On Wheels

Among affordable, sporty coupes, Hyundai's Tiburon has proven itself to be a survivor. It wasn't so long ago that it had lots of competition, but these days, the club is pretty quiet. Former challengers like the Toyota Celica and Mercury Cougar are gone, and more practical compact sports sedans have become the big bragging-rights fighters.

Korean manufacturer Hyundai isn't so much reinventing itself as it is evolving. From its humble, cheap-car introduction to the U.S. market back in 1986, the brand has expanded rapidly into every section of the marketplace. Expansion is easy, but Hyundai has done it effectively and successfully. Nowhere is this more evident than in the all-new 2009 Genesis sedan.

While trucks and sport utility vehicles assumed the position (of being number one), the midsize car market regained its prominence as the top-selling segment in the country.

It's remarkably easy to get to know the Hyundai Tucson. That's not just because it's a friendly little compact SUV with a comfortable seating position, pleasant driving dynamics and more bad-terrain ability than you'd expect.

Quick, what kind of car is this? Of course, you already know it's a Hyundai Veracruz, thanks to the headline, but the Korean manufacturer has been asking consumers the very same question, and getting surprising answers. Many folks mistake this all-new crossover vehicle for a Lexus. The real surprise is that the comparison isn't completely ridiculous.

Up until a year ago, the small-car market was pretty quiet, but that's changed in the past twelve months. New entry-level products from Toyota and Honda have manufacturers like Hyundai, who practically had the low-priced end of the market all to itself for a decade, running to keep up.

Larger, lighter, safer, better equipped, more fuel efficient and less expensive than the model it replaces, the 2007 Hyundai Elantra is proof positive that we have reached the time where Hyundai vehicles should be judged against every other vehicle on the market, rather than just themselves.

Up is down and down is up in the auto business these days, and Hyundai’s new Entourage van is an example of why. The 2007 Entourage is helping Hyundai cement its growing reputation for reliable, affordable transportation in the American market. It’s a worthy first entry in the category that matches well against the best, Honda Odyssey, in areas including design and drivability.

The next stage in Hyundai's reinvention as something other than a bargain-basement brand has just hit the streets. The Sonata mid-size sedan just graduated to the big leagues and is competing with the segment leaders. For 2007, the Santa Fe undergoes a similar transformation, and the all-new sport-ute now counts the Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot and Chevrolet Equinox among its peers.

Every other writeup of the Hyundai Azera we've seen has said just about the same thing: Look at how far Hyundai has come! So we're not going to say that.

We learned everything we needed to know about the new Hyundai Accent in thirty-one minutes. That's how long it took us to fight our way through downtown Chicago on a busy weekday.

Don't call this an 'impressive effort,' because it's the real deal. Hyundai knows what it's doing, and the all-new Sonata is merely impossible-to-ignore evidence of this fact. This completely redesigned sedan aims to do nothing less than go after the heart of the family sedan market.

We learned everything we needed to know about the new Hyundai Accent in thirty-one minutes. That's how long it took us to fight our way through downtown Chicago on a busy weekday.