Take a ride in the belly of the shark.

Tiburon is Spanish for shark.  And Hyundai's Tiburon resembles one, if sharks are bright red and have four eyes.

You have to give Hyundai credit for building a small sports coupe, something relatively few companies are doing these days.  And, indeed, the Tiburon’s smooth flanks and aquatic silhouette sort of recall a shark on the prowl.  The nose, on the other hand, looks like something that lives on the ocean bottom at its neighbors’ request.

The interior shows funky, spaceship styling, and if some of it is cribbed from the Audi TT, at least that’s a good inspiration.

What's missing from this shark is the frenzy.  It's no maneater.  A diffident engine and uninspired driving dynamics make the Tiburon a good choice for someone who wants to style without spending a lot of money.  So if you're in the market for a small coupe, and budget’s an issue, you’d be a hammerhead not to consider it.



One bad apple?

Our week with the Hyundai Tiburon proved again how far Hyundai's come.  The Tiburon, whatever you think of its styling, felt like a solid little car made out of decent quality materials.  It wasn't long ago that you couldn't say those things about Hyundai.

Except.  Except this was a hatchback, with a few thousand miles on it, and the hatch rattled more than it does on my 140,000 mile Honda.

And you may say, so what?  One rattle in a new car is pretty good.  But these days, with American industry having mastered quality lessons from Japan and Germany, and everybody else trying to keep up, one rattle makes a difference.  It's a testament to how good new cars are now that even one small flaw stands out.

You no longer have to automatically avoid cars built on Monday or Friday.  But sometimes, a flaw will slip through.  That's what warranties and lemon laws are for.  Don't be shy about using them.