© the other press e¢ Opinions Pn Hy November 5, 2003 Celica vs. Eclipse vs. Munir Amlani David Lam Coordinator Get ready to be blown away! This is the car review youre been waiting for...the top three sport coupes at the $30,000 mark. This comparison was inspired by a fellow car enthusiast and layout coordinator for the Other Press, Gerard Then. And I must say, it was a very enjoyable and entertaining car review. We went to three dealerships, Other Press business cards in hand, and were well catered to by all three dealers. Since we had a standing relationship with the Hyundai dealer (Langley Hyundai), we decided to start with them first. Hyundai Tiburon Tuscani Our test car was a screaming yellow Tiburon with a special get-up, including leather seats with yellow inserts and yellow reflective tint on the rear win- dows. This car screamed for attention. The only thing I was worried about in this car was attracting the wrong kind of attention—like the kind that drives around with red and blue lights on the roof of its car, and loves to pull over yellow sports cars that scream for attention. Luckily, though, that didn’t happen. We went through city streets, back roads, and onto the highway. The car had solid acceleration, beauti- fully intuitive steering, and precise brake control. The engine was remarkably smooth in every gear and it loved to rev. I found myself revving up to 6,000rpm in every gear just for the fun of it, but drove above 3,000rpm most of the time, since the car didn’t have much power below that mark. Above ee Page 10 e hittp://www.otherpress.ca Tiburon 3,000, the car simply hummed as it passed other cars on the road, as though they were all standing still. It was effortless. The 6-speed manual transmission was notchy but the short throws between gears allowed it to be shifted fairly quickly and intuitively through the gears. On a practical level, the transmission was a little too notchy for racing—I had to pay a little too much attention when shifting. On the other hand, it would be perfectly fine for normal, everyday driving. Also, although the car had plenty of torque, there was no acceleration at all in sixth gear. This is quite normal in a car of this class; I don’t think 6-speed trannies should be offered in anything with less than 250 horsepower. As such, I found myself not want- ing to shift into sixth, at all. Not even when I was cruising on the freeway, since I just kept down-shift- ing into fifth every time the traffic speed or the road grade fluctuated. Overall, the sixth gear was extrane- ous. Although the 6-speed transmission doesn’t hurt the car in any way, if I drove this car daily, especially in Vancouver, sixth would be mostly unused. Now, for the best part about this car: its looks. This car was undoubtedly the most gorgeous of the bunch. I know this is a highly subjective area, but Hyundai ripped off all the styling cues from Ferrari, so they couldn’t go wrong. The car was, overall, very low profile, featuring projector beam headlights and standard fog lights. Every design component of this car, from the side-view mirrors to the moulded door panels, was painstakingly put together in European Hyundai Tiburon Tuscani style, and made the car look like it was worth much more than it actually cost. This was also the only car of the bunch that looks equally as good with or with- out a spoiler. The interior appointments featured leather wrapped steering wheel and brushed metal accents. Clearly, the car exhibits passion in its design. Although this car fit my 5-foot-6-inch body well, and was quite roomy inside, I felt claustrophobic in it. I couldn’t see the hood from the driver's seat, and felt otherwise isolated from the outside world. I felt I wasn’t connecting enough with the road beneath the car or the air around it, except when the sunroof and windows were open. Although this one factor may be enough to deter me from buying a Tiburon, I haven't heard similar comments from anyone else, so my experience may be an isolated occurrence, and may prove to have no bearing on yours. If you are considering this car, I strongly recommend the “pre- mium” sound system. The “standard” system in our test Tiburon was less than impressive. Mitsubishi Eclipse GT The second car we test drove was the Mitsubishi Eclipse GT, courtesy of Langley Mitsubishi. Can you say POWER? This car had an abundance of it. A 3- litre, V-6 engine in its chest pumped out 200 horse- power through its veins. Moreover, it had a silky- smooth shifter with its 5-speed manual transmission. The ride quality was soft and smooth. This is a car made for cruising long distances and going uphill for great lengths, such as weekly trips to Whistler. Hyundai Tiburon Tuscani Interior Mitsubishi Eclipse GT Interior