Pity the Europeans can,t see the follly of their ways .

[brad]

Hyundai have expensive servicing and parts, when Kia charge far less for the exact same things.We got the previous shape Santa Fe and the new variant went up nearly 7k over the outgoing. Same engine/drivetrain, most of the mechanicals etc. Each new model they bump up the price a bit more locally, but in other countries they are way cheaper so its pretty obvious we are being done over here.

ex-wife just bought a Kia Cerato. Cross-shopped the equivalent hyundai (i30?) and there was $5k difference ($20500 for the Kia with auto and upgraded head unit). The Hyundai guy told her he couldn't match features, warranty or price and the kia was a good buy. She got the Kia for just over $19k with metalic paint thrown in. Amazing value.

[woofy]

The Kia Sorrento was similar when I got the Santa Fe but I preferred the SF at the time. Now the Sorrento is a different car altogether with a different chassis.

[Sunny43.5]

It's interesting that Mr Biermann, the former head of BMW's M division and a 30 year BMW veteran has suddenly changed his perspective on technology now that his pay packet comes from a lower tech manufacturer.

As for "We have a solid Hyundai steel platform, tonnes of high-strength steel – okay, it’s a little bit heavier than the other cars", in other words, we can't get the weight down on this car so we'll pitch it's extra weight and low tech as a positive.

High tech maybe the high end manufacturers marketing hype, excess weight and low tech is Hyundai's marketing hype. It's all about creating a perception.

Cheers

George

I think also what he is alluding to with the bit about high strenth steel is definetly worth considering , I work in an industry where we are constantly having to work around the steel used in some of these cars . Back in around 2004 Toyota released an updated Camry I fitted an aftermarket sunroof to the car and as usual we remove the cross roof brace to allow the sunroof to be fitted . Now it was the first car we had encountered with a "Boron " steel cross brace , shortly after sucessfully fitting the roof we were contacted by our testing division in Germany . They had also done the same model and discovered a problem , Toyota had changed their testing regime in regards to side impact protection . Up until then most cars roof braces when tested would bend at around 10 to 15 thousand neuton metres , The Camry brace maxed the test rig out as they reached 30 thousand neuton metres of crush strength and the brace had only bowed up a small amount in the middle . When the pressure was released it went back to it's original shape !! , now I remembered when I removed the one I did it weighed a huge amount compared to most other cars roof braces . The point I am making here is lots of car makers use this steel in strategic places in the cars which makes them incredibly strong and heavy . Other car makers whilst getting the crash ratings they strive for will use technology rather than strength in body to get the result . Very recently the Mustang was only getting a 3 star rating and Ford had to fit alternative technology to get a better rating , this is probably why the Hyundai boss was alluding to the weight factor . He is doing his best to sell to the public that technology is not neccesary always the best thing in cars in regards to safety . PS the Camry I did was the first and last one we did as we were told not to remove the brace for possible saftety reasons . In the last nine months a new modified sunroof was released and it weighs around 8 kilograms heavier than the previous model and can you guess why ? yep a boron steel reinforcing cross brace has been built onto the sunroof housing . Technology could not fix that problem only extra weight .