The interior is functional and attractive. The formed foam seats are
firm, supportive and comfortable, with thigh bolsters that provide good
side support during hard cornering. The base model is comfortable, but
the FX benefits from a driver's seat with tilt adjustment, lumbar support
and fabric accents. Leather is an FX option, but a $3500 leather package
seems a bit out of place in an affordably priced sport coupe, though it
does include air conditioning, 15-inch alloy wheels, a CD player and other
goodies.
There is ample leg, head and shoulder room up front. The wraparound
contoured dash makes the driver feel like a pilot without inducing claustrophobia.
Attractive curves over the top of the vents are reminiscent of the Datsun
240Z. The ventilation controls are big Lexus-like knobs that we found easy
to operate when the car is moving.
Power windows are standard on both models, a nice extra. The big ovoid
speed-ometer and tachometer are stylish, as well as highly legible. Slender
front roof pillars contribute to excellent forward visibility, a view en-hanced
by bulging front fenders clearly visible from the front seats. The back
seats are roomier than those in the Celica or Eclipse, although rear seat
space isn't a strong point of cars in this class.
Overall, we give the interior an enthusiastic thumbs up.
The trunk is surprisingly roomy. It swallowed a king-size presentation
portfolio laid flat, the passenger car equivalent of putting a sheet of
plywood in the back of a pickup truck. To put capacity in perspective,
the Tiburon offers more trunk space than the 200SX and Sunfire, but not
as much as the Eclipse/Talon.
Although we concentrated on the FX model, we found that the basic Tiburon's
130-hp 1.8-liter engine produces decent acceleration by the standards for
this class. The 10 extra horsepower generated by the 2.0-liter FX engine
comes into play in the upper rpm range, and its extra torque--133 pounds-feet,
versus 122 for the 1.8-liter version--makes for quicker accleration and
less shifting around town.
The Tiburon engines are neither the smoothest nor the quietest on the
market, but fall within acceptable bounds. Hyundai worked hard to minimize
friction and vibration by using lightweight parts, silicon-impregnated
pistons and fluid-damped engine mounts.
Hyundai definitely did its homework on the Tiburon's chassis. It's among
the stiffest in its class, which is probably why the Tiburon weighs a bit
more than some of its competitors. Chassis stiffness is where agile handling
starts, and we were very favorably impressed with the Tiburon's athletic
responses in quick maneuvers.
Even in extreme lane-change and slalom exercises, the car felt balanced
and stable, and the power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering is quick and
accurate. The Tiburon is one of those cars that made us go out of our way
to give it some exercise on favored stretches of winding back roads, something
that can't be said for some of its competitors.
If there's any minus in the Tiburon's dynamic traits, it lies in the
action of the five-speed manual gearbox, which feels less precise than
some others in this class. In particular, low-speed downshifts into first
gear can be a challenge. Making a proper upshift in hard low-speed cornering
also requires a little extra care, a trait that's not at all uncommon in
small front-drive hot rods such as this.
However, at higher speeds the gearbox works fine and the gearing is
well suited to the engine's power characteristics. The optional four-speed
automatic takes much of the sport out of this--or any--sport coupe. If
you don't want to shift for yourself, we suggest the FX, with its more
powerful engine.