Despite being long in the tooth, the Hyundai Coupe still looks incredibly attractive (Image: Getty)
A used car expert has taken to to share how drivers can get behind the wheel of an car that is easy to drive and reliable .
Jonny Brighton is better known to fans as , regularly posting videos in which he recommends all manner of pre-owned cars that offer great value for money.
In , Jonny recommends that drivers on a consider a second-generation , a lesser-known performance model from the 2000s.
He explained: “This second generation car dropped in 2001 and brought with it a slightly more modern shape that ran all the way to 2009 but never got a replacement, marking the end of involvement in anything even remotely sporty until the N brand made its debut.
“It got two facelifts in this time, and for our £1,000 limit, you can get into a final facelift example from 2009 for pretty high mileage, but not with the cool V6 enigne. Instead, you’ll be getting a 2.0 four-cylinder block, which makes 141bhp, taking the car to 60mph in nine seconds.”
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Built from 2001 to 2009, the second-generation Hyundai Coupe undercut more conventional rivals (Image: Hyundai)
Known in its native South Korea as the Tiburon, the Hyundai Coupe aimed to offer all the thrills of a performance model for substantially less when it sold in the UK from 1997 to 2008.
In spite of a 2.0-litre petrol engine that does not seem particularly sporty by modern standards, the Hyundai still offers an impressive amount of standard equipment, including 17-inch alloy wheels, climate control, and heated leather seats.
Whilst a budget of £1,000 is enough to get a used car buyer behind the wheel of a higher-mileage model, £2,500 will buy them a particularly cherished example.
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Jonny praised the Hyundai’s surprisingly lavish list of standard features, including heated seats (Image: Hyundai)
Later in the video, Jonny noted that the Hyundai Coupe has recently gained popularity in amateur racing, with properly prepared examples often fetching around £4,000.
He added: “Today, this car provides the basis for the Hyundai Coupe Cup race series, which is a cheap entry point into motorsport here in the UK, and it helps drivers get into a safer racing environment given they’re front wheel drive.
“The race cars aren’t massively modified outside of the standard safety features, better brake pads, and the likes – the car clearly does enough from a handling and performance perspective. I saw a race-ready model selling for just under £4,000, so it would almost be worth buying a ready-made race car and maintaining it.”
When buying a used Hyundai Coupe on any budget, Jonny recommended that drivers choose an example with a manual gearbox and thoroughly test all electrical components for faults.
He advised: “Go for the manual, not the automatic, and watch out for some electrical issues. The engines are mostly complained about for not giving you any oomph rather than reliability failures.”
Given that the models are starting to get long in the tooth, used car buyers should also check the sills and wheel arches for signs of rust or paint bubbling, particularly if they want to buy a higher-mileage car.