Hyundai. Yes, Hyundai.
Sounds deep, doesn't it? Almost Zenish. What does it mean? I have no idea. But then I seem to miss the point of many TV commercial catch-lines lately.Whatever happened to "See the USA in your Chevrolet?" When Dinah Shore sang that line it made sense, more sense than "like a rock." Why is it good for a car to be like a rock? Rocks aren't like cars. They just sit there. But they don't need to go into the shop very often.
Still with me? Good, good. Sometimes when I wax philosophical I'm afraid your attention might wane and you'll turn to the comics page to check out how Mallard Fillmore, the duck world's Jay Leno, is going to ridicule President Clinton this time.
Today we're going to talk about the Hyundai Tiburon. I know, we looked at the Hyundai Accent only a couple of weeks ago but I'm trying to get in a few reviews of cars that someone other than Warren Buffett can afford. With a base price under $15,000, the Tiburon qualifies.
The Tiburon (Spanish for shark) and the Accent are both small, three-door hatchback coupes, but the similarity ends there. The Accent wants to be like the Honda Civic, a no-nonsense little econocar, whereas the Tiburon wants to be like the Honda Prelude, a sports car with a back seat (useful only if your passengers are no taller than, oh, let's say, 5'6").
That's not to say that Hyundai is seriously competing against Honda. Honda is a world beater whereas Hyundai is just trying to stay in business, but the markets in which the two marques compete are similar.
In my review of the Accent last month I covered the problems that South Korea's Hyundai has had in distancing itself from the bad reputation the company earned with its Excel models of the 1980s and also how it is struggling to stay afloat at ground zero of the current Asian financial meltdown, so I won't plow that ground again.
But I was pleasantly surprised at how far Hyundai has come in reinventing itself. The Tiburon is a solid piece of work that seems well put together and is great fun to drive.
As always, in a car with sporting pretensions, power and handling are at a premium and the Tiburon doesn't disappoint. No, it's not a Porsche Boxster, but it can compete nicely with others in its class, such as the Pontiac Sunfire, Dodge Neon and Ford Escort ZX2.
For 1998, the standard engine for both the base model and the upscale FX model (my test car) is a 140-horsepower, 2.0-liter four cylinder "Beta" engine developed by Hyundai as a further attempt to get away from its former practice of buying technology from Mitsubishi and others.
The five-speed manual is a must for a sporty car like this (the automatic robs too much power) even though the shifter has rather long throws. Still, it's fun to play boy racer in this car because the gears perfectly match the engine, allowing the driver to accelerate smartly right on up to redline.
And look good while doing it. Sport coupes aren't worth the bother if they don't look the part and the Tiburon, while not breaking any new ground in the styling department, looks as good as, say, a Toyota Celica, particularly in my test car's "Solar Red" paint with black trim.
Fuel mileage for the Tiburon is rated at 22 mpg in city driving and 31 on the highway, making it a pretty economical (and stylish) commuter car.
Base price for the FX model is $14,899. A package that included air conditioning, cruise control, and cassette stereo added $1,583, while carpeted floor mats and mud guards added another $75 and $60, respectively. With delivery charge, the bottom line was $16,617, but I suspect there is some dickering room there.