Hyundai Cars -- is it time to buy them?

The Sonata literally saved my life from a world of hurt. I love my Sonata apart from its stupid broken cup holder.

I've heard both good and bad things -- their 10 year, 100k mile guarantee is worth considering, but after hearing about the recall issues [washingtonpost.com], is it really worth being a Hyundai pioneer? Especially since the Sonata and the Camry are very closely priced?

Despite only being on the market about a year, Honda is pushing up the Civic's midlife refresh to the 2013 model year, only 18 months after the current generation was introduced. After major criticisms from the press about the new Civic, Honda is moving faster than normal to fix its popular Civic.

The 2012 Civic has suffered with the automotive press due to its lower quality interior and less than adequate suspension. The 2012 Civic even lost its "recommended" rating (non-Si models) from Consumer Reports. Initially it was announced that a heavily revised Civic would arrive sometime in 2013, but now it's being reported that an "improved" Civic will arrive this fall for the 2013 model year.

Most midlife refreshes usually happen three years after a model is released and even then the changes are small with tweaks to the front and rear fascias and maybe small updates to the interior. Thankfully the updates to the Civic are expected to be much larger

^ So it makes sense to pay $9k more for the Toyota, er Lexus LS460 - just for the espresso? (Now, that's stupid).

Not that Equus owners have to ever set foot in a dealership since at home/work pick-up and delivery is included (service that only some Lexus dealerships provide).

Took all your input into consideration and ended up getting a Sonata I got the final go-ahead from my insurance agent. I asked which was cheaper to insure - Sonata GLS Popular Package or Camry LE. He said Sonata GLS. I asked why and he said that the Sonata is a quantitatively safer car. Thanks for all your help!

^ So it makes sense to pay $9k more for the Toyota, er Lexus LS460 - just for the espresso? (Now, that's stupid).

Not that Equus owners have to ever set foot in a dealership since at home/work pick-up and delivery is included (service that only some Lexus dealerships provide).

LOL - if you equate a Hyundai to a Lexus, there is no chance you would ever pay $60k for a car anyway.

Cars are a status symbol. Lexus mean you are on top of the heap. Hyundai means you are on the bottom. It is that simple.

You've obviously never seen a Genesis, or an Equus for that matter. The Genesis and Elantra have won Motortrend's car of the year in the last five years. When has lexus done that?

Don't get me wrong.... Lexus is a fine company that offers a smooth ride, but Hyundai is becoming a force to be reckoned with, and honestly, to placate brand-name conscious people like you, they should created their own lux brand like Toyota did with Lexus long ago (and Honda did with Acura, and Nissan with infiniti, etc)

But you get my point right? Whether the car is technically good or not is beside the point. Cars are status symbols. Lexus and Hyundai are on opposite ends of that list.

If you have money, you are not driving a Hyundai. 95% of the people that buy them do so because they are cheap. They might be reliable/smooth ride/etc as well, but that isn't why they are purchased by the majority that own them. I doubt many companies that offer cars to their executives get too many requests for Hyundais.

Oh and Motortrend is a joke, they simply bow to whoever pays the most with who is going to be "car of the year" to keep the advertisers happy. It means absolutely nothing.

At the same time, Hyundai has been among those manufacturers that have had to discount their vehicles the least in order to sell them. According to Edmunds.com, Hyundai discounts have been the second or third lowest of the 18 or so tracked by the website, less than $1,000 per car for most of 2012. That puts it in better shape than even BMW, which has typically not had to spend much to entice customers to buy its tony products.

Hyundai was cheap 5-10 years ago. They've made HUGE strides since then to the point where the new elantra coupe is now MORE expensive than the Honda Civic (which was trashed by CR last year and pulled from its recommended list). Most of their cars now are in short supply and sell closer to MSRP than any other car maker out there, including BMW.

See my post above for links to substantiate all of that: http://slickdeals.net/forums/show...stcount=49

Even the low-end Chevrolets are higher on the status list than Hyundais.

Not anymore. Get with the times. GM has been bleeding marketshare ever since it got bailed out by Obama in 2009. Hyundai/Kia have been growing marketshare in the US over the same period of time. The facts are what they are. Hyundai is selling cars like hotcakes and can't keep them on the lots and they are running their factories at full capacity. Look at the data for how long a Hyundai Veloster or a Hyundai Elantra sits on the lot. It's impressive.

Chevy gets the dubious honor of having the most disliked car of all: http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/10/a.../index.htm

A status symbol is more the maker than the model. Chevrolet is higher than Hyundai in this regard.

Again, my point is they are NOT the car you drive when you have money. And price alone does not determine whether a car is a status symbol. In order for Hyundai to move up the ladder, another car would have to replace it on the bottom. Even the low-end Chevrolets are higher on the status list than Hyundais. Hyundai started at the very bottom when it was first available. It has not moved up on the list. Quite frankly, it probably never will. So no matter how "good" they make the car, how much they increase the price, how many rave reviews it gets, it always has been and always will be a status symbol of the failure of the owner to make enough money to get a higher status symbol. Like it or not, it is what it is.