Cabin noise can be a little loud at times.
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 completlely happy with every aspect of the car. it attracts alot of attention and the interior is something else. I enjoy driving it more then my wife's Lexus IS300. feels extremely sporty and reccommend it to anyone. The only negative I could report is the cabin noise at times is loud and the hatch back seems a little heavy when lifted. Other than that the car is a great value and handles great. i give it a 8.5 out of 1o on a firm rating. Oh yeah you will get alot of offers to race at red lights if you know what I mean. My shark (Tiburon) has completely embarrassed alot of Honda's and other wanna be sports cars.
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.
OK. I can totally see that if you were racing "sprockets" you would totally burn them. I drive a Honda that is NOT "raced up" and it handles like any other sports car. I know that it is not a race car, but neither is a Tiburon, I'm sorry. It is a sports car, so yes, it goes fast. But Honda cars are born and bred for racing, and that's what they do best. I drive an accord coupe, and it lays the smack down on just about anything... unless I'm stupid enough to pick a fight with something way out of my league. I almost guarantee that half of what you're racing ends up being the driver as opposed to the car. If you can't drive, you can't win. And if you are racing someone who can't drive and has a less than nice car, then of course you're gonna win. In five years, come back and talk to me about how well you can race someone. If you take care of the car, and actually know how to drive it, then you should still be doing well. But if you don't know how to drive in the first place, well, I'll see you at the finish line. My Honda will get me there first.
I can't believe what I'm reading!!! How can anybody compare a Honda with a Hyundai. Its like comparing Michael Jordan in the NBA to Mark Madsen in the NBA. Honda as a company has built a reputation that Hyundai wishes it could get. The real tests come when your car is about 5-10 years old... now think...a 10 old Honda versus a 10 year old Hyundai... hands down if you know anything about Hyundai's reliability you know by that time the Hyundai should be falling apart so there is no competition. Honda= long term reliability and Hyundai= no reliability in the long run. Enough said.
This whole conversation is pointless... for 13 Gs I can get a 93-95 bone stock toyota supra. So your price argument is gone. So is your 10 year old argument. Gone. I can then match your challenge by spending a little more and dropping a turbo in it and watch the asphalt peel off the pavement at 500hp or more, all on BONE STOCK INTERNALS, the engine on the supra can withstand amazing amounts of power, after MANY years of use, and with minimal spending. so stop your honda/hyundai arguments, a supra will make you boys into men, and leave everyone listening to that great aftermarket turbo whistle, similar to the noise whistelin between that gap in your girlfriends front teeth...
Don't get me wrong, I have a 2003 tiburon, 6spd v6, the works, and I've owned an integra, but the supra was the best car I ever owned, and for the money, it will leave all you honda owners with your pants wet and your tongues hangin out... who cares if a hyundai is better than honda or vice versa... if you're gonna spend 10-20 grand, buy the supra, its really the only smart decision.
Then you can stop defending your crappy rice rocket and just start enjoying the drive...
I currently own a `97 Saturn and I tell ya... with all the smack I see Honda owners talking I am not surprised to see it here. Guys, get over it and settle it on the track. Who cares what a car COULD do... what matters is what you've got under the hood, and YOUR numbers, not your best friend who owns some 300fwhp Honda Civic... it's not yours... so who cares? I've got a friend up north who's got a 417rwhp saturn, and that's BEFORE his 100hp shot... and so what? That does me no good. So everyone quit your cryin' and go settle it on the track.
Stock for stock a 2003 V6 Tib will beat all Hondas save for the S2000. Throw some work into your Civic? Fine... let's throw some work into the Tib, same thing still.
Those comments are all lame. Hondas were made for performance, the Tiburon was not. Korea is a tiny little country with very small roads. The Tiburon wasn't made so that you run around and hit top speeds, it's just a sporty little coupe for the younger generation.
But then again it does have it's perfomance values.
For all the people who think a non-modifed Honda will beat a non-modifed Tiburon you're wrong. Even an Acura RSX S-Type has a hard time beating a GT V6 Tiburon. (Acuras don't really count as a Honda because it is a subdivision of the company. As Kia is a subdivision of Hyundai.)
And the Acura RSX is an amazing little car...
One last comment: 03 Hyundai Elantra GT can easily dust a Civic...
For all that I've read I still don't believe that anyone can argue that a stock Honda can take a stock Tiburon GT V6. I'm sorry, Honda lovers, but... it just cannot. Throw in some mods, it's a different story. But in the stock form my six speed tib has beaten all that the everyday drivers honda can throw at me. Yes a lot of it does have to do with the driver, because we all know it don't mean diddly if you can't drive your car in the first place. But I don't know how many times I pull up to a traffic light only to have some punk in his stock civic, rsx, celica, eclipse, cougar... the list goes on, pull up alongside me, rev his engine and start talking smack about how hes gonna "smoke me cuz' I drive a hyundai, and he drives a (insert slow coupe model here) "...
When the green light drops the smack talk has always ended with his mouth hanging open, wondering what went wrong as he watches my tailights pulling away. I can't think of an everyday sports car I would rather drive (with the exception of a WRX) for under $25,000 than the 2003 GT V6 Hyundai Tiburon.
I have recently bought the Tiburon se, black and stick. I thought I was going to get behind the wheel of a jet. I was wrong. I will admit I am a first time driver and use cheap gas and regular oil. I switch gears at a little over 3000 rpm's and the guy next to me in his 91' Pontiac 2000 is acelerating pass me with ease. Also I am not abusing this car in anyway and it is geting louder and louder.Don't get me wrong I like the noise, but it feels like there is no oil in the engine. Yes there is!I do realize it is a 4 cylinder Hyundai, but give me a break.www.repeated_offender@yahoo.ca HELP I Don't KNOW WHAT TO DO!
OK, all these comment about what car can beat what are missing something...facts. I think if your going to argue that one car can beat another, you should have some numbers to back up your claims.
Here are the facts. The fastest Hondas/Acuras will beat the Tiburon GT V6, and here's proof:
Integra Type R:
0-60 mph : 6.1 sec.
0-1/4 mile : 14.5 sec @ 96.0 mph.
RSX Type S:
0-60 mph : 6.7 sec.
0-1/4 mile : 15.2 sec @ 92.7 mph.
Civic Type R:
0-60 mph : 6.5 sec.
0-1/4 mile : 15.2 sec @ 92.7 mph.
Accord V6 coupe:
0-60 mph : 6.2 sec.
0-1/4 mile : 14.5 sec @ 98.0 mph.
These all beat the Tiburon:
0-60: 7.18 sec.
0-1/4 mile : 15.6 sec @ 88.8 mph.
However, a Tiburon WILL beat a Civic Si's times of
0-60 mph : 7.6 sec.
0-1/4 mile : 15.9 sec @ 87.8 mph.
So, Tiburon owners, know your place, and Si owners know yours. And for those of you with modded cars, it isn't exactly fair comparing your modded car to a stock one.. is it?
And for that Elantra GT comment:
0-60 mph : 8.0 sec. (manual), 9.0 sec. (auto)
0-1/4 mile : 16.3 sec @ 86.0 mph (manual)
Guess it won't beat a Si after all...
Other cars that beat the Tib:
Mazda 6, Eclipse GTS, Neon SRT-4,Gti/VR6, Sentra SE-R Spec V.
Anyways, just thought i'd clear things up. Check out modernracer. com to verify my facts if you wish.
Now, with all that said, I'd like to say that imports are overpriced and underpowered. My `95 Trans Am (convertable no less) pulls a 5.6s 0-60, and a 14.2s 1/4 mile. It cost me $18,000 a year ago (about the same as a brand new Tiburon). And if you check the numbers, it'll smack any of the cars listed above, and most of those I didn't list due to them being way out of the Tibs price range (ie Honda S2000, Infinti G35 etc).
If your on a budget, the Tib is a good bang for your buck car, but know that there's a lot of cars out their that can beat you.
PS: For the dude ranting about his Supras, I have a vid of the fastest Trans Am in the world running a 9.5s 1/4 mile. That beats the fastest Supra's time of 9.8s. Just food for thought.
I own a Tiburon GT V6 and it's a great car. I don't claim to think that it can beat anything. A lot depends on what kind of driver you are. And for anyone with a import that has mods and Nos, get a life and get a real sports car. Real wheel drive and V8 and if you want more power then, SUPERCHARGE it. All mechanical power baby!!! Nos is like a drug addiction, once it's gone. you have nothing and have to go buy more. Go Trans Am's and Firehawks!!!
Proud owner of 10th Anniversary Firehawk!! A real sports car!
I laugh at all you little "boy-racer" pretty boys and your souped up front-drive tin cans. You guys are really good at quoting a bunch of straight line performance numbers. Good in theory, but who cares really. I hate the way your cars look and sound.
Why don't you stop spending thousands of dollars on your toy-grade plastic cars and invest in a real thorough bred machine like a vintage Porsche or something that has class and timelessness, two things you young boys will probably never understand. And why rip on the new Tiburon? It goes faster stock than most cars in it's price range, and doesn't need some hi-po gadgets like your little twin cam civics. By the way, when did Honda decide to start using twin cams and 16v? Was it the early 90's? For your information, Alfa Romeo was doing just that in the 1950's. SO MUCH FOR YOUR HONDA PERFORMANCE.
OK.. to the guy with the TransAm who loves to quote from magazines: stop being an armchair critic/"racer". You made a point in one of your other comments that magazine stats are one of the ways that we can use as a benchmark to judge other cars. Well, do you know that some of those magazines get paid just a "little more" to make some of those cars seem just a "little better"? Obviously there's some truth in magazines, but let's just be reminded that what they test isn't going to be exactly what you get.
Are you one of those people that will tell me that Iridium spark plugs will give you more horsepower/fuel economy than regular plugs because that's what they tell you in the ads?
Or that by simply changing YOUR 48mm throttlebody to a BBK/Holley 58mm throttlebody will give you an increase in hp?
I'm not here to make any claims as to which car runs faster than another. I'm not here to tell you that you're right/wrong.
No offence, but you're really coming off as armchair mechanic that only knows from what he READS in magazines, and not from what he has actually researched. Also, if your car is running a 14.2 in the 1/4, I would have to say that there is either something "off" with your driving or your car. I have SEEN a well tuned L98 Camaro (not a GTA) run in the low 14's.. and that's with 3.27 gears.
I think that "the" true test of the Tiburon will be it's reliability through the years and to see just how serious Hyundai is about uplifting their poor reputation (despite that false advertising scandal).
As far as which car is faster than the other? Who cares? There are so many factors involved (driver skill, mods/no mods, weather, drivetrain, gears) that it's just a pointless argument.
Wow, I must say you all care way too much about this anyways... who really cares who beats who? oh sure, you might win the race, but what good will it do you when you're in a ditch bleeding to death because you were too stupid to put your life over your thirst for a few moments bragging rights...
So yeah, it's really quite pathetic actually that you think so little of yourself that you must get into a fight with others just to prove your own self-worth.
Adios and safe journey to all.
I once owned a white 2003 Tiburon. It was the worst 16 months I have ever had.
Every thing was fine for 1 year. Then it started to break down.
* ALL the lights around the car started to burn out on a weekly bases.
* My car went through 2 sun roof motors @ 1,345km and 12,790km.
* The black foam around the door was staining the paint yellow (the dealership refused to fix this) 17,800km.
* While pressure washing the car. Paint blew off the front bumper. 24,469km.
* Then the door jams started to rust in June!!! 24,980km.
* The day before I sold it the steering started knocking and my "CHECK ENGINE" light came on at 26,300km.
My conclusion this was a car that was nice to look at, but had no research on how to make a quality reliable car.
Let me say one very important thing... I had a 2001 Accord Coupe EX with a 5-speed manual tranny and cold air induction. It was definitely a quick FAMILY car. I beat a souped-up Ford Focus and an Eclipse GT with it, and the induction was the only mod! I now have an `03 Tib. I could smoke my old Accord in that thing so easily that it would be ridiculous. If I could beat the Accord, and the Accord beat the other two cars, what does that tell you about the Tibby! Settle it on the track... quit your talking about who can beat who and take it to the track, though I wouldn't have the guts to face a Tibby if I still drove my Honda!!!