madoka

So when the Sonata, for example, has class leading power, power-to-weight, MPG, warranty, and "offers more value than anything else in its class" (carsdirect), you called Hyundai "cheap."

But when a Lexus has the same attributes, it is revolutionary?

Here are a couple:

- a world first lane departure warning system that is able to distinguish between white and yellow lines
- haptic seat belts

There are supposed to be 10 world firsts in the Equus.

For the record, I own an LS430, IS F and a LX570. I've never owned a Hyundai and I've criticized the Equus as being overpriced and having inferior quality compared to the LS. That said, I find it disturbing how biased some people on this forum are regarding anything Hyundai does. Again, I heard the same criticisms currently lodged against Hyundai back in 1989 when we got the LS400.

TRDFantasy

Care to share any links or documents of these world firsts for the Equus, or is this secret information you got direct from Korea? If the Equus had that many world firsts, I'm sure Hyundai marketing would have been going nuts by now trying to promote them.

LexFather

Is the Sonata is luxury car? It is not so it doesn't matter here. We are talking about luxury cars. I've praised the Sonata as well, multiple times.

I owned a Hyundai. There are legitimate concerns and criticisms here. Its not like anyone is saying the Equuas is a P.O.S or anything of that nature.

mmarshall

Unless I missed something, Mike, you owned a 20-year-old Scoupe, didn't you? (essentially a 2-door Excel/Mitsubshi Precis). That, of course, is a far cry from today's Hyundais, although I can't deny that a modified Scoupe won the Pikes' Peak Hill Climb.

LexFather

Yup. A complete P.O.S and while I applaud them for their new efforts I won't spend my money on them again. No different than the crappy Fords and GM cars my family bought in the past. We have moved on and not looking back.

Some brands like Toyota/Lexus have done something weird. Build damn good cars over and over and I've been happy. Egads!

mmarshall

There's some evidence, though, to show that former Toyota people are moving to exactly that......GM and Ford. GM, today, posted the first profit in years.....I'm sure you saw the story.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

400K unit fleets sales for GM helps,Mike.
I'm not a fan of Hyundai no matter how good they're vehicles are said to be.I test drove a new Santa Fe and wasn't impressed at all.In fact,I was disappointed with all this talk of how great Hyundai is now,at least with that model..
I do like Ford,though.

oohpapi44

iTrader: (1)

+1 and I'm sure there are tons of former Hyundai Owners who's experience with the company was bad enough that we will not be coming back unless they do something extraordinary. Removing the Hyundai name would have been a great start.

J.P.

We are one of them. Wife is part Korean and wanted to buy a Korean car, and now she will never buy a Hyundai again. Multiple major part failures before 100k, several out of pocket, 100k warranty is really BS and the list goes on.

They are making some great looking cars inside and out but after initial quality it falls off.

After 50k miles you see why the car is cheaper
The dealer network is HORRIABLE, people seem to over look this but it takes an owner to know
The dealer service is even worse
Depreciation value is brutal

Again nice styles, nice prices, but factor everything in and it’s not a deal

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

People get all pumped up over Hyundai's 10/100K warranty.
It's just on the powertrain.

J.P.

I don’t want to drag the thread off topic but to add to this…

We had issues getting power train items covered, they look for every single way out to pay a claim, the services rivals that of big 3 dealers in the 90’s.

Would it be ok to lease an Equus for 3 years? Sure!

But all I am saying is when it comes down to buying and owning one 5+ years and putting 50-60k+ on their products, no thanks.

TRDFantasy

Hyundai supporters don't want to hear this, let alone let others hear this.

Fact is, this is true and I've observed this for years now with Hyundai. It's style over substance. Initial quality has improved for Hyundai, but we have yet to see proof that very long-term quality has improved.

A perfect example of this was a Hyundai recall made last year regarding rusted subframes. Many 1999-2004 Sonatas along with 2001-2004 XG300s were recalled for severe subframe rust problems. For a 2004 car, this is inexcusable. There were separate recalls for 2001-2003 Elantras, 2001-2003 Tiburons and 2001-2003 Sante Fe models for severe (suspension) rust problems as well.

You get what you pay for. You're not going to get Lexus quality for Hyundai money, or better-than-Toyota quality for super-low prices. It just doesn't work like that. By quality, in this case I am specifically referring to long-term quality.

Compared to the previous generation, the new Sonata is cheaper in several ways. Same thing with the new Kia Sportage compared to the previous generation, or the new Hyundai Tuscon compared to the previous generation.

shyguy16

the first only D class korean flagship to date?

I8ABMR

good post

nthach

This. My old boss had an 2004 Santa Fe, and while it served them well for 4 years it became a oil burner after that. It needed a new engine and catalytic converter and they just junked it. The Koreans have made leaps and bounds with their products, but I don't know if I can trust them beyond a cell phone or a TV just yet.

OTOH, those Bobcats you see on the jobsite or a field are now made by Doosan, a Korean firm. Those are a solid, proven design - Doosan has been building engines for a while as well.