The Tiburon is built to appeal to the "soft" sports market that the Celica and Integra have been hogging all these years. It's a bit soft, a bit slow, but it looks the part and it's comfy for a coupe, so it competes with the Celica on the important points and sells well. But unless it gets the newer Hyundai engines, it can't really hold a candle to other sports coupes out there.
I like it, personally. I think it would make a swell commuter on days when I don't feel like taking my Mazda out.
You've been dissected once, Condraz, but this bears repeating:
Condraz23
"For me, owning a Hyundai would be very embarrassing and I would never haul one outside. I'd be scared of it breaking down in the middle of a freeway and crashing into the water for me to drown a slow, painful death. Either that, or I might be instantly burnt by the poor-quality engine casing catching fire and exploding. Prior to my death, I would begin to have a series of violent nightmares about how I would die in it.
While my opinion of 80's Hyundais is very low, recent Hyundais meet crash regulations and requirements for their market segments wherever they're sold. Apart from end-of-the-line Hyundai Grace vans, which are a cheap copy of Mitsubishi... or was that Mazda?... utility vans from the 80's, I haven't heard of a sudden catastrophic engine failure in a Hyundai built past the 90's. And I've never heard of a fire... though I know a Toyota or two that's caught fire... and Mitsubishi vans are notorious for it.
Condraz23
Meanwhile, acceleration from 0KM/PH to 100KM/PH would take 15 minutes and it's horrible handling would be more dangerous than a mentally-disturbed 4-year-old kid with a glorified lawnmower.
I just drove a Hyundai subcompact that does 0-100 km/h in under nine seconds. And it's a diesel. Hyundai's Sonata is as quick as a V6 Accord. Yup. They're terribly slow. Handling, though not class-leading, isn't bad, and I have yet to see a new Hyundai in an accident... oops... there goes
another Toyota.
Condraz23
Styling would look like something designed from the guys at Fisher and Price and the entire car would be made of black plastic.
My friends and family will laugh at me and I will lose my automotive dignity, developing an uncurable fear of driving for the rest of my life."
Fisher Price actually makes the strongest plastics known to man.
That said, while Hyundai styling and materials may still be behind others, I give you Toyota wood.
Oh, okay... Hyundai plastic is still horrid in some models, but the Tiburon and Sonata have really swell interiors and good plastics.
Condraz23
Hyundai and Daewoo have been having some trouble recently. The Hyundai boss did something illegal and left the country, only to be found out and returned back to Korea. The owner of Daewoo also fled the country and is now a criminal fugitive. Daewoo also got swallowed up by General Motors. To me, their cars are affordable but definitely not desirable.
Recent? Daewoo folded under GM years ago. What businessmen do doesn't detract from the quality of the product, and I do hope the matter is resolved without dragging Hyundai's stock down. As it is, though, they're still selling like hotcakes here.
Condraz23
Also, remember the Honda spokesman? When he was asked about whether the Kia Carnival would be a competitor of the new Honda Oddysey, all he said was "No. It is such a poor representation of a motor vehicle."
I could say the same thing about an Oddysey or Previa, but that wouldn't make it true, would it?
Condraz23
And finally, the Mercedez Mayback has been criticized for looking like a giant Hyundai. Definitely not desirable, as one must agree.
Actually, most Hyundais don't even look like that anymore...
When did you first write this stuff, the
80's? the
90's? Get with the program, go out and
drive a new Hyundai... compare it with other cars in its class. It may not wow you, but you'd be surprised by how close they're getting.
Thats not your Blazer is it? Cause the last I heard yours was black. 
