Still shows its competence, even after four years
Sports coupes have fallen on hard times. About twenty years ago, a bunch of manufacturers had at least one in their lineup, but not anymore. The Tiburon's rivals are falling one by one, and the latest one is Acura's RSX, which is discontinued for 2007.
Yet, the Tiburon is holding on, even though it's only been around for a decade. The recent unpopularity of sports coupes is easy to understand: climbing insurances rates, limited practicality, and reduced purchasing power of the buying public.
This Tiburon, the second-generation model that was launched in 2003, still looks good after four years on the market. I really like the muscular lines of the car, especially the creased hood and curvaceous flanks. Everybody who asked how much the Tuscani costs thought it was more expensive than it is.
Not that this low-slung coupe is perfect. Step inside, and you'll quickly notice a lack of headroom, unless you're under 5 foot 10. My head was scraping the roof when my seat was in my typical driving position.
Otherwise, the leather seats are very supportive and look good with their red stitching. Climbing in back is tough, obviously, but you can't really sit back there for more then 10 minutes before getting experiencing neck pains.
What's great about sports coupes like this is the amount of cargo space that they offer. The hatch opens up a spacious cargo hold, and the rear seats can obviously be folded down for additional space. The Tiburon also benefits from a low liftover height, since the hatch's cutout goes all the way down to the bumper.
The dash is also quite attractive, with good-quality materials and a low-glare surface. The luxurious interior is a nice place to spend time, even though this is the oldest car in Hyundai's model range, now that the Elantra is redesigned. The climate control system has big buttons that are easy to reach and use while driving, and the CD player, although a little on the cheap side, offers MP3 playback and the speakers sound good.
The Tuscani is the only Tiburon that benefits from the bark and bite of the 2.7-liter 24-valve V6. The automatic is typical Hyundai: smooth but reluctant to downshift quickly. You're better off using the Shiftronic manual mode for snappier getaways. Acceleration is good but it would be better with five gears instead of four; I didn't have the chance to try a 6-speed manual Tiburon, but I guess it would be quicker than the automatic-equipped Tuscani. Fuel consumption over the course of the test is a so-so 11.8 L/100 km (24 mpg).
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| 2006 Hyundai Tiburon Tuscani (Photo: Philippe Champoux, Auto123.com) |
Yet, the Tiburon is holding on, even though it's only been around for a decade. The recent unpopularity of sports coupes is easy to understand: climbing insurances rates, limited practicality, and reduced purchasing power of the buying public.
This Tiburon, the second-generation model that was launched in 2003, still looks good after four years on the market. I really like the muscular lines of the car, especially the creased hood and curvaceous flanks. Everybody who asked how much the Tuscani costs thought it was more expensive than it is.
Not that this low-slung coupe is perfect. Step inside, and you'll quickly notice a lack of headroom, unless you're under 5 foot 10. My head was scraping the roof when my seat was in my typical driving position.
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| 2006 Hyundai Tiburon Tuscani (Photo: Philippe Champoux, Auto123.com) |
What's great about sports coupes like this is the amount of cargo space that they offer. The hatch opens up a spacious cargo hold, and the rear seats can obviously be folded down for additional space. The Tiburon also benefits from a low liftover height, since the hatch's cutout goes all the way down to the bumper.
The dash is also quite attractive, with good-quality materials and a low-glare surface. The luxurious interior is a nice place to spend time, even though this is the oldest car in Hyundai's model range, now that the Elantra is redesigned. The climate control system has big buttons that are easy to reach and use while driving, and the CD player, although a little on the cheap side, offers MP3 playback and the speakers sound good.
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| 2006 Hyundai Tiburon Tuscani (Photo: Philippe Champoux, Auto123.com) |