So it's heartening to report that, as well as significantly enhancing the mechanical allure of the new Coupe with a 2.7-litre V6 engine and a close-ratio six-speed 'box, Hyundai has made the effort to wrap it in an equally seductive body. In fact, whisper it, the new Hyundai Coupe is a bit of a looker.

Admittedly the boldly sculpted flanks are a blatant rip-off of the Ferrari 456GT, but the Coupe's muscular, four-square stance, bold face and sleek profile are satisfyingly cohesive. The only real criticism is that it's perhaps too conservative and derivative compared with its gargoyle-faced predecessor.

Open the big, curvy door and, much like the exterior, the Coupe's interior is styled in a safe, satisfying and yet strangely familiar fashion. Prominent central air vents and a deeply hooded instrument binnacle will give Ford Cougar drivers a funny sense of deja vu, while the silver-rimmed dials and fat red instrument needles shamelessly ape those of the Audi TT. It all feels solidly screwed together and the plastics used are of even quality and texture, but the cockpit lacks genuine inspiration. There are a couple of sparks of Far Eastern quirkiness however, and they can be found in the centre console, just above the stereo: two circular dials, one displaying engine torque, the other fuel economy. However, both are rendered next to useless because their needles spend the duration of any drive flicking wildly back and forth like a couple of crazed turbo boost gauges.

With a pair of chunky Recaro seats up front and a fat-rimmed steering wheel, you soon feel comfortable in the Coupe, although a lack of seat height adjustment could compromise those less vertically challenged than yours truly (4ft 7in on tiptoe). There's not much cranium clearance in the back either, and with legroom at a premium too, adults won't thank you for a prolonged spell as rear seat passengers. To be fair though, the Hyundai is nowhere near as claustrophobic as a TT, front or rear.

The big appeal of the Coupe is the new V6, which sounds cultured and characterful from the moment you turn the key. At 2.7 litres, it's a substantial engine for a modestly sized car, so your performance expectations are naturally high. Imagine, then, the disappointment on discovering that Hyundai's 'Delta' V6 fails to muster even hot-hatch levels of power. In a day and age when specific outputs of 80bhp per litre or more are commonplace, 62bhp per litre is a pretty mediocre achievement. Consequently, despite the best efforts of a six-speed gearbox packed with tightly stacked ratios, the Hyundai Coupe never delivers the kind of punch you rightly expect from it. Below 3000rpm it feels lethargic, by 4000rpm it begins to gain pace with a little more conviction, but only when you really work it beyond 6000rpm does the Coupe feel remotely rapid. In a straight fight with an Astra Coupe Turbo, the Hyundai wouldn't even see which way the Vauxhall went.

Fortunately the V6 always sounds sweet, so you don't mind giving it a pasting, and the well-chosen intermediate gears ensure you can maximise your exit speed from any given corner. The chassis does its bit too, with plenty of grip from the fat 215/45 Michelin Pilot Sports, nicely weighted and informative steering and a usefully throttle-adjustable balance through fast and medium speed corners. On a glorious stretch of the Route Napoleon through the mountains to the west of Nice, the Coupe's chassis really comes alive on the smooth sweeps, dips and crests of one of Europe's best driver's roads. It's true the surface is flattering, but with strong front-end bite, confident turn-in and a modest but easily exploitable and controllable amount of lift-off oversteer to play with, the Hyundai is a rewarding partner. Tight switchbacks reveal the standard traction control's tendency to intervene prematurely as the V6's 180lb ft of torque meets the tarmac, especially in damp conditions or on bumpy surfaces. Turning the system off helps a little, because rampant wheelspin isn't really on the cards unless it's very slippery or you're in first gear, but on dry roads you do notice the odd twitch and tug of torque steer pulling the Coupe's nose off line.

At low speed the Coupe is never particularly supple and over lumpy urban surfaces it can be positively crashy. The damping settles at higher speeds, but it never displays the taut, pliant 'tip-toe' feel of, say, a Puma. On the whole though it feels far better sorted than its Elantra saloon underpinnings would lead you to expect, and presented with a clear stretch of decent road the Coupe possesses a genuine ability to entertain.

With an estimated price of ΂£19,000, the Hyundai Coupe will be reasonably rather than ruthlessly priced when it goes on sale in February. Vauxhall's vastly more potent Astra Coupe Turbo and Toyota's banshee Celica 190 both cost similar money, which is bound to make life hard for the Korean newcomer. Although it's now at least as good- looking as any of its rivals, we can't help feeling that Hyundai's flagship Coupe is relying rather too much on the cache of a creamy six-cylinder motor without delivering a convincing increase in firepower over the lesser - but equally handsome - 138bhp, 2-litre, four-cylinder version. If it had another 30bhp, the V6 Coupe really would be a serious force to be reckoned with. As it stands, the big engine's frankly disappointing output lets the rest of this able and desirable package down.