Hyundai N Products

As jcrout stated, the Kona T is a fun little rig. Came close to pulling the trigger and trading the CX-5 after I got pissed about the DRL fail.
If they'd had a memory seat I would have.
 
^Memory seat away..wow eh we all have our things. My back likes heated seats..alot. I probably owe that thing a drive even though its kinda too small for what it is i thought..
 
Back when Edmunds still had Inside Line, they did a comparo between a Mazdaspeed3 and a Hyundai Genesis Coupe. The FWD MS3 won that comparo. When MotorTrend tested the Veloster Turbo, the car shook so much when they launched it for the 0-60 test, that it inadvertently turned on the wipers during the test. Ever since that, I've been dismissive of anything sporty that Hyundai sells. Hyundai will have to earn the reputation of being a manufacture who can build sporty/sport cars with the N line.

To be honest, if you were looking for Korean sporty/sport cars, Kia is the easy choice. They actively race their cars back when the IMSA Sport Compact category was still around and won a few. The Stinger too has proven to be impressive and that was Kia's first try at a sport sedan? That is impressive to me.
 
1. Same parent company w/lots of shared internals
2. Drive a Veloster N and let me know if you're still dismissive at that point.
3. Other than Stinger GT (which is sweet too) but auto only and kinda large and 10+k more they don't make anything overtly sporty really
 
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1. Same parent company w/lots of shared internals
2. Drive a Veloster N and let me know if you're still dismissive at that point.
3. Other than Stinger GT (which is sweet too) but auto only and kinda large and 10+k more they don't make anything overtly sporty really

I honestly am not interested in the Veloster N, because of the design and the 3 door setup. I want my hot hatch with 4 doors. The reviews on it look good, but until it can consistently beat the GTI in comparos now and in the future, it will be hard to convince me to test drive one.

That's the thing with Kia. They don't have a performance line like Hyundai does right now, but to me, I rank them higher than Hyundai as far as knowing how to build sporty cars, simply because I've seen them race their Fortes and they were competitive.
 
Yeah have to agree I'd prefer the I30N 4dr hatch that we don't get and despite me spouting hate on VW I've come pretty close (closest was 1st gen R32) to buying GTIs in the past and this Hyundai is probably the closest thing to that used R32 that was listed at or slightly above original sticker- big reason why I didn't do it. Point is other than interior refinement current GTI has nothing on it- Hyundai crushed it..far better than Genesis coupes of yore also..save for styling I guess.
 
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I test drove the 1.6T Tucson before I decided on the 18 CX5 GT last year. Two things I did not like on the 18 Tucson was the DCT and the interior (to me) felt inferior to the CX5. How's the DCT on the Kona?

I can't say I noticed any anomalies with the DCT. Felt like a solid shifting, well sorted automatic. The 1.6T was very well suited to the lighter car. The interiors are certainly cheaper looking than the Mazdas, as are most manufacturers in this segment, but most Hyundais can be had for $4-5k under MSRP based on a quick search of cars.com. Also worth noting, the AWD system in the Kona didn't allow the front wheels to slip before engaging the rears. All four tires bit when accelerating hard in the rain. No slip. Wish I could say the same for our CX-5's.
 
Variable

former 2.0T Santa Fe owner, although a pretty good car,
service at hyundai dealers are very lacking and thus the reason i now stay away from Hyundai's
After 4-5 years of ownership, car started having many issues and decided it was time to dump it for another Mazda.

If Service centers, upped their customer service and ambience, maybe i would go back to owning another one, because as OP stated, they definitely have come a long way.

We have owned three Hyundais and have had no issues with the two dealers who have serviced them. Just bought a 2019 Santa Fe for $32K, (msrp $36,750).
Just like any other brand, dealer experience will vary.
I have also noticed that the mid sized Santa Fe has some reviews and many comments in forums that frequently that mention the compact Honda CR V and
even smaller Mazda CX 5 as competitors.
 
Still is..and stands to be my 2nd ever fwd vehicle. Not taking it to track so ill skip the lsd and the tq steer it introduces..1yr w/fwd lsd TL taught me that.
 
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Still is..and stands to be my 2nd ever fwd vehicle. Not taking it to track so ill skip the lsd and the tq steer it introduces..1yr w/fwd lsd TL taught me that.

I had a fwd car without LSD once. It was dangerous. No ability to pull into traffic fast in the wet or if gravel surprises you. Spin city, and thats 145hp G20.
 
Had a Kia Soul as a rental. Rattled more than any car I've ever driven.

Rented two Kia Souls about a year apart.
First one was brand new. I was the first driver. Wasn't bad at all and quite comfortable. Still basic, but it was OK. I was initially impressed.
The second one I rented had about 35,000 miles on it. Ho boy, what a difference.
This thing ran and felt like it was on it last legs. It was done. .
It felt very loose, had zero guts, was noisy, had a ton or rattles. Felt like a car with a few 100K miles on it, not 35K miles.
Yes I know, it's a rental, but if this is typical of how a Kia ages, then no thanks.
 
Ah yes the super sentra haha..noted, but this is wearing mich super sports and will rarely see wet much less gravel so not too concerned..
 
Ah yes the super sentra haha..noted, but this is wearing mich super sports and will rarely see wet much less gravel so not too concerned..

How can you be sure of no gravel? I have yet to visit a city without gravel in the runoff zones. In fact, thats where my incident happened. Pulling from a side street onto the 4 lane. Just spun. Had to throw it in reverse or get hit. Sucked. AWD has spoiled me, but fwd with lsd was at least survivable.
 
Rented two Kia Souls about a year apart.
First one was brand new. I was the first driver. Wasn't bad at all and quite comfortable. Still basic, but it was OK. I was initially impressed.
The second one I rented had about 35,000 miles on it. Ho boy, what a difference.
This thing ran and felt like it was on it last legs. It was done. .
It felt very loose, had zero guts, was noisy, had a ton or rattles. Felt like a car with a few 100K miles on it, not 35K miles.
Yes I know, it's a rental, but if this is typical of how a Kia ages, then no thanks.

I knew I wasn't crazy LOL. The 1 year old model I rented looked new on the outside/inside. It sure brought back bad memories sitting on the passenger side of someone's gutted out 1992 Integra with rattles galore.
 
My Dads 2006 Sportage has held up quite well as he still has it. Not sure the mileage.

When it comes to Kia, some are better than others I think.
 
How can you be sure of no gravel? I have yet to visit a city without gravel in the runoff zones. In fact, thats where my incident happened. Pulling from a side street onto the 4 lane. Just spun. Had to throw it in reverse or get hit. Sucked. AWD has spoiled me, but fwd with lsd was at least survivable.

25+yrs in the hudson valley of ny no real issues but again 2nd vehicle..fair weather friend. Late March or April Ill throw a $ bid in and see if they bite.
 
As someone that has become more performance oriented the past few years (I've always liked performance cars, but purchased practical), I have been impressed that Hyundai / Kia brought on engineers from BMW to add performance attributes to some of the models. Even the top trim economy oriented Kona has dual clutch (not rated very well in a review I just watched) and a peppy turbo, but it is cheaply made from what I can tell from the review. Even with the brand new Kona tested in that video the reviewer commented about a rattle in the door. If a car starts with a rattle I can't imagine what it may be like after a couple of years.

While I admire what they are doing in performance (taking the Zoom Zoom title?) I cannot see myself buying Hyundai / Kia yet.

Meanwhile, what do we get? Feel Alive? Hmm.......
I guess it doesn't matter as long as the new turbo is a good step up from my 187 HP version.
 
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