Thursday 30th September 2004

Facelift for Hyundai Coupe

Tweaked nose and interior shown at Paris exhibition

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The Hyundai Coupe, which Hyundai reckons is now outselling the Toyota Celica and Audi TT in the UK, gets a new nose "to keep it ahead of the game". Hyundai says the new look Coupe will hit UK showrooms early in the new year.

The changes were shown for the first time at the Paris Motor Show last week. The front end has a more aggressive look, with new headlights, grille, and an entirely new front bumper with larger air intake. The side has a slightly altered profile with different intake vents, while the rear light clusters have also been redesigned. New 16 inch and 17 inch alloy wheels complete the picture.

There are also some styling improvements to the interior, including sportier aluminium effect for the air vent surrounds and door handles. When the facelifted Coupe goes on sale in the new year, prices are expected to be similar to the current model, which starts at £14,495 on-the-road.

The Coupe will continue to be sold in the UK with a five-year unlimited mileage and fully transferable warranty, which Hyundai claims is unmatched by any other manufacturer.

[RB Will]

think the wheels look a bit small or is this just me?

[hendry]

[redacted]

[Graham Lunn]

When you measure do you measure along the top of the wheel or from underneath?

[Witchfinder]

Nice! A Hyundai I can lust over and not feel like I'm turning into an old man

[dinkel]

For the money it looks great and drives well . . . they say. Sounds like nothing though.


Still waiting for this one . . .

>> Edited by dinkel on Thursday 30th September 16:22

[Big_M]

dinkel said:

Still waiting for this one . . .

Agreed - that one really does get my buying juices going.

[LuS1fer]

Looks nicer but still nothing like a Ferrari as some used to claim. It does bear an uncanny resemblance to a Japanese Coupe though.

[dinkel]

That's what most of us thought about 70s and 80s hot Jap cars. This is the maxpower transport of the 20s to come. Most welcome.

[Wacky Racer]

The Coupe will continue to be sold in the UK with a five-year unlimited mileage and fully transferable warranty, which Hyundai claims is unmatched by any other manufacturer........


I have the current shape 2.0 Coupe, and can 100% recommend it if anybody is considering taking the plunge.......

Supeb value for money (imo)...

However , I believe in Australia, these cars come with an EIGHT year warranty...

That is unbelievable........

[dinkel]

My Dad, 61, drives Hyundai since 1984: never had a break down or whatever. Still, I look at other cars. Amazing isn't it?

Friend of mine bought one after selling the 156 2.0 selespeed. Makes one wonder . . .

[hendry]

The thing is, no one NEEDS a coupe of any sort; they are bought for image. And that is where it all goes wrong for Hyundai, because it is hardly a name to bandy around up there with Audi, BMW et al.

I concur with the comparison with Japanese cars of 20 or 30 years earlier. But what Toyota discovered, even with their reputation for reliability, was that the name lacks cachet, hence the invetion of Lexus. Has even Nissan, with the original 240Z, the best selling sports car of all time, really got themselves a reputation as a manufacturer of sports coupes that steps up to approaching the image of the top European marques...?

At least Proton had the good sense to buy their way into peoples hearts with Lotus. A Jensen Sonata Bongo Friendee anyone?

[Andrew Noakes]

hendry said:

The thing is, no one NEEDS a coupe of any sort; they are bought for image.

True. But while you and I could tell it was a Hyundai at twenty paces the average bod in the street just sees a wacky looking sporty car. So for them the Hyundai does the job, at a bargain price.

It's a bit of a bonus that it's actually bolted together rather well and drives quite nicely.

Just a shame they can't decide what it should look like. This, what, the fourth different front end?

[pdV6]

The first one was simply awful, the current one looks quite nice IMO but I'm not sure about this one yet. Might be a "grower"... if it stays on the car for long enough!

[LuS1fer]

hendry said:

The thing is, no one NEEDS a coupe of any sort; they are bought for image. And that is where it all goes wrong for Hyundai, because it is hardly a name to bandy around up there with Audi, BMW et al. I concur with the comparison with Japanese cars of 20 or 30 years earlier. But what Toyota discovered, even with their reputation for reliability, was that the name lacks cachet, hence the invetion of Lexus. Has even Nissan, with the original 240Z, the best selling sports car of all time, really got themselves a reputation as a manufacturer of sports coupes that steps up to approaching the image of the top European marques...? At least Proton had the good sense to buy their way into peoples hearts with Lotus. A Jensen Sonata Bongo Friendee anyone?

It's not true that no-one needs a coupe. If you have no need for back seats of any substance, you don't actually need a saloon. If you don't need a saloon, why settle for less than a better styled car. The coupe has a better image because it's a better shape, more akin to the curves that please the human eye than a shoebox.

I disagree it's about image, it's about a pleasing appearance. A Toyota Celica looks a million light years better than BMW's so-called "coupe" which has as much inspiration as a cereal box and is really more a sports sedan than a coupe. Only yuppies are impressed by badges....no good having a badge with a poor car attached to it.

Toyota only found that their brand name lacked cachet for luxury cars, not sports cars which is why the Celica and MR2 are still Toyotas and only lardar*e Lexi wear the badge. Even the Lexus IS200 is a Toyota Altezza in Japan and that's no sports car.

I really don't understand anyone being impressed by a badge. If I wanted a sports car, it would be more likely to be a Nissan 350Z or RX8. I wouldn't even dream of considering any BMW or Audi whose products are now so dull and mainstream that any cachet they once had eludes me. There are probably more BMW's on the road than there used to be Cortinas. The only alternatives would be more expensive, like the Boxster.

I also don't agree that badges make the difference. If the Lotus Elise had been launched as a Proton, the Press would still have loved it and the only difference would be that it would be at least £5k cheaper. Before citing the VX220 as rebuttal of this notion, consider that the VX220 is a lot less stylish than the Lotus and we're talking of a market where style is the deciding factor and not simply the badge even though the badge might sway the final decision one way or the other.

I find myself constantly surprised that so many people are still duped by badges without any thought for the car. Everyone laughs at the notion of a Daewoo Corvette but I would still have bought it if it had a Lada badge on it assuming the car was the same underneath. Let's just wait for the TVRovich.

[Wacky Racer]

hendry said:

The thing is, no one NEEDS a coupe of any sort

True, but no one NEEDS a twelve cylinder £150,000, 190mph italian supercar, or a 180mph roadgoing motorcycle....

As regards Coupes, Ford did rather well for fifteen years with their Capri....

Just give it five years, and I reckon Hyundai will be up there with the best of them, You heard it here first....

They are a massive company making everything from Grand pianos to Oil Tankers with big financial muscle behind them, with a very big presence ALL OVER THE WORLD including America....

And as regards the Coupe, don't knock it until you have had a drive in one, although if I had to make one critisism it is that there is hardly headroom for adult backseat passengers, but there is loads in the front...

Try and get a better specification for the price...Full leather interior, electric roof/mirrors, cruise control, 130mph performance, fairly cheap insurance, etc etc.....

[Andrew Noakes]

Wacky Racer said:

if I had to make one critisism it is that there is hardly headroom for adult backseat passengers

IIRC there's a warning in the owner's handbook not to slam the tailgate when you have passengers in the rear seat because you might do them an injury...

[Wacky Racer]

Andrew Noakes said:

Wacky Racer said: if I had to make one critisism it is that there is hardly headroom for adult backseat passengers IIRC there's a warning in the owner's handbook not to slam the tailgate when you have passengers in the rear seat because you might do them an injury...

No it actually says death!!!...

Nearly knocked my son's head off once.......

mind you he is 6ft 4".......

[hendry]

Wacky Racer said:

Just give it five years, and I reckon Hyundai will be up there with the best of them, You heard it here first.... They are a massive company making everything from Grand pianos to Oil Tankers with big financial muscle behind them, with a very big presence ALL OVER THE WORLD including America.... And as regards the Coupe, don't knock it until you have had a drive in one, although if I had to make one critisism it is that there is hardly headroom for adult backseat passengers, but there is loads in the front... Try and get a better specification for the price...Full leather interior, electric roof/mirrors, cruise control, 130mph performance, fairly cheap insurance, etc etc.....

Agree with all of the above. I was certainly not knocking the car, just the image. To balance that out, I quite admire the looks of the current Coupe.

By the way, interesting you should talk of the industrial might of the Hyunday conglomerate, as I remember Daewoo bragging about the same in order to establish their credibility when they first arrived in the UK (lathe shiiping line, make heavy industrial equipment, planes et al). That's the Daewoo that nearly went under and GM had to bail out by the way...

[FestivAli]

First things first - Hyundai don't offer an 8 year warranty in Australia, it's a 5 year 130000km warranty, on all hyundai parts, which doesn't include anything likely to break down. We had a 40000 km service on our Getz the other day and the bastards charged us $500 for an oil change, 'environmental disposal' of muck or what have you, brake pad change and... that was about it really. On the other hand, it ain't a bad car, and I'd recommend it to anyone. Ours (mums actually) is a 1.5 (though its actually a 1.6) auto 5 door. In seaside blue. Yah!

I agree with the hyundai - dominate sooner or later argument - hyundai's global plan is to be the 5th largest car manufacturer in the world by 2010. And nobody could argue that their product hasn't improved drastically in the last few years - although I reckon the elantra is still crook, the 2.7 V6 is too thirsty and the 2.0 four is still too thrashy - which is why I wouldn't park myself in a coupe (which is elantra based) unless it was dead cheap. but then I would be accused of driving a hairdressers car. And it frustrates me how many mini drivers over here drive autos...

[gsewell]

Anyone else remember what a joke reputation Skoda had a few years ago. Public perception is very fickle - and is mostly dominated by value for money and reliability.