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Hi Jack,

Looking at buying an Elantra 2001-2005. Any known faults with these vehicles? I've read that Hyundai have recently caught upto Toyota,Nissan etc and their I45 was voted car of the year. How do their earlier models stack up? I'm impressed with the NZ new aspect of most Hyundais but are they reliable when compared to a Golf at this same price range ($8k)

Hyundai have made huge strides in recent years and are now extremely competitive in every model class they compete in, both locally and on a global stage.

While they can definitely match or arguably better their Japanese rivals in terms of quality, safety and specification levels when it comes down to a new vehicle, the same cannot always be said for the older models.

Hyundai’s progress and improvement has been based around every new model launched being much improved over the one it replaced. Toyota on the other hand has had a long history to fall back on and their new models are more of a continued enhancement rather than a major leap in technology or quality.

The bottom line is the later the model Hyundai the better whereas the older the car and the tighter the budget the more the swing toward Toyota.

Most people would choose the Golf over the Elantra based on looks and performance however, if the Golf (in the 8K price range) was fitted with an automatic transmission then the potential for a major and expensive repair during ownership is increased.