2003 Hyundai Tiburon V6 from North America

Summary:

A high performance value

Faults:

Cabin noise can be a little loud at times.

General Comments:

This car is a screamer. It handles great and gets lots of looks. I recently read a comment concerning this vehicle and highly disagree. The person bought a 4 cylinder instead of the V6. I have a V6 and am completely happy with every aspect of the car. it attracts a lot of attention and the interior is something else. I enjoy driving it more than my wife's Lexus IS300. feels extremely sporty and recommend it to anyone. The only negative I could report is the cabin noise (at times) is loud and the hatchback seems a little heavy when lifted. Otherwise, the car is great value and handles great. I give it a 8.5 out of 10 on a firm rating. Oh, you will get a lot of offers to race at red lights, if you know what I mean. My shark (Tiburon) has completely embarrassed a lot of Honda-, and other wanna be sports cars.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th September, 2002

29th May 2003, 13:06

To whomever made the last comment on the Preludes and the Civic Si's would smoke the Tiburon: I'm sorry man, but you are way wrong! My older brother has a 97 Prelude SH, which is the top Prelude they make - H-22 motor and V-Tech. And, he had a cold air intake and exhaust and my `03 Tiburon was bone stock. And my car smoked him. Last week I raced a `97 Talon with a turbo, and I pulled hard on that also. So what I am trying to say is, if you don't know much about a car, you shouldn't dis on it. Also the only car that has beaten mine thus far (just the ones ive'd raced) was a Civic - but it did have NOS.

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2003 Hyundai Tiburon SE 2.0L from North America

Summary:

2003 Tiburon is a lemon. Don't buy it

Faults:

Bad steering wheel shake from the day I picked it up.

Bad body shake from the day I picked it up.

Noticed that the paint chips very easily at 300kms / 1 week (all plastic parts are black, with colored paint on top - rocks, bugs, road debris chips the paint off exposing the black plastic).

Steering began to feel very loose at 3,000kms.

Burnt out a headlamp after only 80 days.

Right axle replaced under warranty at 8,000kms, no change in the car's 'shake' and loose handling. Dealer disagrees.

8,100kms / 12 weeks, seat wear is becoming apparent.

General Comments:

The car is very attractive looking with reasonable power.

It gets very poor fuel economy considering it's small 2.0L, 4cyl engine (the fuel economy is worse than a Toyota Sienna van with a 220hp V6).

The car has not handled properly for even one day since I picked it up at the dealership. The handling is very loose (I mean scary at 100kpg - 60mph). The steering wheel and the car's whole body shakes intermittently. The dealer doesn't know how to fix it, Hyundai Canada doesn't know how to fix it.

I don't recommend Hyundai to anybody, under any circumstances.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 28th August, 2002

13th Feb 2003, 07:44

I just bought my tiburon about 2 weeks ago and I love it. It runs great and handles great. No problems with it at all. I recommend this car to anyone.

13th May 2003, 05:10

I know a couple of sales agents who work for Hyundai in the U.S. that say buying a Hyundai product is the worst thing a consumer can do. All people have to do is look at the companies reputation of reliability. Why do you think Hyundai came up with its "Worlds Best Warranty" program? This was done to lure customers into purchasing these cars with the hope that their clients won't bring them in for repair. Really look into this companies reputation and you will see for yourself that Hyundai was on the brink of going out of business in the late 1990's due to its horrible functioning automobiles. This is not a matter of opinion, it's a matter of fact.

In reply to 13th May 2003, 05:10

4th Jun 2003, 07:20

To the earlier comment regarding the warranty, "This was done to lure customers into purchasing these cars with the hope that their clients won't bring them in for repair."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the reason why car manufacturers are able to offer that kind of warranty? To stand by their product with expectation of that car not needing the repairs? I'm considering the Tuscani Limited Edition, and the warranty has been a point in favour for Hyundai in my selecting process. Any ways, this forum has been very helpful on all the vehicles that I am considering.

7th Jun 2003, 01:15

In responce to the comment posted on June 4th: What that person is telling you is plain and simple. There is documented proof that Hyundai was on the brink of going out of business and if you were running a company like that, you too would scramble to come up with a program to lure customers to you. Yes the warranty will cover most, key word here is (most) repairs, but you the customer will be inconvenienced by having to bring in your car over and over again for repair until you finally say I'm getting rid of this thing. I hope this response helped you.