Hyundai Tiburon 2005 Review

Tiburon is Spanish for shark so the link is easy to make especially now there are prominent "gills" in the 'guards aft of the front wheels and a "gaping maw" front air intake.

Not that it really needed spicing up but Hyundai initially over-priced the car driving potential buyers away. That was fixed with a massive reduction in the order of 10 grand to a new point at $32,990, $1500 more for the four speed auto.

The one to get is the six speed manual that features a Japanese-manufactured, slick shifting, close-ratio gearbox.

It makes a good car even better by capturing the potential of the 127kW, 2.7-litre V6 engine.

It's the same power plant used in umpteen other Hyundai's and sings sweetly and smoothly. Overall performance is impressive, not roll back your eyeball stuff but purposeful and the engine loves to rev.

Fanging it sees an increase in fuel consumption to a still good 11.5 litres/100km.

There's a pair of widely spaced exhaust outlets that contribute to the aural pleasure when driving the car as does the audio system that is blessed with impressive high and low frequency response and clarity.

The interior features leather/cloth upholstery and a neat and modern looking instrument panel with a swag of circular dials. It's a pleasing touch in an era of generic digital readouts and is topped off by a leather sports steering wheel.

Driving the Tib' is enhanced by a wide range of equipment. Rear seat head and legroom is cramped but the seats are wide and well padded.

The boot is adequate but the spare is a space saver. The Tiburon has ABS, twin airbags, electric sunroof and 17in alloys as standard meaning there is nothing to spend.

Performance is good with strong sprints off the mark and good zip right through to the redline at about 7000rpm.

Handling is impressive, stable, predictable, flat with ultimate understeer when pushed too hard. The large tyres and firmish suspension grip well wet or dry and the steering is responsive.

While there is a definite sporty edge to the suspension, it doesn't compromise the comfy ride.