2003 Hyundai Tiburon GT V6

[Swimmerboy]

Overall: 5/5 (not an average)

Performance: 4/5
Economy: 4/5
Appearance: 5/5
Interior: 5/5
Ability to Attract Women: 5/5

Performance: For being Hyundai's first sports-coupe the Tiburon is a respectable vehicle. It's top spec 2.7L V6 isn't overly powerful (171hp/181trq) but once a few simple mods are installed (intake/exhaust), it becomes quite the quick little car. Handling and cornering are very responsive although it does tend to understeer a bit. I have the 2.7L matched up with the 5 speed manual transmission, the car is geared great with the 5 speed (the 6 speed is geared way too short).

Economy: The 2.7L V6 isn't too economical, Hyundai claims 18mpg city and 25mpg hwy, but i've found that it can be anywhere from 16mpg city and up to 27mpg hwy (if you short shift).

Appearance: The Tiburon is a head turner for sure! There doesn't seem to be too many of them on the roads. When the 3rd gen first came out in 03' people compared it to the Ferrari 456. I often have my Tiburon confused for Ferraris, Lambos and other Italian sports cars. The 17" rims and low profile tires just scream sports car. The coupe has good body lines and molded in gills. "Tiburon" means shark in spanish.

Interior: I'm 6'7" and i fit comfortably in the Tiburon although my seat is reclined and slid all the way back. My Tiburon came with cloth seats, they were very comfortable and supported the driver very well. I removed those and swapped in seats from an 05' GT (leather). The gauges and controls are very user friendly. It's a well laid-out dash. My Tiburon came with the Infinity sound system which hits HARD thanks to the 8" stock sub in the trunk. The back seats are virtually non-existant, an infant could barely fit back there. Other than that the interior is very functional and well built. The hatch is huge, you can fit loads of stuff in there.

Ability to Attract Women: It is a pussy magnet for sure, because it's not a hugely popular car, most women are interested to find out what it is. You will have her in the car for sure. Just one word of caution, you're better off skipping the fun in the back seats, best to just drive her back to your house.

Pros: 181 lbs trq, sporty, great interior, sporty exhaust note, sound system, huge amount of trunk room, 17" rims.

Cons: Torque steer, small back seat, only 171hp stock, some understeer (easily fixable with a few mods), wheel hop.

Final words: There is not a whole lot of aftermarket support if you plan on modding the car. I have to admit it is an extremely sexy car that isn't too slow. If you want something that you can purchase and still have money left over then the Tiburon is for you!

Overall: Best car for the money.

Stock (mostly)


Modified

[ColJessip]

Forgot the main point.

[4onthefloor]

When the 3rd gen first came out in 03' people compared it to the Ferrari 456. I often have my Tiburon confused for Ferraris, Lambos and other Italian sports cars.

You don't say

A lot of these reviews lately are getting 5 out of 5s. They're a little biased if you ask me.

[theholycow]

Ability to Attract Women: It is a pussy magnet for sure, because it's not a hugely popular car, most women are interested to find out what it is. You will have her in the car for sure.

...as long as you replace the Hyundai badges with the Tuscani logo. The name "Hyundai" is still having some trouble shaking its stigma, despite no longer living up to that reputation.

When the 3rd gen first came out in 03' people compared it to the Ferrari 456. I often have my Tiburon confused for Ferraris, Lambos and other Italian sports cars.

You don't say

I don't know about anyone confusing it for those exotics (except people who don't recognize the Tuscani badge and jump to conclusions), but when the 3rd gen came out, there were serious comparisons to cars way out of its class, regarding ride/handling and performance.

A lot of these reviews lately are getting 5 out of 5s. They're a little biased if you ask me.

100% agreed. Even if you love your car, you're reviewing it for others; try to be realistic and guess what others won't like, as well as leaving yourself some room for improvement. If it's already 5/5 what are you going to do when you drive a superior car?

[watkins]

A lot of these reviews lately are getting 5 out of 5s. They're a little biased if you ask me.

100% agreed. Even if you love your car, you're reviewing it for others; try to be realistic and guess what others won't like, as well as leaving yourself some room for improvement. If it's already 5/5 what are you going to do when you drive a superior car?

Honestly. I gave my own car (the convertible) a 4, assuming all the best criteria were met. Theres no way every car out there gets a 5. Be realistic people.

In the Tib, for example, I bet visibility sucks. Theres torque steer. People think youre gay for owning one. Theres a Hyundai stigma. All of these keep the car from being a true 5.
If the V6 isnt too economical, why is it a 4/5?
The power numbers are miserable for that year of car. Pair that with the aforementioned torque steer, and performance levels are surely more like a 3 than a 4.
Appearance cant be a 5/5 for the sole reason that so many people hate how they look. Some cars are cool for being ugly, some are not. This does not classify. Lines are nice, yes. But it isnt timeless and it isnt completely original.

Not to pick on you or your car specifically, Fishguy, but this is the thread in which the topic was breached so Im using your review as a basis of the lack of objective writing as of late

[Swimmerboy]

Yeah everyone is going to be biased to their car, and when it comes to looks, everyone has their own opinions to what looks good and what doesn't.

[theholycow]

Riiiight....but if everyone posts just their bias, nobody learns anything and the communication is pointless.

[94Corolla5Speed]

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=10685

Points were given out of 10 instead of 5, but I reviewed it with as little bias as possible. I gave it high marks in places it truly excels (reliability, cost to own, practicality) and low and average marks in places it doesn't (performance, handling, FOSE)

[watkins]

Riiiight....but if everyone posts just their bias, nobody learns anything and the communication is pointless.

Precisely the point.

Its absolutely a challenge to give an objective report of something to which we have a strong bias. However, it is necessary to make a review even worth writing.

[Swimmerboy]

Although i did praise the Tiburon, i did list the cons (which there were a few).

[FDSpirit]

How much are the parts for your car? You should have added a value category for comparisons(cost of repairs, parts.....etc). I know for a fact that the parts for my Si are more than the other Civic models because of the engine/transmission.

[ColJessip]

Aww everyone is bashing the noob.

[eggwich delfiero]

Yeah, some negative brushback in here.

Let me balance out this and everyone else's opinions of their own cars:

All of our cars suck.

There are other cars better than each of our cars at everything. And even if not, someone can just say "engine swap and/or turbo=you're dunzo."

While I'm being a hater, let me attack the true culprit here: the Five point scale. Nothing can be accurately measured on a five point scale, it's too limited. I vote for using 1 to 100, or even 0.1 to 5.0; a lot more room for variance. On a five point scale, no matter what you're asking about, the average answer across respondents is almost always 3.5-3.8. I mean, you can't even pick an average/neutral value with a 5 point scale, which would be 2.5, so people are forced to either inflate their rating or their hating on things they are just meh about. (Sorry for the rant, I've done a lot of survey design and the five point scale is a hated beast in my world.)

[watkins]

I use decimals. I rated things at 3.5. Anyone can. Using 5 as a maximum gives an easily understood standard.

[94Corolla5Speed]

While I'm being a hater, let me attack the true culprit here: the Five point scale. Nothing can be accurately measured on a five point scale, it's too limited. I vote for using 1 to 100, or even 0.1 to 5.0; a lot more room for variance. On a five point scale, no matter what you're asking about, the average answer across respondents is almost always 3.5-3.8. I mean, you can't even pick an average/neutral value with a 5 point scale, which would be 2.5, so people are forced to either inflate their rating or their hating on things they are just meh about. (Sorry for the rant, I've done a lot of survey design and the five point scale is a hated beast in my world.)

I used a 10 point scale! Do I get a cookie for effort?