the headlamp. A crevice down by the rocker panel accentuates the slope of the crease. It's a lot of styling work to make the car look forward-leaning, but in the end it works.

The 17-inch alloy wheels on the SE are handsome, a sort of starburst 12-spoke pattern; imagine six headless and armless gingerbread men, joined in a circle at the neck.

The body has undergone a makeover: front and rear fascia, headlights, taillights, hood, front fenders and twin exhaust tips are all new. The redesigned nose and the tail don't seem so sleek, however; they're rounded and nubile. The Tiburon's butt isn't as big as that of the Mitsubishi Eclipse, and the rounded trapezoidal tail lamps are graceful; the spoiler on the SE is a nice touch, high but not too high. But take away the spoiler on the other three models, and there isn't much left to draw the eyes.

From head-on, the Tiburon misses the opportunity for something dramatic. Above the bumper there's one thin slit that might add mystery but doesn't demand a second glance. The horizontal slats in the wide air intake under the front bumper are reminiscent of a 2001 Chrysler Concorde, which itself copies the look of some Ferrari grilles. A lot has been lost in the double translation to the Tiburon.

Interior

The seats are comfortable and well bolstered, with lumbar and butt support, leather with nice cloth inserts. The three spokes of the leather-wrapped steering wheel are fairly fat, but the leather feels nice in your hands. The instruments are backlit in cool blue. The speedometer is on the left and tach on the right, with temperature and fuel between them, plus a digital display for the odometer and average speed. The gunmetal accents on the panel look nice.

The center stack is squarish, with two big round climate vents over smaller ones on top of the dash; they handle the strong air conditioning. The usual instruments run down the center, with reasonable controls without bran-teasing challenges to figure out. There are two cupholders, a small glovebox, door pockets and a small single-chamber console between the seats. Our SE had the sunroof and we opened it to the Pacific sky, which came through with a loud whoosh. There's an optional wind deflector for the sunroof, but our test model didn't have it.

The rear seats offer 29.9 inches of legroom, which isn't much but isn't bad for a two-plus-two coupe. The Eclipse has 29.2 inches and the RX-8 only 23 inches, although the RX-8 does have those small rear doors that help rear passengers enter and exit. But the RX-8 only has 7.6 cubic feet of trunk space, about half as much as the Tiburon and Eclipse.

We had a couple of problems, namely our right toe making contact with some low-hanging thing under the dash, every time we moved our right foot from the brake to the throttle. And there's a horrendous blind spot behind the right C-pillar, when you look over your shoulder in that direction.