W/R/T the Elantra, spending just a few bucks more gets you a supremely better and safer car such as a Rabbit, Impreza, Civic, or Mazda3.

In terms of design quality and overall product orientation, Hyundai is clearly aiming to be the new Toyota while Toyota becomes the new GM. But while the Scion/Toyota/Lexus brands are organized hierarchically, Hyundai/Kia suffers from brand confusion much like Chevrolet/Pontiac.

Just when Hyundai seems to be emerging as the more upscale Korean brand, it goes on a cheapest-car-in-North-America campaign while giving the all-new $40,000 Borrego to Kia. And just when Kia seems to be emerging as the more funky/youthful brand, Hyundai gets the Genesis Coupe. Meanwhile, the core models from each brand are barely differentiated, often competing against, rather than complementing, each other. How do you say “perplexing” in Korean?

From Car and Driver:

Highs: Sharp-looking alloy wheels, pretty decent front seats, starts every time.

Lows: Nose-blowing sound from the engine, slack-cable feel of the steering, loosey-goosey handling.

The Verdict: Why buy used when you can get brand-new ’80s sophistication?

The Elantra was a good car even back then. It finished 2nd.

Highs: Gutsy performance; driver-friendly cockpit; satisfying responses from the machinery; and low, low price.

Lows: Stinky new-car smell, high-speed handling a little queasy.

The Verdict: If you can find a better portfolio of feels and features at this price, buy it.

This comparison test sold me alot of Elantras at the Hyundai dealership.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/2002_kia_spectra_vs_dodge_neon_ford_focus_honda_civic_and_four_more_economy_cars_comparison_test+page-10.html

Hit the nail on the head when it comes to the Elantra. I have an ‘02 model and the engine/auto tranny combo is severely mismatched. I was a bit pissed when Hyundai redesigned the car that the makeover wasn’t more substantial. Same platform, same engines, same transmissions. Same crappy driving dynamics. I can’t wait to get the Mazdaspeed3 and inject some driving excitement in my life.

about the cars, i prefer to buy gently used cars for that money. You can get some pretty cool wheels for 14 or 15 large, a few years old.

I avoid lower gears and drive nuetral on heavy traffic without tapping the brakes.
Drive your car like a 10 wheeler no tailgating and avoid excessive braking.

Bu the most important thing these cars will survive because of the price and fuel economy.

General Motors Crushed their future when they ended the life of the Electric Vehicle

Now, if you drove the GLS with the 195-65-15 tires, then there was your handling problem right there…

To somehow say that a bland-ass Cobalt is better than an Elantra shows some sort of bias that defies logic.

I looked at all of the numbers, and the Elantra is a “Four-Star” car in its segment, while a Cobalt is a solid “Three” (except for the SS, but that’s over 20k).

The interior of the Elantra is just fine, BTW, whereas the Cobalt just seems stamped out of the same dull plastic. Hyundai actually put rubber moldings around the front windshield, the Cobalt’s looks like it was just dropped in place.

And despite some initial body roll, the Elantra SE (with 205-55-16) marks a 55.5 MPH run through CR’s “Avoidance Maneuver”, while a Cobalt LT (with the same size tires) manages 51 MPH (The SS does it @ 56.5 MPH, 1 MPH better than the Elantra)

But the Elantra is NOT a supercar, admittedly, it would be quite boring with an automatic; but to say that it’s “bottom of the barrel” and less than equivalent to a Cobalt is misleading in the face of facts.

Either the Elantra, the Spectra or the Cobalt would be a solid choice for basic transportation in this segment, but the Korean twins are a bit less bland than the workaday Cobalt — it really depends on who’s rebate is bigger…

Speaking of the Forenza, as long as that sack o’ tinfoil is in said barrel, the Hyundai mehmobiles can’t be lining the bottom.

It has completely different, but still very bland, sheet metal that distinguishes it from the Elantra Sedan and the Spectra. As a sort of hatchback/mini station wagon thing, it seems to be more on the station wagon side of things where its only direct competition is the crappy Suzuki Forenza and the over-priced VW Jetta.

Not only were its gear ratios ill-matched to the engine, it was hyper-sensitive to throttle-induced downshifts. The engine was relatively quiet in around-town driving (to its credit), but I quickly realized that if you didn’t pay attention, the transmission would shift up, then immediately kick down and stay in the next lower gear. That improved throttle response, certainly, but it resulted in less than 20 mpg in city traffic. The only way I got the transmission to behave was to drive like there was an egg under the throttle and make a point of lifting off after every upshift (especially into fourth). My feeling was, “This is a labor-saving device?”

We purchased the quasi-SAAB model with the hatchback and the knockoff SAAB “waterfall” dashboard. Much to my surprise, the car ended up being really nice. It now has well over 100K miles on it, and has not had any issues.

My only criticism of the car, was with the auto-transmission gearing, whose second gear would dump the engine into lower revs where no torque existed.

Otherwise, the Elantra was reliable and returned as high as 37mpg on long trips. No, the car was not Mazda fun, but otherwise it did everything I expect of a car.

As for the new model, call me crazy, but I really like the new look. I wish it was available with a hatchback, and I admit that at some angles it looks a little weak-kneed. But otherwise, I really like it. I’m constantly confusing it (at a distance) with a Lexus. Which is to say to Hyundai, “mission accomplished.”

Dodge. Caliber.

Well, ok, maybe it’s not Lada terrible. Or even Kia Sephia/Chevy Cavalier/Hyundai Excel terrible, but it manages to be worse than the Neon, and that takes real effort.

It’s a typical car for typical people. Nothing to brag abou.

A car that can take you to work and back.

[Hey... Fix your "Hyundai" spelling in the headline.]

This is poetry. Nice review.

I’m pretty sure they are coming out of different plants, but could be mistaken.

H/K don’t really have very good long-term quality. Once they hit the century mark, they tend to get far rougher and defect prone than their Detroit brethren. At least that’s been my experiences at the auctions.

As for late models, I’m seeing a lot more cost cutting in new models than those from the prior generations. The technology has also improved a great deal, especially with the development of metals. I would say that the greatest benefit of the American marketplace is that vehicles are finally becoming safer without necessarily having to be heavier. Until recently, the pricing pressures on commodities have negated whatever improvements would have been possible in material quality.

An interesting comparo that would probably highlight this is taking a 1994 Camry and comparing it with a 2009 Corolla. The thickness of the body panels, the technology and maintenance ease (or lack of ease) of the engines, the quality of the interiors… and even the perceived quality of the product vis-a-vis it’s competitors. Despite Toyota’s reputation these days, their older models were the ones that earned the premium for quality. The current models have a far heavier focus on decontenting in order to keep them price competitive.