Friday 24th June 2016

Shed of the Week: Hyundai Coupe

The thinking man's sports coupe? At £675, don't think about it too long!

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The Hyundai Coupe is one of those cars that you feel should have done better than it did. Surveys have shown that ordinary Joes in the street really rated its looks, particularly in the much cleaner and more attractive second-gen bodystyle, unencumbered as it was by the (facelifted) Mk 1's goofy front end.

This isn't the Shed...

Fans love their Coupes, but there aren't that many of those folk around. Why is that? Is it because they were regarded as a midlife crisis choice for cougar-seeking men wearing medallions, Old Spice and aviator shades? Or is it something as basic as car enthusiasts not accepting Hyundai as a genuinely sporting brand?

Ignore all that. The way to approach this bright-looking Shed is to think of it as an Alfa or something else with a similarly Latin bent, but with nowhere near as many potential issues.

In fairness to the Italian motor industry, Shed does remember UK Hyundai Coupes having alarm-related problems. In fairness to the Korean motor industry, he also seems to recall that these alarms were retro-fitted here at the port of entry. In fairness to British ports of entry, they were handy if you wanted to go somewhere else.

Moving on from all that kerfuffle, what do you get in a Hyundai Coupe, or Tiburon as it was known outside Europe (Spanish for shark), or Turbulence as it was known in the domestic Korean market?

In this particular case, you get a 2003 model, which means the desirable Mk2 shape. The Mk3 is even nicer, but they didn't come along until 2007 and aren't yet in Shed territory (although they're not far off).

... neither is this...

You get a 2+2 that is more than agreeable to drive, especially (not to say unusually) in big-engine guise. Heaven knows that PH has no beef with big oily six-cylinder lumps, but sticking one into a chassis that's also got to function successfully with a smaller four-pot sometimes results in compromised nose-pushing handling.

The Hyundai feels like it's been designed for the big engine first, with the little 'uns coming later. Grip and handling are surprisingly well sorted. With 167hp at 6,000rpm, it's amply rather than massively powerful, but our Shed has the six-speed manual for you to play with. Some owners did report heaviness and/or notchiness with that, but things improve with warmth and good quality oil.

An average mpg figure in the high 20s sounds a bit depressing but the trade-off is a decidedly unshabby 137mph top end and a 0-60 time in the low eights or high sevens, depending on your dexterity with the left boot. Bolt on a few inexpensive induction and exhaust mods and you're easily into the low sevens or (whisper it) high sixes.

In V6 manual spec the Coupe came with the rather nice 17-inch alloys you see here. The back seats fold individually and the boot is large so it's even a bit practical.

... and nor is this! But it's still worthy

Coupe downsides? Well, you probably wouldn't want to use one as a taxi, as the turning circle is biggish. The rear brake pipes on '02 and '03 cars are known to corrode, but there was a technical service bulletin issued on that so the chances are that this has been rectified on our Shed. Other than that, reliability is excellent. If there seems to be a problem with the alarm this can usually be fixed by resetting the fobs.

Because nobody seems to like Hyundai Coupes, you get amazing value. £675 for a stylish car with such a comprehensive spec is pretty decent. Add in the one-owner full service history, new rad, new wheel bearings and new clutch (this was a weakness on the V6s), and things start to look interesting. Or at least, they should do.

For reasons of weather, idleness or something good suddenly coming up on the box, the vendor has only supplied one pic. That is regrettable, especially as the V6 has a smooth Alfa-esque leather interior. To make up for it, here are some random Coupe snaps snaffled off the web at great risk of copyright litigation.

These are not, repeat not, shots of the Shed. Just in case you were thinking of suing Dan for that as well. He can't afford it, being from Yorkshire and everything.

Here's what a V6 Coupe can sound like with a few mods.

And here's the ad for this one.

SINGLE OWNER, FULL SERVICE HISTORY
NEW CLUTCH, NEW RADIATOR, NEW WHEEL BEARINGS
Adjustable Steering Column/Wheel - Reach,Air Bag Driver,Air Bag Passenger,Air Bag Side ,Alarm - Remote Control,Alloy Wheels - 17in,Anti-Lock Brakes,Armrest - Front,Body Coloured Bumpers,Central Door Locking - Remote,Climate Control,Computer - Driver Information System,Cruise Control,Electric Windows - Front,Electronic Stability Programme,Front Fog Lights,Head Restraints - Front,Immobiliser,In Car Entertainment - CLARION Radio/CD,Mirrors External - Electric/Heated,Mirrors Internal - Auto Dipping Rear View,Power-Assisted Steering,Seat t - Two Seat,Seat Height Adjustment - Driver,Seat Lumbar Support - Driver,Seating Capacity - Four Seats,Spare Wheel - Space Saver,Speakers - Six,Sunroof Electric - Glass Tilt/Slide,Traction Control System,Upholstery Leather.

 

[kellyt]

Hell no. I'd rather walk.

[kellyt]

MiniMan64 said:

Why?

Slow. Thirsty. Ugly. No rust protection to speak of at all. Interior feels like a children's party in a pound shop. Everything. If it was all I could afford, I could walk, cycle, or bus, till something came up that was less unpleasant.

It's Pistonheads, surely there has to be something 'special' to make you care about your car if you frequent Pistonheads? Not feeling it here.