Hyundai Coupe 97/98/99

md99

hey, thinking of purchasing a black or silver (if I can find one) Coupe at some stage... wondering how are these cars as regards reliability? I'm rather used to it and I'd rather not be running into problems constantly... I have a Corolla at the moment which has never given any hassle.

How reliable is the Coupe? and what are its most common problems?
Thanks in advance.

racso1975

What's Good
If the Lantra is 'the curvy car', then this is 'the swoopy coupe'. The first incarnation was good looking and a lot of coupe for the money. 14' 3" long by 5' 8" wide and around 1,200kg. 112 bhp 1.6 the entry level at a reasonable £14,000. 137 bhp 2.0 litre a more serious car with standard alloys. Aircon optional on 1.6 and 2.0i; standard on 2.0iSE which also comes with leather seats. FI has big alloys and low-profile tyres. Will impress those who don't know what it is and is not a bad car in its own right. 130 mph plus. Handles nicely. Sells very well. Re-styled Y2k model has better sound-proofing and re-tuned, pleasant-sounding exhaust. Priced from £12,999 for the 1.6i. 19th from top of 100 models for reliability in Auto Express 2002 survey. Hyundais generally had below average warranty repair costs in 2003 Warranty Direct Reliability index (index 78.85 v/s lowest 31.93). 27th from top car out of 137 in 2003 Top Gear survey. Hyundai 3rd top top of Reliability Index for 2004 combining low average cost of repair of £315.78 with low 22.35 failures per 100 Warranty Direct policies. Link:- www.reliabilityindex.co.uk

Help: www.hyundaiownersclub.co.uk

Last updated 26-4-2007

What's Bad
OTT launch advertising campaign compared the look of it to a Ferrari. Will not confer quite the same status on driver as a 3-Series, a Corrado, a Celica or even a Prelude. Year 2000 front-end restyle is not to everyone's taste.
What to Watch Out For
Cars that are flash for not much cash can be prime candidates for the repo man, so used examples may be without service books and some of the keys, and definitely warrant an HPI check. Still young enough to want to see full dealer service history.

As per honest john website

zuutroy

I owned a 1.6 '97 model. Loved it...Still think its one of the best looking reasonably priced cars made in a long time. Comfortable to drive, very quick for a 1.6, interior a bit plasticy but hey, its from Korea! I'll buy another one for the collection in the next couple of years. Only trouble I had in a couple of years of ownership was a plug lead going, and the clutch needed replacing (though it had a towbar when i bought it, so that why I think the clutch went at 70k). Go for it!...a 99 in that blue colour.

Owen

Quite possibly one of the ugliest cars ever made. Look at the amount of metal above the wheel arches, it's like they designed the car, and then looked over in the corner at leftover 7 inch alloys and though "*sigh* we'd better make them fit, eh?" There's so much metal between the rear wheel, and rear side window, the whole car looks out of proportion.

zuutroy

Its definitely a love it or hate it car!

Owen

Well, the newer shaped Coupé is a far superior car in terms of design. Another thing I hated about the older design, is that if you look at the car from behind, the waistline of the car is actually wider than the wheelbase. Hyundai did this with all cars at the time, with the accident, sorry, I mean accent, and the Santa Fé too. Poor poor design.

crosstownk

I always found that generation of Hyundai Coupé to get a bit 'rattly' and 'loose' as the years and miles rolled up. There was some issue (coil packs IIRC) on them too. The later model was a much better product, imho.

FX Meister

The most commom problem is that it is one of the most disgusting looking cars on the road. FACT. The newer model is 6,567 times better. Spend a bit more and get one of those instead of the one that looks like a ferrari's abortion.