Let's not beat about the bush. The Hyundai cTiburon has its work cut out - if you want to buy a compact, stylish coupé then there are some excellent contenders out there.
How about the new Audi TT or the striking Alfa Romeo Brera; then there's the Nissan 350Z that's still looking cool.
Then there's the Mazda RX-8, a furious and clever four-door variation on a theme.
You might stretch to BMW's enjoyable new 3 Series coupé. You might even think of the Chrysler Crossfire.
Most keen drivers, however, probably wouldn't even think about putting the Hyundai on their list of potential purchases.
That's maybe because they've never heard of it even though it's been around for a while (since 1996). Or, if they have heard of it, they might not realise that Hyundai still makes it and has just gone to the trouble of treating it to a teensy-weensy facelift.
Or perhaps they just don't want a no-image Korean car. Or they don't like the depreciation. Or something. It's an emotional thing, choosing a £20 000 coupé.
To each his own and all that but if I could just persuade you to open your mind for a moment...
The Tiburon still has one or two features to commend it, even in the face of such accomplished competition.
Yes, really.
Oddly for an Hyundai, perhaps, it is quite a beautiful piece of machinery. There's a certain amount of Ferrari inspiration evident in the lines but it's all very nicely done.
The proportions are pretty much perfect, the lines muscular and lithe, the stance of the car, so important on the move, seems also to have been very well judged.
To whom the credit for this should go seems unclear. The Italian house of Pininfarina might like to claim that a little of its DNA has crept in somehow but, as a Ferrari tribute, I have never seen a more lovely attempt.
Bigger rims and a nice mica stone paint job on our test car emphasised the look. I happen to think that it can hold its own against the current crop of coupés, perhaps even including the Alfa Brera.
Indeed, the Tiburon must be the only Hyundai that could realistically lay claim to future classic status. If you're worried about that steep depreciation, then just keep your little Tiburon for ever and enjoy watching it mature.
Which brings me to the second main selling point for this car. It's dirt cheap and much less costly than its notional rivals (and it comes with a five-year warranty).
Mini Ferrari
You can have this mini-Ferrari phenomenon for a modest £15 145 (about R215 000). For that money you'll be getting the less-than-scorching 1.6-litre version; however, in the spirit of those underpowered Ford Capri 1.3's of yesteryear, who cares when you're that handsome?
Aficionados recommend the two-litre which has a 0-100km/h time of 9.2sec because its lighter engine provides a better balance than the 2.7 V6 which will take you all the way to 265km/h.
I don't really mind about that because, to me, the Hyundai is more of a relaxed tourer; the optional automatic box on the V6 brings the list price to a tad over £20 000 (R280 000), but is the best choice.
And, since the Tiburon can't really mix it with a TT or an RX-8 anyway, why bother?
Retro experience
The Hyundai is way off the pace indoors, too. It's got some nice new blue dials and iPod compatibility but when you clamber into Seoul's finest be prepared for a bit of a retro experience.
The materials are mostly decent quality and the red leather on my test car nicely reminiscent of a 1950's Jaguar (that's a plus point, by the way).
So its not bad, and it will, just, seat four but you won't find any buttons on the steering-wheel for the stereo or a satellite navigation system built into the fascia or dual-zone automatic air-conditioning.
Look elsewhere, and spend more, for that.
Old can be good, though, especially when it comes to body size. You really get an impression of the pace of current inflation in car weight and size when you sit in a design like this that's only a decade or so old.
A touch more agile
Its dinkier proportions make the Tiburon a touch more agile and distinctly easier to park and we all know how tricky that is getting these days (mainly because cars are getting so much bigger).
The next generation Tiburon, with us in a year or two, will probably be fatter and could scarcely be as gorgeous but, as before, Hyundai may surprise us. - The Independent, London