From £17,236
Redesign makes the Hyundai Coupe a bit of an acquired taste, but its value-for-money USP is still a (fairly) powerful draw

What’s new?

The main changes to Hyundai's Coupe are redesigned lights front and rear and a new nose with a slightly odd single flared-nostril grille. The cabin gets a makeover, too, with better quality materials, blue-lit dials and an iPod-compatible stereo.

What’s it like?

In many ways, the Hyundai Coupé is an excellent car. It’s good looking, handles well, has accurate steering and a decent interior. Even the ride – which we criticised in the old model – is better, though the Coupé still jars around town.

It’s not all good news, though. The engine is only just powerful enough, it feels unwilling to rev and sufficiently coarse to be genuinely unpleasant on the ear.

Should I buy one?

The biggest problem with the Coupé is the price. At almost £18k, it’s £200 more expensive than a Focus ST and £500 more than a Mazda MX-5 2.0i, both of which are more fun and, frankly, more desirable too. However, if you must have a sub-£20k Coupé, it should be your choice, because it’s the only choice.

Matt Rigby

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mac900 3 March 2009

Re: Hyundai Coupé 2.0

In answer to the question 'Should I buy one?', then I'd say why not, since as a second hand proposition, it is actually very hard to beat!

My wife and I have just purchased a two year old, 2.0 SIII, with less than 10k miles on the clocks and we paid less than £9k.

Now that is an absolute bargain, especially considering the car's build quality; levels of equipment (including full leather interior; climate control; heated seats; electric sunroof; to name but a few); adequate performance and the remainder of that superb 5 year warranty.

Now in the real world of car ownership, I'd say that was a compelling argument . . . . it even drives really well!