For some, the swoopy Hyundai Coupe from the mid-1990s was the first interesting Korean car. For some, the Genesis was, and then there are people who still wait for one to appear. But I find even the 1988-unveiled Scoupe, or S Coupe interesting, as the design simply works for me.
The Scoupe wasn’t anything to boast about, but why should it? There are Excel mechanicals underneath the two-door body, and most of that was made out of Mitsubishi hardware. It was all about getting the brand out and about, and getting people behind the wheel of something with a Hyundai logo.


 
The Scoupe might undercut even the Paseo with the levels of prestige it has, but the design is fairly better, more balanced, and doesn’t really put a foot wrong – especially with the first generation. The interior on the Scoupe is forgettable hard plastic, but it’s all par for the course.

Later on, the car was facelifted and rounded up a bit, and it did become just a touch more anonymous in the process. With the 80-hp Mitsubishi engine replaced by Hyundai’s own units, you were also able to get a turbo version by now, and the power output ranged from 90hp to all of 115. Dazzling stuff.

Clean Scoupes are hard to come by, as is often the case with lowest tier econo-sportiness. They did tend to rust out in the north, and the Mitsu drivetrains weren’t probably the most robust ones available. But I wouldn’t completely disregard a tidy one, if it came my way.