Hyundai must have got its money's worth out of the Coupé a long time ago. Although we're on the third generation now (that's roughly what the SIII in the name means), this is still basically the same car that first came on the market ten years ago, and the concept is starting to feel a little stale.Not that the Coupé is without appeal. If you ignore the horrible front-end styling introduced in 2000, and later wisely abandoned, this has always been Hyundai's best-looking car by a very substantial margin. In its current form it looks just a little bit like a Ferrari, which is perhaps why it is outstandingly popular in Italy.The looks are the best bit. The Coupé gives the impression that it's a sports car, but in practical terms it isn't. In impractical terms, it certainly is - if you are more than six feet tall you are always going to struggle with the severely limited headroom, and although there are four seats you can forget any attempt to put anyone larger than a healthy four-year old in the back.If you're interested in style, you'll consider this a reasonable swap for the exterior elegance. If you're interested in driving, you'll want a more sporting experience in return for the lack of room. The Coupé doesn't really provide this, though it makes a better job of it in two-litre form than the 2.7-litre V6 we tested recently does.The two-litre engine is the middle of three in the range (there's a 1.6 down at the bottom). It produces 141bhp, which is 24bhp shy of the V6 and leads to a one-second penalty in the 0-62mph time (to 9.3 seconds) and an 8mph shortfall in top speed (to 129mph). If we're still talking about trade-offs, the relative lack of straightline grunt is more than compensated for by vastly better fuel economy. And of course the 2.0 is nearly £2000 cheaper to buy.So much for the sensible stuff. The other benefit of the 2.0 is that it has about the right amount of power for the chassis, and as a result the balance is superior. I've said that the V6 offers a respectable compromise between power and handling, and I still think that, but I also think the compromise in the 2.0 is better.The situation is also helped by the fact that the two-litre four-cylinder engine is inevitably lighter than the 2.7-litre V6. Both cars have an impressive amount of grip, but the 2.0 feels just that little bit sharper, and it's much more fun to drive on challenging country roads.Sounding good so far? Well, the problem is that if you start comparing the SIII 2.0 with other sporting cars, you find that it lags a long way behind. It can be made to dance through corners in an agreeable fashion, but so can an awful lot of ordinary saloons and hatchbacks. Ten years ago the Coupé was not outstanding to drive, and today it feels very ordinary indeed. The most telling fact is that, as a tool for enthusiastic drivers, it is duffed up a treat by the Toyota Celica, a car which is no longer on sale.And yet the strange thing is that I do quite like the Coupé (even if it gives me a pain in the neck because my skull is permanently jammed into the headlining). I think it's more fun than it really ought to be, and I can't explain why this is, except to say that perhaps I'm being persuaded by the way the car looks.I strongly believe that Hyundai should start again with the Coupé and create something that's more interesting to drive. But maybe only a minority of buyers want that. Maybe most of them like the style and don't mind how the car performs and handles. If that's the case, then there's a lot of life left in the car. One thing, though - if impressions are everything, forget what I said earlier and buy the V6, because it sounds vastly better. The SIII 2.0 may look vaguely like a Ferrari, but the image will be shattered as soon as you switch it on. Engine 1998cc, 4 cylinders Power 141bhp Fuel/CO2 35.3mpg / 193g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 9.3 seconds Top speed 129mph Price £17,995 Details correct at publication date
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