Hyundai Coupe SIII Range Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Hyundai Coupe SIII range
Prices: £12,995-£14,295 - on the road
Insurance Group: 10
Emissions: 193-203g/km
Performance: Max Speed 124mph / 0-60mph 9.3s
Fuel Consumption: (urban) 25.9mpg / (extra urban) 44.1mpg /(combined) 33.2mpg
Safety: ABS with EBD, Twin front and side airbags
Dimensions: Length/Width/Height mm 5395/1760/1330mm

CLASS ACT

Our Rating: 7.3 / 10

The latest Hyundai Coupe has looks to die for but does it measure up? Steve Ghosley Reports…

Practice certainly makes perfect as far as Hyundai are concerned, particularly with respect to the design of their popular Coupe. We’ve seen numerous versions of this sporty little number over the years, each one honing the shape and refining the detailing of its predecessor. The current version is the best yet.

If it wasn’t for the easily recognisable badge, it would be very simple to mistake this Coupe’s sleek lines for those of a car emanating from the prestigious Maranello factory. Hyundai have been pretty cute here because in the coupe sector of the market, it tends to be ‘looks’ that sell a car often regardless of what’s beneath the bonnet.

The first generation Hyundai Coupe was a very good car but it was still bought primarily on price. All that changed with the introduction of the second generation model in 2003. Here, at last, was a car that could be bought on its merits alone. As a result, it sold well in the UK, recording figures that outshone more familiar names like Toyota’s Celica and Audi’s TT. It’s the SIII version of this model that we’re looking at here and it’s on its second facelift.

Upon acquaintance with this Coupe, you’re at first drawn to its swoopy Latin styling and its solidly Teutonic interior, noting that they’ve managed to hit the nail firmly on the head in these departments. There’s a restyled front end to consider with longer, meaner headlamps, a thin ‘letterbox’ grille and a wide air-intake below that hides revised fog lights in its corners. The trademark side gills now also have integrated side repeater lights. Inside, build quality is surprisingly good and there’s a retro feel to the decor. The instruments now illuminate in blue and some of the metallic finishes look quite upmarket.

Just one petrol engine is on offer. The 2.0-litre unit isn’t the most advanced but offers reasonable power and is a nice package all round. The engine’s quite sweet and reasonably torquey, all factors that encourage you to make the most of the car’s agile handling. The sprint is accomplished in 9.3 seconds and has a top speed of 129mph using the manual gearbox.

Sportscars that look this good are in extremely short supply at the £18,000 price point. This one however, has lately been reduced to just £12,995 on the road – that’s £2,600 less than the first generation of the car cost when it was launched in 1996! There’s also an automatic gearbox that costs around £1,000 extra. The equipment levels remain surprisingly good despite the affordable pricing. For example, the car comes with part-leather trim, air conditioning, a six-speaker CD stereo with built-in iPod connector and central locking. If you want more, there’s a sportier TSIII version on offer for around £1,300 more with anthracite-finish alloys, quad exhaust tailpipes, a larger boot spoiler, quilted leather sports seats and Eibach sport springs.

So what’s it like to drive? The Coupe will come as something of a surprise. No, you don’t get that infectious low-end shove of the late, lamented 2.7-litre V6, but you will almost immediately feel that there’s a good deal less weight in the nose. The lightweight engine gives the Coupe a nimbleness and delicacy that the more powerful variant lacked. The brakes are also strong, firm and fade free after repeated applications. The four-cylinder engine is a touch thrashy at the top of its rev range and this deters you from wringing the last ounce of performance out of the Coupe, somewhat negating the overall competence of the car’s other dynamic qualities. Never mind. Just enjoy the supple ride, the cleanly styled interior with its cool blue instrumentation lighting and make sure you pass by plenty of reflective plate glass windows.

The best thing about this car however