Hyundai Coupe SIII 2.0

Firstly I know nothing about cars and so all technical info will come from my husband who has maintained and repaired every car he's ever had and so therefore knows what he is talking about. I on the other hand only care that they get me safely from A to B and back again in some degree of comfort. I know what a mini and a lambourghini look like and must admit i'm rather partial to the latter so long as it's yellow.

We purchased this car as part exchange for a Golf GTI. It was manufactured in 2002 and had 23.500 miles on the clock.

When my husband told me he was getting another car I wasn't too fussed as I thought the Golf was fine.

That said when my husband brought this car home I was impressed. It was silver and very sporty looking and quite sexy. So I thought I would give it the once over from a passengers point of view. I don't drive. I did try it but there was too much concentration involved and as I have the concentration span of a goldfish I thought it would be safer for the population at large to remain a passenger. Anyway my husband needs me to keep him informed of what shops are having sales as we drive past as he can't take his eyes off the road so that's my job.

So back to the car I found it difficult to get in it as it's one of those low slung sporty affairs. I'm getting on a bit and found the only way to do it was just to let myself drop into it. Getting out is slightly harder but with one hand on the frame of the car and the other on the door I can manage to haul myself out. Not very graceful or ladylike but then I am never graceful or ladylike. It has nice leather seats which the grandson likes because he can swivel about on them and make splendid farty noises.

It has electric windows and air conditioning and also an electric sunroof . Apparently you don't often get air conditioning and sunroof in a car usually one or the other being the norm.
I checked to see if it had the all important light up mirror in the sunvisor and yes it did and the light actually worked. The sunvisor is quite a bit bigger than usual and therefore covers more of the windsceen helping to block out the sun much better.

One thing that really won me over was the cup holder ( I am very easily pleased) now I had somewhere to put my bottle of fruitshoot instead of stuffing it down the side of the door. On the drivers side there is a sunglasses holder in the visor which pleased my husband as he collects sunglasses like I collect handbags.

I was surprised at the size of the boot. I thought with it being a sporty car it would have a tiny boot but no I can get all my shopping in it with plenty of room to spare.
Although not quite as comfortable a ride as the Golf ,being able to feel the bumps in the road a bit more,it is by no means uncomfortable.

Techno Bit
2 Litre 16 Valve Engine which does on average 35 miles to the gallon on unleaded petrol
Top speed 135mph
Very good responsive anti locking brakes
Multiple airbags
Good road holding and sturdy around corners not wobbling about like jelly!
Central locking
Tinted electric windows
Electric sunroof and wing mirrors
Tilt / lift steering wheel with power steering
Central locking
Split folding rear seats
Insurance group 10
Reliable it starts every time
Comes with security A Category 1 or 2 alarm as standard
No major faults after a year of being in daily use no problems
Spares are not really found in the scrap yard as of yet but shop around for cheaper deals rather than go to the main dealers
Keeps it's good looks and still looks smart even when older (wish i did)
The fuel gauge tells you how much further you can travel with the amount of fuel left in the tank
The ECU which is the energy control unit learns the way you drive and adjusts the timing to suit the way you drive.

When pushed on any niggles he had with the car all he could come up with is the main beam is too bright and it is not adjustable.

What you could pay for a cheap new car you could get a top quality older car such as this. Try and go for one with leather interior as it looks smarter and is easier to clean.

The car has been used everyday for work and we have been on several long haul journeys with it with no problem.
The only major work on it was when we were crashed into by a people carrier who was reversing out of a parking space as we were waiting to park up. She had obviously just used her rear view mirror and couldn't see our car as it is so low. If she had looked in the wing mirror she would have seen us. Nobody was hurt but the driver door and back panel were a write off and it cost her insurance £1.500 to put right. The garage did an excellent job and it looked as good as new.So there you have it. Seriously smart car with no major problems, reliable and, for a performance car ,fairly economical.
Just in case you were wondering about the title of this review, Sylvia is what my husband calls this car he names them all bless him.

Thank you for reading