Sporty but subtle (Hyundai Coupé in general)

Member Name: Caradawn

Product:	Hyundai Coupé in general
Date:	21/09/02 (901 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Loos, performance

Disadvantages: Insurance

After having just one to many a problem with our rather clapped out Peugeot 205 we decided that now was the time to buy that new car we'd been saving up for. When it comes to cars, my partner Shaun and I don't always agree. Although the car would mainly be for his use and the end decision was ultimately his, he wanted my approval before he bought. So when we came across a 1995 Hyundai S Coupe Turbo and both agreed we liked it, we knew we had to get it even though at £3,395 it was a little more than the £3,000 we had saved. It was a decision we have not regretted (not so far anyway!).

I'd like to point out that not all models are convertable like in the picture and yes you guessed it, ours isn't convertable!



**Looks**

This is a sports car and the shape of the car shows it. It is, however, not over stated. It is long and sleek, although no longer than an average saloon and the spoiler on the boot is very modest as is the trim. It gives me the impression of being sporty, but professional. There are fog lights on the front bumper, which make it a bit different from the average car. The wheels are what lets it down on the looks. Although they are alloys, they look a bit too small and the tyres are quite high profile.

At this point I should tell you that the 1995 model is not the latest model. The latest model is a lot flashier. The styling is very curvy and rather outspoken, leaving you in no doubt that it is a sports car. I have to say that the latest model is not to mine or Shaun's taste (that makes two things we agree on!).

**Interior**

At a glance the interior isn't really anything to write home about. The dash board is pretty much standard to what you'd find in most cars. There is a recess on the passenger side for any niknaks you want to have sliding around in it on your journey. The glove box is of the standard size except with the addition of two cup recesses in the flap.
Not advisable for us
e while the car is in motion. Which can also be said for the cup holder which pulls out from under the radio. On cornering Shaun's drink managed to do a back flip and land the right way up on the passenger side floor! All of the controls and switches are within easy reach and in sensible places. The pockets on the doors are miniscule, but there is space for storage between the fronts seats, just behind the hand brake which kind of makes up for it.

One thing you will notice if you don't normally drive Korean cars is that the indicator and wiper switches have switched sides, the indicator being on the right. So the next time you're complaining about somebody not indicating just check to see if their wipers are going. You can also have a giggle when somebody starts indicating at the onset of rain.

It has sport seats all round, which provide good support and make for a comfortable journey. The drivers seat has the added bonus of being adjustable in two ways. Firstly you can adjust the back to come further out or in, allowing more support for your lower back. The other adjustment is that the front part of the seat itself can be dropped allowing you to adjust the leg height. We found this out quite by accident whilst trying to fish crumbs out of what we thought was a crease.

I was quite surprised at the size of the boot with it being a sporty car. It has more space than my Fiesta, but that might be to do with the length of the car. With my Fiesta the wheel arches take up a lot of the boot space. With the Hyundai the arches do impede a certain amount, but the car comes out further away from the rear wheels giving more boot space. Also although it is not a hatchback the back seats can be folded forward in two parts to give an extension on the boot.

**extras**

I would assume that you can get this car with an airbag, but ours does not have one. It does have power assisted steering, electric wi
ndows and electric mirrors. For sec
urity it has a factory fitted alarm, immobiliser and remote central locking. There are warning lights which come on if either a door or the boot is open and you get warning bleeps if you open the driver's door when the headlights are on.

There are a couple of things which let it down. One is that there is no sunroof fitted, meaning that it can get pretty warm in those rare sunny days that we get. I guess it doesn't help that our car is also black and we don't have air conditioning. It is possible that air conditioning is fitted in other cars, but I couldn't be sure of that. The other is that there are no rear wipers, making your rear view a bit blurry in the rain.

**Driving and handling**

The engine is a 1495cc multi valve turbo injection, which as you would imagine gives the car a fair bit of grunt; 114 bhp to be precise. Okay so that's not a huge amount of horse power, but for a 1.5cc it's not bad and a plus side is that because the engine isn't all that big it also gives reasonably good economy; approximately 32 mpg. Believe me that's good for a sports car. The Peugeot used to drink petrol. The smaller engine also puts it in the lower road tax bracket. Unfortunately the petrol tank seems to be a bit smaller than average. To give you an idea, the Hyundai will take approximately £23.00 in petrol whereas my bog standard 1.4 Fiesta will take £26.00. This obviously means that it needs refilling sooner than you might like. From our past experience with sports cars, they usually have larger tanks than standard models.

Because Shaun likes a drink at the weekend and I hardly ever drink, I get to drive the Hyundai quite a bit. Shaun has to be drunk because he doesn't like my driving!! When you push the accelerator down you can hear the whistle of the turbo. You don't need to put your foot right to the floor to feel the turbo kick in and if you like to watch t
he dashboard while you're driving you can watch a little row of lights light up
as put your foot down! Hmm...useful. At higher speeds it still has plenty of go and power starts to drop off a bit at 5000 revs.

The smaller wheels and high profile tyres are probably what lets it down on handling. That's not to say that the handling is bad. It's a damn site better than my Fiesta, but doesn't quite match up to our Peugeot's handling. The suspension seems to be in the mid range. It's not as soft as say my Fiesta, but it's not as stiff as previous sports cars we have owned. This gives it a smoother ride than an average sports car, but keeps the handling at a more acceptable level.

**Insurance and costs**

The insurance is in group 14, which is quite high when you consider that the highest group is 20 and that is for cars like the Cosworth. The word 'turbo' is what bumps up the costs. With four years no claims bonus at the age of 30 ( he'd kill me if he knew I'd put that in!) Shaun is paying about £450 for comprehensive. If you are a new driver then this is not the car for you! I'm not even sure I want to know what it would cost for me!

The Hyundai was £11,400 new and after seven years was selling for just over £3,000. I guess that goes to show that it doesn't hold it's value well. I suppose that this could be because of the release of the new model. Either way, my advice would be to buy used, but then I would never personally buy new because you always get that immediate drop in price the moment you buy.

On the whole parts for eastern cars, in this case Korean, don't come cheap. On the other hand they are known for their reliability so the need for replacement parts should be few and far between. So far we have had no problems with the Hyundai which is certainly a bonus. Although we bought at about six and a half years old, the garage had the turbo replaced because
apparently it was smoking. In comparison, parts for Fords are usually quite cheap and easy to come by, but past experience has taught us that Fords are more likely to suffer wear and tear. I must admit though that the newest Ford we have owned was registered in 1992 and that is the Fiesta.

**Recommendation**

I you are looking for a sports car, but are dubious of the running costs then I would certainly recommend that you consider the Hyundai S Coupe Turbo. Similarly if you like a fast car, but want it to look reasonably professional at a good price then you might also consider it. I would recommend you look at second hand though as there are some good condition ones to be had. On our car there was minor cosmetic damage which consisted of cracked leather on the driver's seat. This wasn't a problem for us as it is mostly used for work purposes and occasionally suffers from McDonalds spillages. In my opinion it has been our best buy so far. It is great to drive although the indicators take some getting used to as does the power steering if you've never driven with it before. Another plus point is that Shaun has never been pulled over by the police in it which is quite unusual. I'm not sure whether that is due to the car or his age (he no longer looks like your typical boy racer!).

If you are a new driver, young driver or low on your no claims then you might want to avoid this car purely for insurance reasons. Unless you are like somebody I heard of who thought her car drove perfectly well without insurance! NOT something I would recommend.

xx Caradawn xx

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