Archive for the ‘Hyundai’ Category

What sports car is $87,000 Canadian less expensive than the new 911 Carrera 4S, is a spectacular looking machine in the driveway and will for the most part satisfy your need for speed? It?s the all new 2003 Hyundai Tiburon GS-R.

Sure this may sound like a commercial, but I can’t help myself. I really like this car. Of course we can’t seriously compare the new Tiburon to the Carrera 4S, its main competition will come from the likes of Acura and the Toyota Celica. So how does the Tiburon stack up? Well, let’s see.

Keeping up Appearances

On first approach, the 2003 Tiburon is a great improvement over the bulbous design of the 2002 model. The lines are clean and serious. Its stance is sleek, aggressive and it?s foot sure. The side shark fins are especially appealing to me as they are reminiscent of the side body ribs on my old ?58 Corvette. Never before has the name Shark, (pronounced Tiburon in Spanish) been more appropriate for this sports car. Not a pony, or a mustang, this shark is poised to attack. Read the rest of this entry »

In this staid and cultured part of the country, every bend in the road seems to offer a new museum, art gallery or music center. This is the home of quiet, understated elegance, with well-sculpted yards, simple but refined homes, and understated but chic vehicles. The Hyundai XG-350 fit right in.

While being picked up at a Midwest airport, it was interesting to watch the reactions of other passengers as the top Hyundai rounded the corner. Several folks checked out the badges and their surprise was evident. “Is that a Hyundai?” one asked, ?It looks like a small Lincoln.? High praise for a car brand that once was featured in late night monologues.

The XG is quite stylish, especially the rear ? view. The curve of the rear fenders and prominent trunk lid gives the XG-300 a retro? look. The view from the front is also inspiring and very smooth with a luxury hinting waterfall grille. Read the rest of this entry »

$18,080! I don’t usually start a review with a price, but in this case, it’s impossible not to first mention the great value when talking about the Hyundai Sonata.

At that price, the Sonata has many competitors beat, including Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima and Saturn L-Series. While the Sonata may face a reputation with some people who think South Korean vehicles are inferior in terms of quality; they shouldn’t.

Hyundai even backs its vehicles with extended warranties that prove the automaker is confident in the long-term reliability of its product. These include a 5-year, 60,000-mile new vehicle warranty; 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty; and a 5-year, 100,000-mile anti-perforation warranty. The competition simply cannot match this offer. Read the rest of this entry »

2002 Hyundai Santa Fe AWD GLS V6

Base Price: $21,050
As tested: $30,445

Many people I talked with were anticipating what Hyundai will offer in this market niche. Here we are in year two of Hyundai?s existence in the Canadian SUV market, so here?s the scoop on the 2002.

I got the Powwa **
Well sort of. The GLS V6?s 2.7 litre 24 valve aluminum motor delivers 181 horsepower with 177 lb. of torque. This engine is coupled with a 4-speed Shiftronic transmission. The Hyundai Integrated Vehicle Electronic Control (HIVEC) is governed by a computer chip that will always find the appropriate gear when driving up or down hill and it may skip a shift to deliver more power, or to apply engine braking when slowing down. This feature gives the Santa Fe extra performance when needed. Read the rest of this entry »

The 2002 Hyundai Elantra GT is an excellent vehicle, offering plenty of room and zip for a great price. Its 5-door hatchback design is a throw back to the success experienced by several automotive companies in the 80?s and early 90?s. Quite honestly, I never understood why this particular style suddenly became unpopular and I am very glad to see it making a comeback. With terrific driving characteristics, first-rate ergonomics and a growing reputation for quality, the Elantra GT deserves a good hard look for those consumers looking to purchase an inexpensive but well built car.

2002 Hyundai Elantra GT

The old cliche is quite accurate when you own a 2002 Hyundai Elantra GT: Good things do come in small packages.

Better yet, they come at a price that may be too good to pass up. Not only do you get a peppy car with a great warranty and impressive list of standard features, but you also get it at price under $15,000 US. And even though it’s a four-door hatchback, the Elantra GT is a good-looking car with European flavor in its styling.Truth be told, the first time I saw the Elantra GT I thought it looked like a small Saab. While some people may find the cars from the Swedish automaker unsightly, I like the quirkiness of the design and naturally, I liked the exterior of the Hyundai hatchback. Read the rest of this entry »

With the introduction of the new XG300, Hyundai dares to add its name to the list of near luxury vehicles generally reserved for such foreign competitors as Honda, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen. And it does so with one significant distinction. The XG300 goes one better than its rivals, boldly removing the near luxury offerings sufficient for the others and presents itself up as a no apologies, no excuses luxury vehicle. Only one question remains to be answered. Will the upper middle class buyer this vehicle has targeted react?

Arriving early at a local coffee shop, my co-worker met me at the front door and promptly asked the question, ?What are you driving today?? Surprisingly this was followed with the comment, ?It looks a little like a Lincoln LS.? Words, which I?m sure Hyundai engineers would be pleased to hear. Read the rest of this entry »

The sculpted hood of the silver coupe pointed faithfully in the right direction as I turned the wheel ever so slightly to compensate for the mild understeer. Something about the way the hood bulges twist inward, gives me a sense of stability I am unaccustomed to feeling in a twenty thousand dollar sports car. This is fun as it was meant to be: solid, great looking and affordable.

Having driven previously that day through the main highways of Toronto and the Golden Horseshoe, it was time at last to let the 2001 Tiburon loose on the back roads of Niagara’s wine country. Vineyards flashed by in an endless flicker of images as I slid the gears through their appropriate sequence, building speed with every shift.

Tiburon’s standard transmission is a fully synchronized five-speed manual with a pull-type clutch for reduced pedal effort, coupled with a balanced gear set that matches the most effective gear ratios with the engines torque and horsepower ranges. All in all, it works very well. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not easy coming up with the latest and greatest value packed leader in any market category. But judging from the number of head turns I experienced behind the wheel of the Sonata, Hyundai has a hit on their hands.

The Sonata offers the performance, comfort and safety of vehicles costing thousands of dollars more. In a midsize market dominated by the likes of Honda, Toyota and Ford, Sonata offers a level of quality and price the others simply can’t match.

Powered by an inline 2.4 litre, 4-cylinder engine producing 149 horsepower and 156 pounds-feet of torque, the GL Sonata easily enters highways and exits shopping malls in a civilized manner. Acceleration is smooth, precise and seamless. Perfect? No. It could be a little less ?buzzy?, but then every four cylinder has a bad side rearing its ugly head once in a while. Overall, the Sonata 4-cylinder engine is very satisfying. Read the rest of this entry »

The dirt track at Carlsbad Raceway, draped over a canyon carved by Agua Hedionda Creek as it meanders to the California coast in San Diego County, consists of one after another steep trace that shoots up or down sheer banks on packed but sandy loam.

Slippery soil on an acute grade can be a formidable challenge to traction even for a four-wheel-drive vehicle, although our runs on the Carlsbad course in the Santa Fe, a different kind of sport-utility vehicle from Hyundai of Korea, demonstrated that this compact-class wagon packs enough guts to conquer even severe cascades.

It took some convincing for one driver, however, because from the outset on top of the course our view beyond the steering wheel revealed nothing more than thin air as the trail dropped off at a sharp angle into the creekbed. Read the rest of this entry »

When Hyundai redesigned its compact Elantra for the 2007 model year, the company Dropped the hatch back body style, keeping only a four-door since. At the 2008 Chicago Auto Show, Hyundai announced that a hatchback is returning back to the Lineup in the form of the 2009 Elantra Touring. Read the rest of this entry »