Is Hyundai a good car?

Someone told me over Xmas Lunch that he has ordered a 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe.
Another person suggests that the Japanese car makers have retreated and no longer improving on their products.
I have enough of continental cars. American cars are disappointing with poor steering.

What do you think?

I am tempted to go for a Santa Fe test-drive.

Hyundai Santa Fe Elite Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory & delivery charges): $45,999

Also consider:
Ford Territory (from $39,990);
Holden Captiva7 (from $38,490);
Kia Sorento (from $36,490);
Mazda CX-9 (from $44,425)


Sometimes the most unlikely cars attract the most attention. The motoring.com.au crew gets to sample some weird and wonderful machinery and, for the most part, it goes largely unnoticed by the general public… Then there's the new Hyundai Santa Fe...

In short, I can’t remember the last time I had so many people stop and ask me about a car I’ve driven over a weekend. Usually you need to be piloting an Italian supercar or an extravagant German coupe before you’re requisitioned with “Can I have a look, mate?”

But stopping the Santa Fe in shopping centre carparks, service stations and even at the traffic lights inquisitive mums and dads seemed eager to get an opinion from the man at the wheel. Wanting to know how it feels, how it drives and how much it cost. And, perhaps oddly, how big the wheels were.



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How come your car price so cheap?

Which part of the world are you from?

COE included or not??

neddy said:

Ford Territory (from $39,990);
Holden Captiva7 (from $38,490);
Kia Sorento (from $36,490);
Mazda CX-9 (from $44,425)

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Slurp!!! Goodah!!!

It can be reliable and full of gadgetry but compare to Japanese/Conti car, there is still something missing....
Test drove the latest veloster and the engine is very coarse and turbo version power is still lacking...
Something still missing...something...

KKNBHCB said:

How come your car price so cheap?

Which part of the world are you from?

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I am living in Australia, and the prices of cars here are "cheap" enough for me to change cars once every 2-3 years before the warranty run out.

babuSingh said:

It can be reliable and full of gadgetry but compare to Japanese/Conti car, there is still something missing....
Test drove the latest veloster and the engine is very coarse and turbo version power is still lacking...
Something still missing...something...

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The Veloster is kind of underpowered. I won't expect much from a cost that cost less than AUD$25,000 here.
There is a recall in USA over faulty sunroof & brakes.

http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/hyundai-faces-fresh-recall-20121221-2br2q.html

Subaru outback?

Hyundai Santa Fe Elite Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory & delivery charges): $45,999

Also consider:
Ford Territory (from $39,990);
Holden Captiva7 (from $38,490);
Kia Sorento (from $36,490);
Mazda CX-9 (from $44,425)

Click to expand...

After converting to S$, it is still cheaper than one Singapore COE. Sharks! We are being systematically ripped off by our government.

Wah,,,Neddy is doing well in Oz land,,change cars every few years,,good idea,,

ok my take is the korean cars are really not as good as the Jap cars,,last week in perth, I got the Hyundai Accent as rental,,,and its 1.6litre car,,,but the fuel consumption is nearly 10L / 100k,,,,that is alot for a 'small' car.

The korean cars,,design etc is nice,,alot of gadgets too,,but the engines etc is only so so,,,so i would not pay good money to buy a new korean car,,,those john hughes 1 yo ex rentals i will consider,,,but wont buy new,,,

also now in perth, small cars are more expensive than big cars,,i just did some research,,a 5yo small car only depreciates about 25%,,,depending on condition of the car lah. Just look at the hyundai getz,,,brand new about 16k,,now at 5 yo its selling for about 10k,,,that is cos the demand for small cars is strong,,and will continue to be strong for sometime due to high fuel prices,,

just my rants

neddy said:

I am living in Australia, and the prices of cars here are "cheap" enough for me to change cars once every 2-3 years before the warranty run out.

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i won't pay more than 10 grand for a scrap metal that ferry you from one place to another.

The_Hypocrite said:

Wah,,,Neddy is doing well in Oz land,,change cars every few years,,good idea,,

ok my take is the korean cars are really not as good as the Jap cars,,last week in perth, I got the Hyundai Accent as rental,,,and its 1.6litre car,,,but the fuel consumption is nearly 10L / 100k,,,,that is alot for a 'small' car.

just my rants

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Nothing to do with doing well. It is all about balancing the love of car with cost of owning them.
Cars are essential transport here, and save me a lot of time over public transport.
The lack of traffic jams help.
Having a new car also helps keep my overall cost down.

Urban driving is a curse on fuel usage on auto transmission. Once you hit the motorway (freeway in Perth), the fuel consumption will go down. Anyway, auto transmission on a 1.6l engine is another joke!

The tax on sedans is 10% and SUV is 5%.


My computer repairman drives a BMW because he wants to travel in style,and it does not cost much for the first few years. Only when you start replacing tyres, parts that the cost escalate. So, we sell the car before all the maintenance issues start popping up.


Personally, I will not go for Accent or i20 that kind of Made-in-India rubbish. I just need a car that looks good and drive well and fit into my budget.

So far the brand without any issues is the Subaru,,,and good resale value,,,for me, I am looking at buying small car as the way fuel prices are going,,,its getting more expensive than big cars,,

I just wont touch new cars which are used as rentals as the depreciation is damn bad,,,one car I test drove and can find a good deal is the new mitsubishi Lancer,,got CVT transmission and with the liftback can carry everything including the kitchen sink,,in aust transport cost so high,,its better to get hatch back or lift back,,forget about sedans,,cannot carry anything one,,,just my rants

neddy said:

Nothing to do with doing well. It is all about balancing the love of car with cost of owning them.
Cars are essential transport here, and save me a lot of time over public transport.
The lack of traffic jams help.
Having a new car also helps keep my overall cost down.

Urban driving is a curse on fuel usage on auto transmission. Once you hit the motorway (freeway in Perth), the fuel consumption will go down. Anyway, auto transmission on a 1.6l engine is another joke!

The tax on sedans is 10% and SUV is 5%.


My computer repairman drives a BMW because he wants to travel in style,and it does not cost much for the first few years. Only when you start replacing tyres, parts that the cost escalate. So, we sell the car before all the maintenance issues start popping up.


Personally, I will not go for Accent or i20 that kind of Made-in-India rubbish. I just need a car that looks good and drive well and fit into my budget.

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Hyundai.........if you wanna die...............the only good things the Koreans make are Samsung phones and LCD ............period

GOD IS MY DOG said:

Hyundai.........if you wanna die...............the only good things the Koreans make are Samsung phones and LCD ............period

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I am just thinking whether perception of Korean cars have not caught up with reality?

I am referring to Hyundai i30 vs Toyota Yaris, Elantra vs Toyota Corolla, Hyundai i45 vs Toyota Camry

Korean cars keep winning car awards overseas.



Japan losing its manufacturing edge to South Korea
KUCHIKOMI JAN. 27, 2012 - 06:32AM JST ( 206 )TOKYO —

“I got the feeling that Korea’s Hyundai is clearly surging past Japanese models,” automotive journalist Toshifumi Watanabe tells Shukan Bunshun (Jan 26), after returning home from the Detroit Motor Show. “I was particularly struck by their innovative and challenging designs. Japanese automakers, by contrast, are content to introduce their new ideas using concept car prototypes. That’s a stance that makes them vulnerable.”

It was about 30 years ago that U.S. politicians swung sledge hammers on Japan-built cars that appeared to threaten their domestic auto industry. This year, however, it was Hyundai’s compact Elantra that took the honors as “North American Car of the Year.”

“Among the three finalists in the passenger car category, there wasn’t a single Japanese model,” sighs an editor of an automotive magazine. “Since 2000, every year there was at least one, and sometimes even two models nominated. Since 2009, the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle was the only one to be picked.”

How the mighty have fallen. In previous years, Japanese models had been selected in the passenger car and light truck categories, the latter of which includes SUVs. And in 2006, Honda Motor Co drove off with double prizes, taking two categories. But since 2009, when Hyundai won its first prize, the appeal of Japanese models has declined.

“By 2000, Hyundai had already passed Mitsubishi and Suzuki, and over the past five or six years has become a real competitor,” says a journalist who covers the auto industry. “Now their Elantra and Sonata models are contending with Toyota’s Corolla and Camry. In terms of price, I get the feeling the Korean cars are ranked above their own class. And Korean car designers are also working for European and American firms, which recognize their flair for design.”

Pros in the industry still give Japanese models the nod for more robust stability, quieter operation and superior finish. But in terms of design and price, Korean brands are giving them a run for the money—and the latter’s 10-year warranty service has made them particularly appealing.

Meanwhile U.S.-built hybrid models like the Ford Fusion, with its claimed 42 kilometers to the liter fuel consumption, are mounting a strong challenge to another Japanese specialty, hybrid vehicles. In comparison, the Toyota Prius claims 37 kilometers to the liter.





Shukan Bunshun moves on to lament Japan’s rapidly plummeting TV industry. It seems the inflated value of the yen is not the only threat to its continued existence.

At the Consumer Electronics show held recently in Las Vegas, two Korean companies—Samsung and Lucky Goldstar, both introduced 55-inch organic EL TVs. In 2007, Japan’s Sony had previously launched sales of an 11-inch model with similar electro-luminescence, considered by some to be the next-generation technology to succeed LCDs.

Sony also had hopes that organic EL technology would lead to a resurgence of its brand.

“Our efforts to master the manufacturing technology failed, and our yield rate was poor, wrecking efforts to reduce production costs,” then-president Ryoji Chubachi had announced. “We also failed to develop large-screen technology. So Sony effectively decided to withdraw from organic EL TVs.”

“Other Japanese firms made efforts to develop the technology, but any way they worked it, the results showed they would incur major losses, so their management gave up trying,” a business reporter tells the magazine, adding “But Samsung pulled it off. They might lose money, but they’ve got the desire, and the financial resources, to persist. If they manage to boost the yield rate and achieve profitability, they will take another bite out of Japan.”

“In the past, it was Japan’s TV makers that drove foreign manufacturers out of business,” observes Osamu Katayama, a business journalist. “Call it karma, but now it seems to be time for them to receive the same treatment at the hands of South Korea.”

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I think Santa Fe is good, but eat oil, thats what I heard, among your choices, I rather go get Mazda CX9. If you want a really good car, get that Joanne Peh's Land Rover Evoque, got 3 doors or 5 doors.

Korean cars have indeed overtook Japan in design, but not in reliability and power lah....

I'm a KIA fan, Ceed, Optima K5 and K9, chio chio ahhh

Alamaking said:

I think Santa Fe is good, but eat oil, thats what I heard, among your choices, I rather go get Mazda CX9. If you want a really good car, get that Joanne Peh's Land Rover Evoque, got 3 doors or 5 doors.

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Thanks. RANGE ROVER EVOQUE 12MY PRESTIGE SI4 AUTOMATIC 4WD 5 DOOR cost about $80k, outside my budget.

An American expat called the Mazda CX-9 a girlie car, for "soccer mums". I will be parking close to his car in the office assigned car park. So, this choice is out.

neddy said:

Thanks. RANGE ROVER EVOQUE 12MY PRESTIGE SI4 AUTOMATIC 4WD 5 DOOR cost about $80k, outside my budget.

An American expat called the Mazda CX-9 a girlie car, for "soccer mums". I will be parking close to his car in the office assigned car park. So, this choice is out.

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Mazda CX9 girlie? pengz..... How about Kia Sportage?