An Oakville Beaver Automotive Feature · To advertise in this section call 905-845-3824 or Fax 905-337-5568 W K l )M ;S1 )AY. .11 \ l £ 2."». 2(X ).{ · I * ; i g r i )1 best m 77777 m L JL L J m Tiburon Tuscani stands out in the crowd of hot sport coupes When the restyled Tiburon bowed last year, it came not only with a hand some exterior, but also with some longneed power under the hood. With four-cam V6 engine and a sur prisingly precise six-speed manual transmission, I had a wonderful day with the GS-R version of the car last A ctiveG reen + R o ss COMPLETE TIRE S X-ONE · 140.000 km treadwear warranty · 6 yr. road Hazzard Protection CENTRE B «ca use so m u c h is rid in g o n y o u r tires.TM1 CROSS TE R R A IN SUV · 100.000 km treadwear warranty · 6 yr. Road Hazzard Protection · Premium All-Season designed tor SUVs & light trucks FROM STARTING FROM $99.50 P175/ 70R14 $139.95 P215/ 75R15 V ) *60 *81 TIGER PAW * TOURING HR TIGER PAW* AS65 ' 90.000 Km Limited Treadwear Warranty· Excellent higti-perlormance handling in at seasons · 4 yr. Road t Hazard Protection Ayr. · H-Rated performance · 110,000 Km Limited Treadwear Warranty* · Provided excellent performance & comfort · 4 yr. Road Hazzard Protection m m O YALW INSTANT REBATE 1Excellent mange Omble construction tor convnercal apiAcations ·Smooth. «u*t ride 'AHNmaalaM ytm LAREDO AS PERFORM ANCE REQ P R IC E P 1 8 S /6 Q R 1 4 E A C H $ 1 0 8 .8 5 ALL SEASON R E Q P R IC E P17570R 13 I SUV & LT. TR U C K R E G W IT H year in Nevada's Valley of Fire. With no one on the roads, and a sinuous ribbon of asphalt stretching for miles, the V6 Tiburon was a delight. Without a lot of publicij ty, Hyundai re o rg a n iz e d the Tiburon lineup for 2003 making room for four trim levels, the Tiburon, Tiburon SE, Tiburon GT and Tiburon Jim Robinson T u s c a n i Limited Edition. The primary differ ence is the first two are offered with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder, while the GT and Tuscani get the V6. Last year's GSR model is being discontinued. The V6 is the same as I recently test ed in the KIA M agentis where it brought a surprising level of pep to that near luxury competitor and reminded me for all the world of the Acura Legend, one of the great cars o f my experience. The main difference, besides the paint scheme, is the GT comes with a choice of. a five-speed manual or fourspeed automatic with Shiftronic, how ever, the Tuscani has the six-speed manual that is an option on the GT. Impressions of the six-speed gained last year were confirmed during a test of several days on Ontario roads with the usual collection of thoughtless driv ers going in seemingly aimless direc tions. Combines with the 170 hp (181 ft./lb/ of torque) V6, the Tiburon Tuscani gear ratio set is not only nicely spaced, but it doesn't get hung up between shifts -- the bane of having six gears in a box originally designed for ROAD WORTHY just five. Hyundai uses two synchroniz ers on first and second gears plus a spe cial friction material on the third ring synchronizer gear. What that means to you and me is you w on't accidentally hit fifth when you want third or fourth when you real ly wanted second. All Tiburons come with Coil springs over MacPherson struts at the front with a dual link independent setup at the rear. For 2003, the shocks have been revalved and the suspension geometry altered a smidgen to improve grip at higher speeds. In terms of the styling, the current Tiburon is a major improvement over the first generation, which had odd pro portions that huge winged spoilers could not cure. The new model is very Ferrari-ish, particularly the Tuscani when viewed from the rear, with the dual exhausts and the way the sheet metal looks pulled back and down over the rear quarters to give wonderfully un-embellished lines. The standard 17-inch wheels, which do wonders for the pro portions of the car, help this. Inside, the large main gauges have white dials and red needles on a dark background. The seats are nicely bol stered and full leather is standard along with front heated seats. There is a split/folding rear seat and everything is accessible thanks to a large hatch. Why North American manufacturers have strayed away from the hatch is beyond me. In a coupe especially, try ing to wrestle luggage through the side door when you can just plop it in through the hatch doesn't make much sense. My tester, with all the above plus air conditioning, traction control, cruise, power sunroof and keyless entry came in at just $26,995 which is real value for a quad-cam V6, six-speed coupe no matter how you cut it. And what amazes me is the shipping charge is $380. Now this car comes all the way from Korea for $380, but most of the cars built in Ontario will see you paying $1,000 or more, even if you live beside the plant. Go figure -- literally. The car is also very tight and in that I mean it feels solid, but does not feel heavy on the controls, especially the clutch/six-speed. The vision is a bit restricted to the rear, but if you use your mirrors, it covers most of the action. A solid runner on the highways and byways, there is a bit of nervousness coming onto an off ramp and pulling down to second just as you turn to go through the green light. It is during the transition for straight to right (or left) when the point o f inertia begins to shift that the rear wheels begin to lose grip as the weight migrates to the two front wheels. Traction control makes sure that you don't lose it, but it does give you the chance (once you've become familiar with the characteristics) to hang the tail out a bit and feel it snap back into position in turns. It lets you keep the revs and your speed up, with is always a good thing as far as I'm con cerned. There were no other vices to speak off except I found the gas pedal placed a bit too close to the brake. During my first two or three stops I managed to push both down at once. That goes away once you get used to the car. A wonderful little handler with lots of go for not a lot of dough (in this cat egory) makes the Tiburon worthy of consideration to a buyer. But the proof is in the driving, which has to be expe rienced first-hand. If you've been considering super charged and turbocharged hot hatches, the Tiburon. especially the Tuscani, really does prove the old adage -- 'there ain't no substitute for cubic inches'. [WITH IN S T A N T R EBATE $1 0 5 .9 5 W IT H IN S T A N T P195/60R141 P I 95 65 R15 P 20 5 6 5 R 1 5 P 19 5 60R 15 P20S 6 0 R 15 P 215 60 R 1 5 $115.98 $12X96 $ 12 6 .9 8 $ 122.95 $ 1 2 6 .9 5 1 $ 12 9.95 $1 4 2 .9 5 $ 1 4 6 *5 | 1 .^ _ |1 1 6 $ 11 2 .9 5 , $116J8 $ 1 19 .9 5 $ 1 3 2 .9 5 $13835 pi»575«r«. __m** P 205 75R14 P 185 70R 14 P19570R 14 jjgjft _mjwj IS 4.9S PR ICE IN S T A N T ar EA C H R E B A T E P21575R 15 $ 98.95 $1 1 2 .9 5 $1 2 3 .9 5 $135.95 $147 95 $14 5 .9 5 $15 5 .9 5 $1 7 5 .9 5 [EJ P 245 7 5 R 1 6 P265 75R 16 ' P255 70R 16 P26S 70R 17 LT246 75R 16 $ 1 0 7 ,9 5 1 $ 9 2 .9 5 $10335 $ 115.95 $1 2 7 .9 5 $ 1 2 8 .9 5 $135.95 $14236' $1 5 5 .9 5 P225 60R 16 LT265 75R 16 M o ra s l m a v a il · h ie C a ll lo r y o u r s lz a . M o ra a lza a a v a ila b le . C a ll lo r y o u r s lz a . M o ra a lia s a v a ila b le C a ll lo r y o u r s lz a . *Snc iflo tfO o ta s tlo H M tfvin X-Or* Tae and Cms I r a n SUV T»e* S*D of ) set <* 4 praanl fctatel UtwmI Tioh Pm louring H R. $80 oft a f lt ol 4 f o r P*» *565 S80of j sfl . of .. 4 .(Insttrt Retaft] Umroyal Ljrtdo A/S UgM Truck Tms Ounng ouf June tales« ts evert Juie 13 lo Jura 30.2003 uw ofa cannol oe combngd w i efw ofcr/couiwi promobon The TIRE EXPERTS Offer Y o u : · -Selection ot Name Brand Tres · Expert Atfwcs · Professional Service & Installations 30 DAY ,P R IC EP R O T E C T IO N S A T IS F A C T IO N ' G U A R A N T E E ! FREE 2A HR Roadside Assistance (Anywhere in North America) FREE Lifetime Tire Rotations FREE Brake. Shock. & Exhaust Inspection Th e re 's No Better Place To Buy Your Tires & Service Your Vehicle 31 Locations www.activegreenross.com Oakville Burlington Hamilton Hamilton S7FontLie|itSpnN.| 7KtepiiK|s.tfFaH&i 5 58O u e e n s to n (aitasliU.) (9 0 5 )8 4 2 -8 5 2 1 1 (905)681-8928 (905)560 -90 33 1 3 8 H u g te o iS t. (aonemCaaiiSL) (9 05)572-7444 Mississauga 375D u n d a sS I. E . |W .o lCnrtn) Mississauga 7 3 5DubsS t.i p in ) Mississauga 1151EglintonAve. E . (W .o fD in e ) Mississauga 14Q u e e nS t. (M is. R D . itM aonia) (905) 2 77-4925 (905)276-4166 (905)629-8794 BRAKES · TUNE-UP · EXHAUST BATTERIES · ALIGNMENTS · OIL CHANCE · CERTIFICATIONS · SHOCK STRUTS · COOLING SYSTEM · AIR CONDITIONING Only available in brilliant yellow, the 2003 H yundai T iburon Tuscani is very sleek sided, yet its stand-out styling makes it easy to recognize in the crowd of hot sport coupes. I f S TA R T Y O U ! SUM M ER SALE EXTENDED TO JUNE 30th Look for these fantastic contests aD summer long! 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