Hyundai Coupe (Tiburon) 1996 - 1999 coupe

Autobionics

Each self -respecting automobile company will sooner or later add a sports car to its production program. As a rule, this is the top of the lineup, which has absorbed advanced technical and stylistic developments, cherished into the silence of their own design centers. Hyundai company was no exception. But it did not work out at once ...

 
The first attempt to enter the market of inexpensive high -speed and dynamic cars was the Hyundai Scoupe compartment created on the basis of the Pony/Excel hatchback in the early nineties. We do not know how in Korea, but in the external market - for the company very important - the car did not use success.

 
Since then, much has changed. Hyundai Motor Co. She opened its own design center in the USA, one of the first products of which was the HCD-II concept car, shown in the Detroit in 1993. It was on its basis that the Hyundai Coupe serial car designed to change Scoupe. He was presented to the public in Geneva in 1996.
 

Interestingly, under the name Coupe, this car is sold only in Europe, in America it has a different name - Tiburon, which means a shark translated from Spanish. At the same time, two birds with one stone were killed at once: both predatory for a sports compartment, and does not cause any associations with an unpopular scoupe. Moreover, the car is already built on a new platform. Moreover, if a large Hyundai Coupe inscription on the European version of the car flashes from behind, then the American name is absent at all (apparently, in order not to scare away customers - the attitude to Korean products in the United States is still quite skeptical).
 

However, both the reviews of the foreign press, and the reaction of customers (the machine appeared on the market about a year ago) show that Hyundai managed to take a significant step forward. Yes, and on Moscow streets, Hyundai Coupe is increasingly found. We spent several days with one of these cars.
 

At the first glance at this machine, the word bionics pops up from the depths of memory. A rare word called science that studies parallels between the technical and engineering creatures of mankind and the living creatures of nature. Being one of the most striking representatives of the fashionable direction in the automotive style - bio -design, the Hyundai Coupe looks like a fantastic amphibian that has risen on wheels. The resemblance is enhanced by the dubric arches and forms of headlights and rear lights, and the foglights make the amphibian man recall the film: just some kind of ichthyander in metal and plastic.
 

The shape of the torpedo and the internal door panels holds the style set by the body contours. The upholstery of the seats is black solid skin, which gives the interior sophistication. There is not a single straight line. Which, however, does not violate the integrity of the salon and emphasizes the functionality of its components.

 
As for the trifles designed to make a stay at a pleasant one, the Coupe salon is richly equipped with different things like a dummier from the central console into two persons or a built -in case for sunglasses, which is hidden next to the leg of the rear view salon mirror.
 

Getting to the driver’s place was quite simple thanks to a wide doorway. Comfortable landing was easily achieved: in addition to the usual set of seat adjustments, it is possible to change its height relative to the floor. The car is low, and we expected the appropriate, almost lying, landing. It wasn't there. Not only is the seat in height located like in a regular car, but his head also rested in something ...
 

The point turned out to be that an electric hatch was installed on the machine, the mechanism of which Hyundai designers placed just over the heads of the driver and the front passenger. Perhaps the inhabitants of Korea are still far from the ceiling, but more tall people may have problems with a disabilities. For the purity of the experiment, we tried on a car without a hatch and made sure that there was a place at the top, but, as they say, impended. The hatch itself is very convenient, at first it opens a narrow gap, and then in this position drives back, but this does not save the situation, and you sit in the end. This interferes even on a fixed machine, and what will be in the movement?
 

The steering wheel lends itself to adjustment, and you can easily give it the right position. The rim is sheathed with leather and comfortably lies in the hand, promising not to bring it during intense steering. The steering wheel switches are made in the manner inherent in the Koreans and installed with an inclination up, and the short lever of the gearbox is conveniently placed between the seats. The movements of the lever unexpectedly turned out to be stretched, and switching to even steps are longer than the odd ones.
 

The pedals did not cause complaints, a comfortable platform was made to stop the left leg. Large handles of controlling the heater and ventilation are right at hand and are very convenient. And in the proprietary radio, on the contrary, they are small. It sounds, however, very decent. The sightseeing turned out to be on top: the road is clearly visible in all directions, and the feeling of the dimensions of the car appears as soon as you get behind the wheel.
 

In order to get into the second row, you need to throw back the back of the front seat, and it will move forward. A pleasant surprise awaited us: although the Hyundai Coupe outside seems to be a car with a body of 2+2, from the inside it turned out to be quite spacious for four adult passengers. Perhaps this is the result of a compromise between convenience for everyone and for individuals of high stature, occupying the front seats. The car is equipped with air conditioning, and in anticipation of warming up the cabin in cold weather, the driver and the passenger sitting next to him can use the heating seats.
 

The mechanics of the Hyundai Coupe was created on the basis of the Lantra family (motor 6, 1996) with all the ensuing consequences, starting from the layout of the cabin and controls and ending with the behavior of the car on the road. On the machine, 2 l of the engine with a 16-valve bicopian head is installed, developing 139 hp. and 182 Nm. The engine is no longer from Mitsubishi, but its own development. The motor is quite modern: fuel injection, hydraulic compensators of valves gaps, a contactless ignition distributor.
 

The gearbox is 5 -speed, the suspension of all the wheels is independent like Macpherson, disc brakes with ABS, rubber in size 205/50VR15 - nothing unusual, but the tire profile is low, especially when looking at a fixed car. It even seemed that the wheels were slightly visible.
 

The first attempt to launch the motor failed - it is necessary to squeeze the clutch for starting, even if the box is neutral. The adhesion pedal move is somewhat big, and by effort it can not be called stiff - the usual adhesion of an ordinary, unsportsmanlike car. We have already said about the difference in the length of the moves of the gear lever. By the way, the lever is easily moved between the gears, and when they turn on or off, the force on it increases noticeably.
 

The dynamics of acceleration was pleased with the even increase in the traction on wheels, although we still noted some lethargy. There is no shot, although according to passport data from a place to hundreds you can fly in eight and a half seconds. When trying to unscrew the motor, a revolutionary limiter is triggered, which cuts down about six thousand, which makes you switch to higher gears more intensively if you want to feel acceleration.
 

The brakes are quite soft, the brake pedal, almost the same as that of the clutch, but the effort on it is uneven - is quite sharply increasing to the end of the course, and you need to get used not to relerate it.
 

The suspension, in the configuration of which Porsche helped Koreans, makes a good impression, there is no crushing on minor irregularities, when following a smooth curve of the road profile there is no unpleasant swing, the roll in the turns is in quite acceptable boundaries. An ordinary machine with normal controllability and reactions to changing traffic conditions. But a car is made with an external claim to sports, so you involuntarily expect the steering will be sharper and the suspension will be tougher. And instead - cruise control ...
 

So what is Hyundai Coupe - a sports car or an ordinary car in an American style for racing around a cafe? Externally and internally, if we talk about the salon, this is a very spectacular and bright car. You can even say that he is perhaps one of the most stylish in the niche inexpensive compartment of the sports type. And according to marketing research, it is in this niche that the buyer reacts to the appearance of the machine to the greatest extent.
 

It feels from control is a solidly made car, not sports, but allowing driving in a sharp manner without fear of losing control over it. This is a good car for those who have already acquired sufficient driver’s skills and want to join a slightly more acute sensation.
 

And for those whom Hyundai Coupe is no longer satisfied with this role, the company prepares a more powerful and dynamic car with appropriate suspension, brakes and steering parameters. By the way, the convertible version shown in Detroit at the beginning of this year, most likely, will not go into production in the near future. In the USA, a coupe in the richest configuration costs about $ 15,000, and the convertible would not be cheaper than $ 25,000. And this is a completely different price niche.
 

Igor Mikhalev, Miller Pilot team racer
 

Landing

Convenient, but I would like to have a lower seat. Good lateral support, convenient adjustments, moderately hard seat.
 

Review

In principle, good, the front racks are a little wide.
 

The overall impression of the cabin is a successful layout, high -quality finish, thorough thoughtfulness of all interior elements. Good acoustics and sound in the cabin.
 

Steering wheel

Light, amplifier - an intermediate option between American and European cars. It is convenient to hold the steering wheel, but adjustment in height is insufficient, which also causes a desire to sit down.
 

Pedals

For sports driving, it is too wide, it is difficult to slow down with your left foot. Large moves of pedals, for a car of this type you need shorter ones. A convenient site for the left leg.
 

Engine and box

The engine is slightly sluggish, which, along with a stretched box, does not provide a sharp set of speed, and acceleration occurs smoothly, but in the seat is pressed.
 

Box lever

Convenient, do not stretch far behind him, but long moves are not characteristic of a sports car.
 

Suspension

Something between American and European cars. The roll is too big in the turns, but for our roads the car can be quite suitable. The impression of a solid car is created.
 

Controllability

Reactions like an ordinary front -wheel drive car obey the steering wheel.
 

Brakes

I would like the pedal’s course, but even in this design brakes they cope with their work normally.
 

Bliss

You do not experience a special buzz, especially after the impression of the bright appearance of the car.
 

General impression of the car

There is no negative impression: the harmony of appearance and interior. An ordinary well -made car.

 

Sergey Ivanov
 

 

Source: Motor magazine [No. 12/07]