Tiburon tweaks give Hyundai coupe finesse

HYUNDAI reserved its Brisbane motor show limelight on Friday for the release of an upgraded Tiburon coupe for 2007, which for $2000 extra gains a revised interior and exterior, extra safety and comfort features and slicker suspension.

As revealed at China’s Guangzhou motor show last July, the facelifted Tiburon V6 offers a new front end comprising a new-look bonnet, blistered quad headlights and a new bumper with wide lower grille housing two outboard foglight pods.

There is also a high-rise rear wing with integrated LED tail-lights, new chromed dual exhausts, a new rear bumper, an extended side crease that eyebrows new front side vent motifs, more subtle badging and different 17-inch alloys.

Furthermore, electronic stability control and front side thorax airbags are added to the sportscar’s standard safety kit.



Inside, there is now fully automatic climate-control air-conditioning with an Air Quality System (AQS), along with an iPod/MP3-compatible audio system and new cool blue instruments. Other cabin features include new light-grey roof lining, new brushed alloy highlights, red leather side bolsters for the black fabric-clad seats and a number of other detail upgrades.

Now priced from $34,990 for the six-speed manual, Tiburon also has revised suspension damping and new lower front control arms and bushes, all of which is claimed to make handling more neutral. A factory-fitted sunroof is a $1500 option.

In line with the current Tiburon range is a limited-edition TS variant with Vivid Blue medium metallic paint, a sunroof, black leather trim, TS badging and special carpet mats. This model variant is priced from $37,590.

The 1388kg Tiburon continues to be powered by Hyundai’s 2.7-litre "Delta" all-alloy DOHC V6, which now offers 4kW less power (123kW) and the same 245Nm of torque. Official claimed fuel consumption is unchanged at 95L/100km for the auto and 9.7L/100km for the manual.

2007 Hyundai Tiburon pricing:
Tiburon	$34,990
Tiburon (a)	$36,780
Tiburon TS	$37,590
Tiburon TS (a)	$39,380