im shopping for a new car for college. i will be driving quite a lot so i want something relatively reliable and with good mpg. obviously i prefer the sporty look, but i saw that these are some of the more conservative gas guzzlers. which one would be best? i wont get anything older than an 05. i will probably buy a standard if that makes a difference. personal experience with either would be very much appreciated!

I'm just gonna repeat what I told Sare Bear ("I just bought a new car ..?") a few days ago. I said:

I think "The Shark" is the best kept secret in the automotive world! Trust me on this. I fell in love with the '99 model Tiburon, which is like yours, but I couldn't afford to buy one until several years later.

Finally I bought a 2003 model with the 4-cylinder, 134 hp engine. It gets 22-24 mpg in town and over 30 on the highway... about 26 mpg on average. If you have the V-6, it will get less on the mileage, but it will go like a bat outta hell.

I have had NO problems in over 4 years. Zero! Nada! I replaced the battery and recently the tires, that's all. One time the engine light went on and the computer had to be reset, but no repairs were necessary. I took it in for a free recall on something that had to be changed on the sun roof, but it wasn't messed up.

I installed gull-wing doors and Tuscani emblems (which is what it's called in Korea, Canada and Europe). I got them from Shark Racing on the Internet. You can really pimp your ride with stuff from these guys. One day a kid saw my car with the doors up and said, "That's sick, man!" Once another guy actually asked me, "What model Lamborghini is that?" No kidding!

I could go on all day about this car. Check it out on the Net. Have fun!

The Hyundai IS A VERY GOOD CAR. Especially for the price but the gas mileage is killer. Especially for someone in college.
18 mpg city
22 mpg highway

I do own a Tiburon and absolutely love it. Its just a pleasure to drive around all day. The car isn't very sound proof so there is a bit of road noise.

It also small, but shouldn't be a problem.

Performance wise. The rsx is probably a bit faster, but the tibby has more torque which makes its hella fun to whip around corners.

Tibbys are very reliable. Nothing major needed replacing on my 03.