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http://www.nhtsa.gov/NCAP/Cars/3351.html
I would imagine that resale will be higher with Hyundai than with Kia, so if a Korean car is in your plans I would place my bet on Hyundai. Does not even matter if they are the exact car, as logic mean nothing. The brand of Hyundai seems to be most popular now amongst the Korean makes. What ever happened to Daewoo? I hear they make army tanks, guns, stereos and who knows what, but no cars for USA??? As for quality of early model Japanese cars, I would say yes, Toyota and Datsuns were very good in the early years, and a classic '70s Datsun 510 may still be fun to own and drive for sport. The earliest Honda and Subaru looked like death traps and pretty flimsy, but I bet the little honda engine purred along. No, would not want a 40 or even a 30 year old one of those. Since Korea was just starting out with cars for worldwide distribution, I do not see how they ran into so much trouble producing a car. Should have been modern day plants, with new equipment. Oh well, that is history now, so good luck to future efforts by Hyundai and other Korean name plates. I am sure things are better. Everyone has to decide which element of a car's make up is most important, or holds the most weight, be it safety, style, cost, performance/handling, ride comfort, image, fuel economy, and such. If every element holds nearly equal weight, I don't know what you would do, other perhaps go with a used car. You can buy a new Corolla or Civic for under $14 + tax & Lic, but not with side air bags. Maybe an Elantra is your thing. As for safety, size and weight matter, so while a test may look good, it is only a part of the equation. You could buy an older, say '98 Crown Vic and have a lot of steel around you or buy an SUV. Gas mileage would not be as good however. Just depends on what weight you put on each element which makes up the total buying decision on a car. Elantra or Cobalt may be just the ticket for someone looking for what they like the most in a car. For those that buy and sell a car every three years, I would imagine a Japanese make would be a best bet. I was always of the opinion that you buy a Japanese car new, but you could buy an American or other make used and get the best deal. These days, with all the discounts on American cars, perhaps you can be better off buying new, if holding a car for more than say 5 to 7 years. Still, it is amazing to see say Buicks a year or two old, coming off lease, sold for say $10k to $13K when they sold for what, say $20 to $23k new. If a person wants a deal, maybe that is it. Not always a real exciting car, but they get 30 MPG on the freeway, and are comfy to drive.
Going to Hyundai vs. Kia, the Kia Spectra5 looks a lot sportier than the Elantra GT. Maybe the GT has leather, but the Spectra's got bigger wheels, bodykit, etc. The Elantra GT was never really a "sporty" trim...more like a "Euro" or upscale trim.
Chevy seems to have a much more low-key, more professional dealer group than Hyundai, maybe because of the Saturn experience. Local Hyundai dealer has gotten progressively cheesier since I bought one in '01. They also sell Nissans, VW's and Suzukis.
npaladin2000 describes the difference very well between the two Korean compacts. The Elantra does seem to have a "Euro" trim to it, not bad looking, but not as sporty as Spectra or Spectra5. I kind of have a long-term eye on a blue Spectra5 or a new world order Sportage to trade my '01 Sportage in on AAMOF. The '01's engine is purring like a top and everything else is holding up well, though,(including those 92,150 mile OEM Hankoook SUV tires)so no trading in needed for a good while yet. Plenty of time to research for fun.
It seems like a re-design might be due for the Hyundai Elantra. backy, is this in the works as I type this post out?
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
BTW-I am very open to looking at Hyundai Elantra's. I was as far as taking a 1999 Hyundai Elantra out for an "extended" test drive-I liked it and my wife nixed the deal. It was that copper colored automatic '99 that Hyundai called some shade of red. I am interested in their re-design coming up. There is a lot of value in that car, indeed. Getting a car packed with so much like that for only $12,500 is incredible. Viva HyunKia!
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
We are digging our '01 Sportage 4x4 and it's running like a champ, so my interest is purely my own brand of car craziness, that only seems to be getting worse! Tread on!
BTW-we'd probably really get one of the new Sportage's, either Volcanic Red or Smart Blue color, 2WD and 5-speeds! We love our compact Sportage SUV!
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
That plus that fact that it makes little sense to release a new Elantra-based Spectra in 05, and then revise the platform for 06 in a new Elantra, while leaving everything else in the old platform.
But I'll nose around and if I can find a reference, I will.
How about the Elantra based on the Spectra5 platform? That would seem to make more sense, as the Spectra5 has a much more sportier look and supposedly a better safety record.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
Incidentally, Edmund's summary of the Spectra for the "new" 04 model calls it an "all new platform," however, Consumerguide states that the new Spectra is "Based on the Elantra platform of corporate parent Hyundai," so is it a new platform, an Elantra platform, or an all-new Elantra platform?
One of us will find a bookmarked article or a brochure or whatever and we'll get this answer if we persevere.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
The 57, 58 and 59 Chevys were all distinct cars built on frames, obviously they were different platforms.
I'm not sure whether Kia/Hyundai may not be on a continuous improvement curve with slight changes made to the Spectra and then further tweaks made to the next Elantra. At least the change in the next Elantra looks evolutionary in stead of revolutionary.
The Sonata, on the other hand, looks like a much larger change, although I'm not sure whether I like it's much more genericjapanese look better than the present one.
I think this new '06 Sonata looks awesome, it really has a nice flow from front to back on it. That is one reason I love this new Scion tC so much. It flows so beautifully from front to back. I think it's an adorable little hatchback.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
http://autoshow.edmunds.com/news/autoshow/articles/103626/page043.html?tid=edmunds.e.autos- how..leftnav.44.**
I think this will become the new king of the budget sedans such as the Chevrolet Aveo, Hyundai Accent, Toyota Echo. Maybe someone should throw these cars together in a comparison test. I also hear Honda will introducue a budget sedan called the City to the US in 2007. The Honda City is already on sale all over Asia.
The small car market will be much more interesting in the next year.
By all rights a little rig like the Micra would do horribly in a side-crash IIHS test, too.
It is going to be a fun small car market right soon...this new Rio and the new Accent both look great to me. Both of them are improvements in styling IMO, I actually liked the original Rio styling better than this last little styling twist Kia gave the Rio, where it looks kind of like a Civic. This new design will be a better car for consumers hardware-wise and IMO it is the best looking Rio and Accent pair(or viewed inividually)yet. HyunKia continues to shine big time.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I have check the mileage around town and I am getting 28.7-29.5, and I just drove it on a long trip and got 38.2mpg on the hiway. Yes, I have had many small cars and I know how to figure mileage. I was quite suprised by the hiway mileage and I was expecting 34-35mpg. I drove between 60-65mph. From Plano Tx. to Athens Tx. around to various family member homes in the area and back. Has anyone else got this kinda mileage on the hiway and what do the automatics get. I have a friend how wants one but cant drive a stick.
Good highway mileage aside, while sitting in 2 hours of traffic each day, this car gets 22-24mpg. I think that when driven normally, we get the posted mileage.
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I can get a low-end Cobalt Coupe auto for ~$14.5k and am seriously considering it.
Loren
The Cobalt drives pretty nice IMO, and has perhaps the best ride in the class. But I'd take an Elantra over the Cobalt too, for things like a usable rear seat, driver's comfort, and of course the price/features equation.