[tahoe16]

Just went to the Chicago Auto Show and saw the '07 Santa Fe. I was very impressed with that vehicle. Lots more features than the Rav. I would imagine fully loaded would be 28 or 29K. That's about the same or even less than a Rav4 V6 Limited.

I think the interior of the Santa Fe is better built than the Rav. Fit and finish in there is much better. The exterior has some nice lines to it. JD powers is showing the quality of Hyundai cars aren't too far behind Toyota. Anybody want to comment?

 

[The G Man]

Hyundai has been getting better and better since they were first introduced, still not in the same league as Toyota/Lexus, but then who is? Give them another 5 years and they will be a major contenter.

 

[BarnyFife]

Hyundai's need every minute of their warranty, Consumer Reports says all sorts of little things breaking all the time, you could not give me a Korean car.

 

[spwolfx]

Re: Santa Fe vs. RAV4

Just went to the Chicago Auto Show and saw the '07 Santa Fe. I was very impressed with that vehicle. Lots more features than the RAV. I would imagine fully loaded would be 28 or 29K. That's about the same or even less than a RAV4 V6 Limited.

I think the interior of the Santa Fe is better built than the RAV. Fit and finish in there is much better. The exterior has some nice lines to it. JD powers is showing the quality of Hyundai cars aren't too far behind Toyota. Anybody want to comment?

what features? and fit and finish is better, hmph, that would be the first.

 

[purduealum91]

The Japanese had better watch because the Koreans are making great strides.

 

[vigil]

Yes, they are definetly catching up and learning their lessons from the Japanese auto makers alot faster than the Americans.

They aren't there yet, but they will quickly in the next few years begin to cause pain for the Japanese makers in the same way they did to the Americans when they started to really improve their vehicles.

Still gotta give it to Toyota in my view though for quality and efficiency.

It says something about a car that has to offer a 10yr/100K mile warranty. Gotta ask why the need for such an extensive warranty? It seems nice on the surface, but you gotta look under the covers sometimes for the truth.

 

[Joshi]

If I were in the hunt for a car next year, I would definitely look at the new ('07) Santa Fe and the new CRV. I knew the new SF was probably going to be too large and expensive for our needs, but we kvetched quite a bit about whether to buy a rav this year or wait for the new CRV. We decided to go ahead and buy the RAV and to date have not been disappointed.

We drove the '06 Santa Fe and it was not even close to the rav in its ride. It felt unstable to us when cornering, and it was not nearly as quiet as the RAV. Also, we considered the Tucson but saw a lot of complaints in its edmunds forum. So if you want to consider a SF, you may want to wait awhile after it's out and see what purchasers think of their '07s. Hyundai does seem to be making strides and they have made themselves into a player. We drove an '06 Sonata rental recently and thought it was great.

 

[yupeak]

It says something about a car that has to offer a 10yr/100K mile warranty. Gotta ask why the need for such an extensive warranty? It seems nice on the surface, but you gotta look under the covers sometimes for the truth.

I believe this is a marketing strategy. It doesn't really reflect the real quality of the vehicle. The Japanese has shortened their warranty from 4 year to 3 year purely based on cost factors, not necessarily mean their quality is getting better.

Just my $.02.

 

[flyingn]

not even in the same ballpark. I know a guy who works for a Hyundai dealership.. Lots of problems as a whole... stay far away..

 

[IL_RAV4]

A good friend of mine has a 2002 Sonata with 190k on the clock. It has not been back to the dealer for any problems (he did have to replace a power lock relay @ 160k). The interior looks like new and the exterior, other than the usual rock chips, looks great. The vehicle was built in Korea.

Many of the new Hyundai models are built in the US. That means that many of the components (interior, exterior) are US as well. Time will tell if they have the same level of quality.

Hyundai Heavy Corp. is the leader in large ship building, cars would seem to be somewhat less challenging.

http://english.hhi.co.kr/Business/Shipbuilding.asp

In the end competition is a good thing. It drives product improvement and pricing. Both are good for consumers.

 

[LdyDee]

Just went to the Chicago Auto Show and saw the '07 Santa Fe. I was very impressed with that vehicle. Lots more features than the Rav. I would imagine fully loaded would be 28 or 29K. That's about the same or even less than a Rav4 V6 Limited.

I think the interior of the Santa Fe is better built than the Rav. Fit and finish in there is much better. The exterior has some nice lines to it. JD powers is showing the quality of Hyundai cars aren't too far behind Toyota. Anybody want to comment?

I have had a Hyundai before, you could not run fast enough to give me another one. 100,000 mile warranty sounds great but chances are your car will never see that many miles because it will always be at the repair shop. I would highly suggest you steer clear of anything with Hyundai or Kia on it.

 

[The G Man]

Dont't look behind you, but Hyundai is now the 6th biggest auto maker in the world and growing fast. I assume the order is: GM, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler/MB, Honda and then Hyundai. Someone correct if I am wrong. Hyundai is even planning to complete with Lexus with its own V8 Lexury car soon.
http://robots.cnn.com/2007/TECH/03/19/hyundai.luxury.reut/index.html
I think the key phrase here is "planning to complete with Lexus/Toyota". Toyota still sets the standards which others try to follow.

 

[LdyDee]

Dont't look behind you, but Hyundai is now the 6th biggest auto maker in the world and growing fast. I assume the order is: GM, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler/MB, Honda and then Hyundai. Someone correct if I am wrong. Hyundai is even planning to complete with Lexus with its own V8 Lexury car soon.
http://robots.cnn.com/2007/TECH/03/19/hyundai.luxury.reut/index.html
I think the key phrase here is "planning to complete with Lexus/Toyota". Toyota still sets the standards which others try to follow.

I have a hard time buying that anything American made surpasses Toyota or Honda. Just my thoughts

 

[Colt]

Hyundai vs Toyota
Yes they've improved but not a Toyotas.
Resale value stinks too.

 

[hartage]

Dont't look behind you, but Hyundai is now the 6th biggest auto maker in the world and growing fast. I assume the order is: GM, Toyota, Ford, Chrysler/MB, Honda and then Hyundai. Someone correct if I am wrong. Hyundai is even planning to complete with Lexus with its own V8 Lexury car soon.
http://robots.cnn.com/2007/TECH/03/19/hyundai.luxury.reut/index.html
I think the key phrase here is "planning to complete with Lexus/Toyota". Toyota still sets the standards which others try to follow.

I have a hard time buying that anything American made surpasses Toyota or Honda. Just my thoughts

Gee funny how not too long ago it was "I have a hard time buying that anything japanese made surpasses American"

Yet here we are now.

 

[hartage]

not even in the same ballpark. I know a guy who works for a Hyundai dealership.. Lots of problems as a whole... stay far away..

Even though I own a rav this has to be said.

Look at the CR (consumer reports) reliability reports on hyundai. It has been improving by leaps and bounds. Their car lines improved drastically a few years back now their suv line is doing the same. I'm not saying their cars were not junk before but where do you base your suggestion to stay away ????? From a statistically accurate cross section of the public using thousands of cars ?? Or the opinion of a single worker at a single dealership ? C'mon now, you said you are an engineer you should be above this.

CR uses a sound method that compares thousands of cars from every make and model. Relative to itself and others hyundai has been improving greatly and their CR reliability scores reflect that.

 

[The G Man]

So hartage, why didnt you buy the Hyundai instead of the RAV4?

 

[hartage]

So hartage, why didnt you buy the Hyundai instead of the RAV4?

Resale value and power. Power being the overwhelming factor.... I love my leadfoot. Reliability of the toyota brand (esp the rav4 since 97) has been leading edge also.

It just didn't seem right bashing on a company without taking into account the huge strides they have already made.


Edit ADD:

Let me point out that this was the same kind of GARBAGE that was done to japanese cars by american car fanboys in the day. Of course we both know that reality shut them up now. At first japanese car reliability was junk, hey were new to the game. Look at japanese made now ?

 

[htown_gator]

According to CR.org, the V6 Sante Fe LTD model is 2nd only to the Rav4 V6 LTD. It got very high marks for "Ride, quietness, transmission, fit and finish, controls, optional third-row seat, long warranty" and bad marks for "Fuel economy, head room for tall drivers."

It can't be THAT bad.

 

[The G Man]

Resale value and power. Power being the overwhelming factor.... I love my leadfoot. Reliability of the toyota brand (esp the rav4 since 97) has been leading edge also.

I think you just answer your own question. People should buy Toyota and stay away from Hyundai if they want good resale valve, power or reliability.