Reviews

I love my car. I've owned it since it first came out, bought it with 87 miles on the transmission. Sadly, it was shortly
after this (1300 miles later) that I realized all good things have their short comings. The tiburons sadly, is the
clutch. Their setup is expensive and unusual. It has a dual massed flywheel and is a pull type transmission. The
flywheel is the expensive part, a new one will cost you close to a grand. The clutch and flywheel are not much cheaper.
2003 Hyundai's have a record of clutch failure, and Hyundai has a record of denying the customer their warranty by
attempting to blame it on the drivers ability or driving style. So after owning the car only a few months I was told
we'd have to pay close to 2 grand to fix the transmission. thats more than 10% of the cost of the car. All that mess
about the transmission aside, almost everything else about the car is great, especially considering its a first model
year. The sound system is fantastic, the interior sparse but extremely well laid out. You won't find much in the way of
creature comforts inside the cabin, save for a climate control system that comes to temperature in record time, and
cools or heats the cabin even quicker. I can't say it enough, best performing climate control I've ever experienced. The
seats in the car hug and grip you beautifully, assuming you don't get leather. Not much room in the back seats, although
the trunk is respectable. I've installed only an intake for perfomance and am impressed with the caliber of cars the
tiburon will keep pace with. The brakes are fantastic and the car handles quite well. The real draw of the 2003 model
year is the looks. It and the 2004 were the only ones not designed by Hyundai. Hyundai actually got the designs from a
styling house in Italy who's name currently escapes the authors mind. The point is, if you change the headlights and
tail lights, and remove the emblems, you have a car that is a complete mystery to many people. When people ask what car
it is, I usually ask them to guess. The name that has come up 3 or 4 times now is Maserati. Now, that person was clearly
not a car buff, but the point is the thing looks a lot more expensive than it really is. In total I've spent less than a
grand on all the things I've done to my exterior and the looks this car gets is pretty crazy. Even with all the trouble
I've had with it, I almost want to say I'd do it all over again. Granted, I drove and continue to drive the car pretty
hard, and minus the transmission issue (thanks LA traffic) its held up commendably. For under $20,000 there is no car
which will give you the all around pleasure the tiburon will. Put it next to an Acura RSX, a Toyota Celica, a Ford
Mustang, a Mercury Cougar, a Honda Accord coupe, Toyota Solara. Remove all the emblems and preconceptions and ask anyone
off the street which car looks the nicest and I guarantee the majority of them will pick the Tiburon. and considering
the hyundai is competitive or superior in performance to all those vehicles, AND costs less to start, its surprising you
don't see more on the road.