Hyundai ties Honda in quality survey

CNN:Money ^ | April 28, 2004 | Les Christie

[Paradox]

The Korean carmaker's rating is nearly as good as Toyota's in J.D. Power initial quality report.

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - For the first time, Korean carmakers, thanks to a strong performance by Hyundai, have surpassed both domestic and European carmakers in initial quality, a measure of the number of problems owners experience in a new car.

[Mamzelle]

Let's put nice fat tariffs on Korean goods.

[Paradox]

The Koreans (South) are getting better and better at building things. The new Hyundais (other than the low-ball Accent) are VERY good cars in my opinion. The Accent is merely "decent". I own a 1999 Accent, and it has been above average, but not stellar.

In the meantime, many miles north, the exact same people, ethnic group, and basic culture have been economically DESTROYED by the worst economic-ideological virus to have infected the mind of mankind..

[gortklattu]

I looked hard at the Hyundai two years ago, but bought a Ford Focus ZX3, a great car for diving on the twisting roads of Colorado and Wyoming.

The Hyundai was focused on quality, but the Focus delivered. Not one problem with that car in 80 K Miles.

[Aquinasfan]

It looks like they're talking about "initial quality." I think they're still far behind in dependability, etc.

[John H K]

One of my best friends from high school is a Ford engineer.

They do spend time taking apart the cars of competitors. He thinks Hyundai is pretty good, especially with their super-warranty, and if he was a kid graduating from college who needed a cheap new car, he'd get one.

He's still in awe of Toyota, though :-)

[stainlessbanner]

Top performers

The best scoring models in various market segments

	Market Segment		Model
	Compact car		Toyota Corolla
	Entry midsize car		Hyundai Sonata
	Premium midsize car		Buick Century
	Entry luxury car		Acura TSX
	Premium luxury car		Lexus SC 430
	Sporty car		Dodge Stratus Coupe
	Entry SUV		Honda Element
	Full-size SUV		Chevrolet Suburban
	Premium luxury SUV		Lexus LX 470

Source: J.D.Power and Associates

[Feckless]

Wonder how much of that is owners just not wanting to admit they made a mistake. Would never fly on anything built in "The Land of the Almost Right", not keen on driving anything either.

[ikka]

Toyota Echo - the most under-rated of any Toyota, IMHO. Looked at the Hyundai's might get the Sonata or Elantra as a second car in a year or two.

[Interious]

Isn't that Focus woefully underpowered? I test drove one and couldn't believe it.

Of couse, I'm used to driving a 200 hp V6 Audi A4.

I doubt I'll ever buy another Audi, btw. What an incredibly diverse bag of very good qualities and incredibly putrid qualities.

[KevinDavis]

My wife and I is looking for new car.. After going with Ford, we may go with Nissan, Hyundai, Toyota, Chevy, Jeep, Dodge, and so forth. However I'm leaning towards Nissan, Hyundai and Toyota.. Basically I want more bang for my buck.

[FourPeas]

initial quality

That was my first thought, too. Wait five years, then do the numbers change?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I've gotta question any quality survey that includes a Chrysler product.

[Paradox]

I've gotta question any quality survey that includes a Chrysler product.

Believe it or not, Consumer Reports magazine has reported that the PT Cruiser has "above average" reliability. Even the Dodge Neon now sits at average. For a Chrysler product, this is outstanding! Maybe the Daimler "merger" has helped things out.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Maybe.

[Interious]

The new Nissan Maxima is fantastic. Incredible power, handling, and the only auto transmission I could live with.

Almost bought one for my wife, but she thought it was too much. She ended up getting a 2000 Mazda Millenia S, which--interestingly--is supercharged.

[KevinDavis]

We are mostly looking at Mid Size Suv. My brother in law has Nissan only and really had no problems with them at all.

[crv16]

initial quality

That was my first thought, too. Wait five years, then do the numbers change?

Yeah, the long term reliability figures are quite different: Problems for 3 year old vehicles

[TexasRepublic]

I have owned both Hyundai and Honda. The Honda is far better.

[ThePythonicCow]

That was my first thought, too. Wait five years, then do the numbers change?

Yeah, the long term reliability figures are quite different: Problems for 3 year old vehicles

Unfortunately, there is a difference between saying that the car Hyundai sold 3 years ago is showing problems now, and saying that the car Hyundai is selling now will have problems in 3 years.

My impression is that Hyundai has sharply improved their reliability over the last few years. It will take a couple more years for the long term stats to show this, if so.

Full disclosure: I've got 30,000 miles and 2 years on my Hyundai Elantra - I hope I am right. So far so good. Flawless.