Hyundai is Now the Automotive Gold Standard, Convince Me Otherwise...

"shpuker" (shpuker) 11/07/2018 at 09:00 • Filed to: Hyundai, Kia, Hyundai-KIA, EV, Electric Cars, Electric, Kona, Veloster, Kona EV, Bolt

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Yes I realize the words being typed out of my mouth... or... hands... but honestly, as much as it hurts, it’s true. Hyundai, or more accurately Hyundai-KIA, has outplayed every other OEM.

Nowhere is this more apparent than the soon to be available (or newly available for some of y’all) Kona EV. While everyone was busy swooning over the Model 3 and applauding GM for the Bolt, Hyundai showed up with a sub $35,000 (assuming this !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! figure is accurate for the US market) that can also be optioned to a range of over 250 miles.

Electric vehicles not your thing? How about outdoing the rest of the industry in their tech-integration and placing themselves not just into the conversation, but at the top of the pack in !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , integrating wireless charging, etc.

Infotainment and EVs not your thing? How about performance sedans and hot hatchbacks! *insert pops & burbles here*

Hot-hatches, sport sedans, EVs, & killer infotainment not your thing?... Umm... I guess crossovers then? Oh wait shit they have that too.

So yea, prove me wrong.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 09:04

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Checkmate

The Ghost of Oppo > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 09:08

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The wife just got a Santa Fe and I am really impressed with it. Definitely nicer than the RAV4, more features than the CX-5 and a way better deal than the Tiguan.  If you would have told me 10 years ago I would support a family member’s purchase of a Hyundai I would have told you, you were crazy

punkgoose17 > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 09:21

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I was surprised it was not Wobbles writing this.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 09:21

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It’s still Mercedes- Benz.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 11/07/2018 at 09:24

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I love Mazda, but they’re not the “automotive gold standard”.

They’re a tiny, struggling/striving automaker with a variety of very good products that don’t sell as well as they should that also does what it can to cater to the enthusiast driver (the one that doesn’t care about power or numbers).

MoCamino > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 09:30

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How is Hyundai at longevity?  I like the fact that a Toyota (with basic maintenance) can be expected to at least make it to 300k miles.  Sure they mostly make a bunch of beige-mobiles, but the things just keep running.  What’s the expected life span of a Hyundai these days?

Arrivederci > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 09:33

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I don’t know that they’re the gold standard, but my wife’s Kia Sorento has been a great car over the last year: quiet, comfy, reliable and a great value.

Wacko > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 11/07/2018 at 09:43

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They are the rust standard.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > MoCamino 11/07/2018 at 09:44

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i think they all come with 7 year warranty... sooo.. at least that

(but tbh... i see lots of old kias and hyundais zooming about round here.. so i think they are actually pretty solid cars)

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > MoCamino 11/07/2018 at 09:49

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I see my old 2011 Elantra Touring around from time to time (its a small state) it is on atleast its third owner and has almost 200k on the odometer. It doesnt have any rust and it looks to still have the factory exhaust. It appears to run like a top. I imagine it must have had a clutch by now, but maybe not? 

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 09:51

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Drove an AWD Kona Limited with the DCT and 1.6t yesterday. Its a good little car, and priced to compete. Are they the gold standard? Probably not. Are they the value and quality leader? Perhaps. No, probably. 

CobraJoe > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 09:57

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I would have said it was Ford, but they just killed of all their small cars.

What about Kia?  They actually have a muscle sedan out now. 

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 09:58

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There is also talk of a 300 mile Soul EV. possibly in the 30-35k range. 

BigBlock440 > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 09:58

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Infotainment and EVs not your thing? How about performance sedans and hot hatchbacks! *insert pops & burbles here*

Hello

How about performance coupes?

Hot-hatches, sport sedans, EVs, & killer infotainment not your thing?... Umm... I guess crossovers then? Oh wait shit they have that too.

Hmm...

fintail > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 10:03

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Design

nermal > BigBlock440 11/07/2018 at 10:15

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FCA is actually making $$$ right now, which is the most important metric for any business.

On the product side, they killed it with the new Wrangler and Ram 1500, while they’re still printing money selling 300s / Chargers / Challengers / Ram HDs / Grand Cherokees on 10 yr old platforms that are well past paid for.

They bet heavily on fuel prices remaining low, so they are at risk of getting thoroughly boned if that were to change sharply. They’re also kinda screwed if the market moves to adopt electric or autonomous cars at a faster pace.

MoCamino > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 11/07/2018 at 10:17

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Can’t complain about that.  It seems like if you want a car that will give you a lot of miles (but not necessarily a lot of excitement) your best bets have been Toyota or Honda for quite a while.  Nice to see Hyundai has stepped up, too.  I have no idea about Nissan or Mazda though.

nermal > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 10:21

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I think VW is positioned best moving forward. They have everything from a base model Golf (which is still very nice) up to Bugattis in their brand range.

They’ve got investments in technology that’s both usable today, and with electrics moving forward.

Most importantly, they’re making $$$ despite the diesel fines.

The only thing missing is pickups for the US market

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 11/07/2018 at 10:24

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Hold the phone — you had a manual Touring?!

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 10:28

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If you consider Hyundai+Kia+Genesis as one then yes, I will agree. If not, I disagree.

I would say MB is doing everything right these days-From the base level A class to wagons and executive sedans to really good crossovers and the G wagen, and AMG products that are better M cars than actual M cars, AND their foray into electric cars with the EQC.

BigBlock440 > nermal 11/07/2018 at 10:45

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I wasn’t necessarily saying that FCA is the gold standard, just that Kia was not. BUt I don’t really think they’re screwed if prices go back up, or they’re as far behind electric vehicles as everybody says. They have a plug-in platform that could be used, the base engine in the Ram is a hybrid with it optional in the Wrangler, and slapping in a bunch of batteries and a motor in a car i sn’t that difficult .  Really, the big breakthrough with an electric is going to come from batteries, and I doubt any automaker is putting any serious research into new tech, so it’s likely to come from outside anyway.

E92M3 > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 10:46

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Don’t they have a Class Action Suit going for their 4 cylinder engines? If you read consumer reviews there’s a lot of complaints about interior bits loosing their coatings, fading, peeling, door handles falling off, cloth seats wearing out prematurely, shark fin antenna’s flying off on the highway, etc. They also have terrible resale value. 

Shift24 > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 10:49

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If you are saying gold standard as what everyone whats to be its Merc. If you are saying line-up its VW.

VW has Porsche, Audi, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Skoda (wish the US got them), Seat, Ducati, and VW its self.

What in that lineup are they missing? Possibly a truck which is coming and possibly to the US.

A case can be had for Toyota just for durability but also for no dilution of the brand. You want a transportation, Toyota. Luxury version? Lexus. Thats it, no confusion. Their line up is solid now with the Supra.

The only reason I said VW first is the EV portion. Toyota is lacking in that category while VW is pushing hard with its own brand along with Audi and Porsche.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Shift24 11/07/2018 at 10:55

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I somewhat cross shopped the Elantra Sport with the GTI. The GTI is better by a long shot. 

Shift24 > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 11/07/2018 at 11:00

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Thats another good point I missed but very valid . Its a no contest if you look at build quality and fit and finish. Not even the same ballpark between the two.

jasmits > BigBlock440 11/07/2018 at 11:28

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Bet you that’s Musk’s backup end game if he can’t make Tesla a mainstream automaker

Spanfeller is a twat > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 11:29

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Yes, KIA-Hyundai Is the new VWAG when it comes to reach and consumer tech advances. 

Joshua Johnston > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 11:35

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I can’t ar gue this. I also don’t know how people in the market for a car these days can look at the options, and look at the length of time they’re going to be making payments, and accept the warranty terms that every other car maker offers.

If I’m making payments, I want that shit covered under warranty. And yes, Hyundai has pretty much every corner of the market covered with *some* product or another. They’re not perfect, but as far as all around options and quality go? I picked up a loaded 2017 Santa Fe Sport right when that year’s model launched and haven’t found a single thing to complain about ( other than fuel economy after some changes in my driving requirements ) yet.

thejustache > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 11/07/2018 at 12:46

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An old coworker of mine had a manual touring too

Kevin Mickle > MoCamino 11/07/2018 at 12:48

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I’ve put close to 80 k on my 2015 Sonata. I do the regular maintenance on it, but haven’t had a single issue with the car, mechanical or otherwise.

Before this I drove a Jeep Liberty that was plagued with issues by the time it has this many miles on it.

My wife is now on her second Santa Fe, and we’re only on number two because we went from the two-row to the three-row.

You really can’t beat the feature set for the price, the warranty is incredible, and they’ve been the most reliable cars we’ve ever owned (beating out a couple Fords , a Mitsubishi, a Dodge, two Jeeps, and a Chrysler). Unless they do something wrong down the road, I’m a Hyundai buyer for life.

thejustache > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 12:54

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After my brother in law gave us his old 2005 accent last year it kind of opened my eyes to Hyundai in general. I mean it was a tiny tin can of a car that felt like a Honda civic from 10 years earlier, but I put a lot of miles and abuse on it for a year and it never complained. We ultimately decided to replace it with a 2012 Tucson for my wife and while there a few small issues with it here and there as I’d expect for a used car it feels really solid so far. We like it better than the alternatives we tried and I can only imagine the new ones are only better in build quality yet. I’ve been a Subaru guy for a while but I’ve been keeping an eye towards Hyundai for a while. I like that they’re in WRC and working on some performance models now too

vicali > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 13:00

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I miss the one trick pony..

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 11/07/2018 at 13:17

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Yup! That color too :) 

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > MoCamino 11/07/2018 at 13:19

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You go into junk yards arround here and find Mazda-shaped piles of rust that will start and run after sitting for years underneath a pile of other Mazda-shaped rust. 

shpuker > Shift24 11/07/2018 at 13:23

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I think VW is correcting course well but they’re still behind in the EV game (Though that may change soon if their upcoming offerings are as good as they should be). Their future product potential is still very much so a question-mark though, we’ll probably have a better idea after even the LA auto show though.

shpuker > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/07/2018 at 13:26

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*Looks for MB’s dedicated EV/Hybrid platform*

Is it though?

Spanfeller is a twat > BigBlock440 11/07/2018 at 13:35

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FCA sucks. 

Spanfeller is a twat > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 11/07/2018 at 13:35

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If Mazda made a RWD Mazda6 I’d agree fully. 

Spanfeller is a twat > nermal 11/07/2018 at 13:36

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I think VWAG was the gold standard before, with Piech, but now they lost their mojo. 

MoCamino > JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t 11/07/2018 at 13:41

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That’s another thing I like about our Toyota. Southwest MO uses a lot of salt in the winter, and I have admittedly done a poor job of keeping the salt washed off of our Echo. We’ve had little/no rust problems with it.

Now, the beater 99 Cavalier I drive in the winter to protect my El Camino from crappy weather....that thing is an exercise in rolling tetanus.  As a GM product (especially from the 90s) that should come as no surprise.  :)

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 14:08

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https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/vehicles/model/class-C/model-C350WE

https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/future/model/model-2019_Mercedes_Benz_EQC

https://www.smartusa.com/models/eq-pure-coupe

And a dedicated Hybrid Platform :

shpuker > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/07/2018 at 14:19

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Retrofit to an existing platform and not profitable

Retrofit to an existing platform and likely not profitable

Retrofit to an existing platform and not profitable

Literally a hypercar

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 14:40

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Literally every Hyundai EV or hybrid is a retrofit to an existing platform and not yet profitable.

Kar Wai Wong > CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever 11/07/2018 at 15:34

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Why is the CX-9 and the RF grey when every other model is red? That’s kinda bugging me. I can kinda understand the need to separate the regular MX-5 and the RF, but the CX-9? Why? It comes in red too right?

Textured Soy Protein > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 15:57

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I definitely like Hyundai & Kia cars. We would’ve seriously considered a Hyundai Tucson when we were shopping for my wife’s car over the summer but the options mix on the 2018 didn’t line up with what we wanted so we got a CX-5 instead. The 2019 Tucson would be on our list but it wasn’t out in time.

I could definitely see myself going for a Veloster N with the performance package, but I also hate cars without sunroofs, especially when they have dinky-ass windows like the Veloster. They put a panorama roof on the Veloster Turbo, but that’s not available on the N, probably for rigidity or some stupid reason. If they did a Veloster N with the panorama roof I’d be at the dealership right now.

shpuker > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/07/2018 at 16:38

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The Ioniq/Niro platform is (supposedly) dedicated EV/Hybrid use and in theory could be profitable.

*looks for more hairs to split*

For Sweden > shpuker 11/07/2018 at 17:31

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How can I convince you of something that is contrary to truth?

aquila121 > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/07/2018 at 17:37

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Even with Hyundai’s recent engine recall troubles, I’d still pick one of their products over a Mercedes. A friend of a friend whom I autocross with on occasion works as a tech for a Mercedes- Benz dealership—his advice when people ask him about buying something from that make: “Don’t. ”

Delta Resident > MoCamino 11/08/2018 at 00:27

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Sold my ‘04 Sonata LX 2.7 V6 in May 2016 with 207,000 miles. Service writer @ Tracy says another customer with same model has 500k. Highway nice commuter always got 27mpg. Select shift was useful. Same moto r in wife’s ‘05 Tucson LX almost to the 200k mark. Maintenance isn’t an arm/leg $. Bought new, 2016 Sonata Blue drive Limited generation 2; 42 mpg Cruising I5 CA to OR @ 70-75 , comfy. Easily trunk holds Coleman ice chest & two travel bags. <$28k too.

Delta Resident > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 11/08/2018 at 00:30

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THAT would be rare in the US!

Delta Resident > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/08/2018 at 00:39

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...and, my 2nd gen Sonata hybrid Limited gets consistent 42 mpg. Lots more comfy than a Prius. Plenty of power select shift or sport mode.

MoCamino > Delta Resident 11/08/2018 at 06:44

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Nice!  Thanks for the info.  

BigBlock440 > Spanfeller is a twat 11/09/2018 at 10:38

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Cool story.