The new Tiburon gets a makeover hoping to break into the sports car category.
Think of affordable sportscars under $80,000 and what models come to mind? Nissan's 350Z, Mazda's RX8, Alfa Romeo's GT or Brera or perhaps the Chrysler Crossfire.
But there's one missing from the list and it comes loaded with equipment, looks good and has a tiny $34,990 price tag.
Hyundai's ageing Tiburon, around in this form since 2001, has been a bit of a Cinderella in this market and sales haven't exactly set the market alight.
Why? It beats me, but Korean-built cars are still perceived as lacking emotion and let's face it, the very name Tiburon doesn't quite have the cachet of its rivals.
Tiburon means shark in Spanish, but is also the name of a wealthy town in California. Other Hyundais that share their names with US locations include Tucson and Santa Fe.
Until now the V6 Tiburon isn't quite delivered in terms of the raw power and seat-of-the pants handling expected of a real sportscar.
Hyundai has set out to change all that with a revamped and slightly restyled version of the coupe now on sale.
Its somewhat dated muscular styling has been given a facelift.
Hyundai lovingly describes the styling as 'sensuous.' I wouldn't go that far, but Tiburon does turn heads.
It's a big solid coupe for two, it has four seats but the rear is, in practical terms, generally off-limits to adults although bearable for short trips.
At least you can flip the rear seat backs to stretch what is already a massive load area under the deep opening tailgate.
The cockpit, which is bathed at night in disco blue lights, is thoroughly modern and works well, thanks to well-designed controls and instruments.
The Tiburon's big appeal, however, is its value for money and it's backed by an industry-leading five-year unlimited warranty.
There's plenty of standard kit for the money, including extensive safeties like stability and traction control, multiple airbags and smart anti-lock brakes.
You can also tick the boxes for alloy wheels, automatic air conditioning (with pollen filtering), an audio system that accepts MP3 players, cruise control, leather steering wheel, remote locking with alarm, trip computer and electrics for the windows and mirrors.
And there's plenty of other neat stuff as well, like a retractable cup-holder cooled by the air conditioning system, sun visors that can be extended to fully cover the windscreen, a purpose-built holder for a mobile phone, a tray in the spare wheel to store anything wet and loads of storage bins and pockets.
The driver's seat has manual height/tilt adjustment, which is a bit downmarket nowadays, but the passenger seat at least has a memory setting and returns to its position after you fold it.
The big changes for the latest Tiburon are under the sleek skin.
Hyundai has answered critics of the previous model, which was a tad nervous under cornering, by tinkering with the suspension geometry.
The car no longer feels as though it's going to bite you on the bum mid-corner and sits flatter into the curves, while the steering feels sharper, especially in turn-in.
Power comes from a sedate 2.7-litre V6 with 123kW of power and 245Nm of torque.
The six-speed manual is the version to go for and offers short-throw shifting, but the sequential auto is still very likeable.
Hyundai quotes a 0-100km/h sprint time of a leisurely 8.2 seconds but remember this car weighs in at more than 1400kg.
The six-speed manual is $34,990, the four-speed sequential auto $36,780 and a powered sunroof adds $1500.
There is also a limited edition version called the TS, only 62 were imported but they are available on order that has its own blue paintwork, sunroof, leather upholstery and badging, for $37,590 for the manual and $39,380 for the automatic.
Inside view
Hyundai Tiburon
Standard: $34,990
TS: $37,590
Engine: 2.7-litre V6
Power: 123kW at 6000 revs
Torque: 245Nm at 4000 revs
Transmission: Six-speed manual, front-wheel-drive
Body: Two-door coupe
Seats: Four
Steering: Power-assisted rack-and-pinion
Suspension: MacPherson strut front, fully independent rear
Fuel tank: 55 litres
Fuel type: Regular unleaded
Fuel Consumption: 12.4 litres/100km average on test
Weight: 1409kg
Spare tyre: Space-saver
Brakes: Anti-skid discs
Wheels: 17-inch alloys
Tyres: 215/45 R17
Safety gear: Front-side airbags, anti-skid brakes, traction control and electronic stability control
Warranty: Five years/unlimited kilometres
