Superbowl Narishkeit: This is Not Your Father's Hyundai

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago
Robert Farago
Robert Farago

More by Robert Farago

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 28 comments
  • David C. Holzman David C. Holzman on Jan 31, 2009

    I don't think it's particularly ugly. But 3500 lbs for a sports car???!

  • Scorched Earth Scorched Earth on Feb 01, 2009

    Ugly???? I think it looks great! But yeah it's quite heavy

  • Psarhjinian Psarhjinian on Feb 01, 2009
    It’s all in the eye of the beholder I guess…to me, Asian design is just horrible when it comes to cars…they all look like gummy bears that have been sucked on for hours. Yes, that's true. By comparison, German cars look imperious and American ones either phallic and/or re-treads of the 1970s. Design is culturally idiosyncratic. I like this, but I also like Asian sports cars, in general. I can't fit in many of them, but c'est la vie. I don’t think it’s particularly ugly. But 3500 lbs for a sports car???! Think about it in context. To whit: The sedan than shares the same platform---you know, the one about the size of a 7-Series---it's not too bad, given how much the 6-Series, CLK or A5 weigh in at. It's also not too far off the more expensive G37, and has bigger seats. It's about the mass of the Mustang, and thusly much less than Challenger or Camaro. It's also less than the front-drive Eclipse (which is this car's most direct competitor, and looks really lame right now), and not a lot more than the RX-8, despite a huge power advantage. Hyundai's done good work, here. I have only two real concerns: one, the Tiburon no longer belongs in Hyundai's lineup (it should be a Kia), and two, it's launching into a bad market. Not offering the V8 is a little odd, but the target buyers probably aren't going to be too worried; fans of Asian sports cars don't have the cylinder-count hangups.
  • John R John R on Feb 02, 2009

    +1 psarhjinian. What's with all the hate? This looks good and looks like it goes good (A Millen behind the wheel there). I'm willing to bet that if the turbo 4 is at least a quick as a GTI or an Si the kids will take a long hard look at this one. Also it looks like its price appropriately, both the new Z and G37 are north of 30k. If the turbo 4 comes in at roughly $25k, the car will be a hit. How much of a hit given the market we'll see, but you all will be seeing these on the road. Hyundai may have positioned this one against the Mustang/Camaro (why??), but Nissan has the most to worry here. This rig has the potential to be more Datsun Z than the current Z

Next