I can hardly believe we bought a Hyundai, but Kim (the wife) wanted one for her birthday. They have produced a limited run of 80 upgraded Tiburon's in Tiger Orange (similar to the 350Z bronze) with a 2.7l V6 and modified aerodynamics.

It handles pretty well and the engine revs freely to the red line (6,400 rpm). 6spd manual gearbox has the ratios nicely arranged. Equipment level is good and the two seats in the back for the kids mean we only need one car and not the 3 we had in the UK.

Ironically out of the 80, only 9 are in Perth, and I met one on the dual carriageway tonight. We played about a bit (overtaking and slowing down to be overtaken, finding where the light switches are etc.) before I had to turn off towards home.

I can't find any forums for the Tiburon - if anyone has a link, please let me know.

I'm still saving for the SRT-6 on the dealer lot, but at AU$101k (approx £43k at today's rate) it is too expensive.

 

Sold my Tib to purchase my Crossfire. You'll love the Tib it's a great car, and actually made quite well. here's a link to the tib forum http://www.newtiburon.com/


Enjoy

 

I came very close to buying a Tiburon for my daughter because I liked the way they looked. I eventually decided to get her a Honda instead, because we've always had such good luck with every Civic that we've owned before.
If they would have had that "tiger orange" color when I first considered the Tiburon, that might have swayed me enough to buy it. I wish I could get that color on the Crossfire.
Actually, the only bad thing I've heard about Hyundai's in general, is their resale value. But hey, I own a Crossfire, so why should I be concerned about that?

 

...I've heard that the Tiburon with the V6 and 6-speed manual trans is a good drive. It's a familiar recipe that the Japanese used to do a lot, but you don't see it much anymore: compact, fwd, 2+2 coupe priced a little less than the average family sedan. I think only Mitsubishi (with their new Eclipse) still plays this game (besides Hyundai). I've got to say, the attractive exterior styling on the Tiburon is a lot more butch than its Japanese predecessors ever were, and the leather trimmed interior looks great considering the price point. In all, a smart buy and a cool car.

 

funny that this thread should start, as I have been promoted at my job and am now looking for a second car. I have been considering either a celica gts or tiburon gt. fwd for winter, 4 seats, nice exterior styles, and not bad cars that can be had for a fair price with low miles. How does the tiburon handle? I know with fwd it won't hold the road as well, but isn't the grip on the skidpad really low?

 

I know rwd usually handles better than fwd in most all "dry" conditions. But it sure seems like HDDP has some friends who have some pretty good handling fwd cars on the track.
For most any highway driving that you would probably do 88% of the time, I think fwd should be fine.
I bet you could probably find a nice used Tiburon at a reasonable price too.

 

Rowdy - Thank you for the link to the Tib forum.

+FireAMX - The resale value of Hyundai over here in Perth seems to be quite good. You have to remember that you didn't pay a great deal for the car in the first place. The limited edition comes with all the toys including elec sunroof etc, and has a more meaty spoiler. I bought my XF to keep forever so I wasn't worried about resale value, but I didn't know then I would have to leave it in the UK.

Juddz - We are happy with the purchase so far. Wife and kids love it. It will do me until I can get another XF. We keep getting asked by Australians what the car is. It seems to attract nearly as much attention as the XF.

CrossFire Kid - The Tib handles really well in the dry. You get a lot of feeling through the steering and on the couple of times I've managed to get it to power slide it is easy to control. Haven't experienced driving in the rain here yet. Will have to wait a few months for that!

 

English_Bob, Yes, it seems like the Korean built cars haven't been totally accepted here in the U.S. (hence the lower resale value) when compared to a similar Japanese model. Other countries don't seem to be as prejudice towards foreign cars as we tend to be here in the U.S. It takes awhile for a new country to make inroads on our buying habits.
I'm sure you're going to have a blast with your new Tiburon. (send photos)

 

Just take it to the paint shop!

 

Yeah I know that's all I really have to do Dan, but if I was going to spend 3 to 5K to get a really nice paint job, I'd probably spend it on my AMX. It's the only car I own that really needs one.
Besides, I think the Crossfire looks pretty good in white, especially with the "cedar" interior.