All you people saying hyundai's are pos are ignorant. my parents got the Azera, had a g35, and its a great car. has pretty much everything. I hate to say it but the Azeras interior is much nicer than my 04 g35 coupe.

 

Yeah...there is no doubt that Hyundai has come along way from there humble beginnings. I think the earlier comparison to Honda is very valid. There is no reason not to think that they would follow the already well established business model here and start an upscale brand like Lexus or Acura or Infiniti.

 

hyundai has come a long way from a import ----box. but please HYUNDAI and KILLER automobile dont go in the same sentence....

 

Man, who remembers the Datsun B210 hatchback with the honeycomb wheels?? The non-hatch version was even uglier.

http://www.hollywoodpicturecars.com/...tsunB210GX.jpg

Those things almost made Gremlins look good.

And for those kiddies who don't know, "Datsun changed their name to Nissan!" (that was the ad campaign when they switched names I think in the late 70's).

U-G-L-Y and they were all over the place too. MOST of them were in blue or kelley green (not metallic either)

 

Sigh... why do they do this? They make a great concept, everyone loves it, and then they decide "OK, everyone loves it, let bring it into production. BUT WAIT!!! All that cool stuff that they really loved? That eye candy? Lets get rid of that first, and come up with an emasculated version and put that out!"

I saw the concept pictures of the inside of the Pontiac Solstice. It looked really nice. Aluminum dash trim kinda like the Z4 but more, an LCD that was integrated into the dash and had a very interesting-shaped bezel, etc.

Then I went to a dealer and sat in one in person. What a total and complete letdown. The car is that cheap-feeling classic Pontiac plastic, no LCD, or anything. OK, the LCD is expensive. So only make it an option. But the aluminum trim is not that expensive, esp. for a car that they are already overcharging for. I thought the concpet interior pics were very cool, but not so outrageous that they couldn't do it in production. Very realistic. Then I was completely underwhelmed when I sat in one.

We've seen those pics of the new G35 concept. I bet most of the cool **** in those pics gets tossed too.

So that being said, that Hyundai looks pretty cool. I won't hold my breath waiting for it to look like that when it comes out though...

Brain21

 

You are not really making a good comparison here.

Mercedes are very unreliable cars. Chrysler certainly didn't change that (and no one really expected them to). VWs have been in the bottom 4 of JD Powers reliability ratings for *years*. Audis are also not know for reliability.

BMWs, however are different. First off, in the 80's BMW were like jags. Very nice and well performing pieces of crap. Completely unreliable. Not as bad as the Prosches, but *really* crappy reliability till the early 90's. Then things changed. Look at the ratings for the 3-series for the past 10 years. They are above average to excellent. 5-series are kinda hit and miss, much like the Z3s & Z4s - good some years, not good on others. 7-series forget it. Unreliable and very expensive to fix. But 3 series and the 5 series on some years... very reliable cars.

Let me put it to you this way... My 96 3 series that I am getting rid of for a G35 has 188K miles on it. Until around 185k miles, here is the sum total of repairs that I have had to do on the car over the last decade:

The normal brake pads, etc. replacements.
New Alternator
2 bad window bushings.
1 bad hose.
replaced the battery twice. Once was when my alternator died.


That's it. Over 10 years and getting close to 200k miles. I still have the *ORIGINAL* clutch on the car, with no slippage (I also happen to be a good stick driver and don't rag the car), original timing chain. In fact, other than what's mentioned above, EVERYTHING in the car is original. The car was in excellect shape up until this past year. I have a new broken window motor. The A/C has a leak right behind the dash. The mechanics *think* I might need a new clutch in the next year or so. I know quite a few people at work that will say similar things about their BMWs.

I'm not trying to be a fanboy here, I'm just relating my own personal real-life experience here.

Oh, and the Ms are farily reliable too (well, the M3s), despite the propaganda you read here. Are they expensive to fix? Well, if something goes with the engine or transmission or suspension, yes. That's the same for many cars. G35s ain't cheap either guys. I have read reports here that M3 oil changes are over $125+ and you have to use some special secret proprietary BMW oil. That's a load of bull. I know a few M3 owners. Everyone of them uses Mobil1 for their oil. Not some super secret proprietary crap.

Sorry BroDaJin, this isn't directed at you, I saw other posts (time and time again) on this forum where people are speaking based on conjecture and assumptions. If you are a mechanic or whatever, I'm sure you know full well that the proprietary oil for BMW M3s is a crock.

...and sorry for hijacking the thread a bit...

Now back to the issue at hand... Hyundai actually makes (supposedly - now it's me talking based on conjecture and something I read once in 1 car magazine) pretty reliable cars. They did start the whole 10year/100k miles powertrain warranty. If nothing else, they stand behind their stuff. Moreso than anyone else out there.

Brain21

 

I think a lot of it has to with the fact that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I am probably not alone in saying that BMWs interiors (you know, where you spend most of your time around your car) are nicer and more solid (Z4 doesn't count that interior is about as sparse and boring and as underwhelming as they come - yuk! IMHO). That being said, I *much* prefer the Infiniti seats over the BMWs (not talking about the M3 here). You do get more goodies inside for your money, however. I personally think the center console on the G35s is mediocre at best (maybe in large part due to the cheap looking stock radio), but more goodies overall for less price. Price out options on BMWs - they are outta this world! They add up much more quickly than do the Infinitis. But I digress...

Exterior. *IN MY OPINION* the G35 coupe wins hands down over all BMWs. The G35 coupe is damned near a serious work of art, and predict that 25 years from now we will be seeing lots of G35 pics in coffee table books! In my opinion they are one of the most beatuiful cars on the road.

Performance - BMWs are more fun in the twisties, G35s more fun for pure acceleration and G-force (no pun intended) pushing you back in your seat.

Now sedan-wise, it's almost the opposite. I still like the Infiniti's seats better, both front and back. I like the extras & bang for buck options (still don't like the radio) and the G35 sedan feels roomier to me, but I much prefer the BMW lines. I think that from the windsheild forward it's close. The BMW looks more refined and understated, yet stylish. The G sedan while the hood area is nothing special, the lights are still similar to the coupes and I really like the lights & grill. I like the slightly sloping hood of the g35. From the windsheild to the back of the car, BMW all the way.

So, prices being equal I would pick:

G35 coupe
BMW 3-series coupe
BMW 3-series sedan
G35 Sedan.

I'm sure that there are a TON of people here that would disagree with me, but that's kinda the point I'm making. It's in the eye of the beholder (and under the feet!)

Brain21

 

I think you're both wrong to a certain extent. Just to reiterate my last post.

There are likely PLENTY of enthusiast how would say "The BMW is a better driver, but the G35 is a better looker. The G35 is better looking than it is worse in the handling department, and so overall it puts a bigger smile on my face."


And if you think that's not true, then why aren't we all driving K-cars still? (boring, non-descript square cars from the 80's that saved Chrysler's ***)

There *IS* more to a car than superior handling.

I don't care how many people will brag to me how their mustang or whatever is faster than my car. My car looks cooler, and the difference in speed is so minimal that a drivers' skills matter far more than the car's -60 or 1/4mi performance. Looks, comfort, and reliability on the otherhand... quite a different matter... A different driver can't make GT6 look like anything other than a pontiac.

Brain21

Brain21

 

^^^ +111111111111

Just because a car is cheap, doesn't mean it's a POS. Just because a car used to be unreliable, doesn't mean it still is. It's just dumb to base opinions and predjudices on current model cars, on stats and stories (half of which probably aren't even true) from a decade ago!

If they make the car and sell it for $10k under a G35, they likely aren't going for the G35 market. They will take what they get from the G35 mkt, but they aren't stupid people at Hyundai. They will sell the car as a "G35 killer" or whatever, not to current G35 owners, but to those that really want one but can't necessarily afford it. Well, nows there chance. And they may very will win over some current G35 owners in the process too.

Brain21

 

+1

There are talks of Hyundai forming a luxury brand. Have any you heard that even Toyota is having warranty issues? No car company is perfect. Give credit to those who are taking a chance and moving forward.

 

i'm glad that people are starting to realize that hyundai has come a far way. as a korean person myself (born in the states) i would have never thought i'd catch myself saying that now i would definately consider purchasing one. All i'm trying to say is please give the proper credit where it is due. just because hyundai's weren't considered as reliable cars doesn't mean they aren't reliable now. and like i said, before you start bashing on hyundai's just remember that some of the technology in our VQ motors was developed by hyundai.

 

i second this motion. glad to see some people not being so closed minded.

 

well i'd certainly consider buying the new hyundai and do things in it that I wouldn't do to my baby G I don't doubt they are stepping it up because come on, if they want to stay in business they can't let everyone else just stomp all over the market while they pump out whats perceived as a "economic poor man's luxury car"

 

My dad has been in the auto tech business for about 20+ years now. he's worked on everything from Hyundai's, honda's, toyotas, nissans to aston martins, lambo's, mercedez, and BMW. he's bitched about each in their own right each have their share of problems. further more, BMW's aren't any different, my aunt had a 2002 325i and she had the thermostat go out on her twice, alternator once, and a few other things as well as have her tires replaced on multiple occasions because the sidewalls on the tires were tearing. I myself have worked on all sorts of vehicles (mostly because i don't trust stealerships touching my whip) and once you put a car on the lift and look from beneath you can really see how the car is holding up. my dads 1989 volvo 740GL (that he got rid of 2 years ago) ran for 250,000 miles and all he did was the regular maintenance, replaced the battery twice and the alternator once. does that means that volvo's are the best? no. lastly, if the G was exactly the same as it is right now but had a hyundai symbol on there i'd still buy it in a heartbeat. oh and the BMW's are great handling cars overall, but i bet i could name cars in the same "class" that handle better and cost a crapload less

 

Actually I read that Hyundai bought out Kia for the specific purpose of making it their "every man" line so that they could take the Hyundai line up-scale. I don't know that it would be in their best interest to be like Ford or GM and have multiple normal lines plus a luxury line.