Numbers Matching: The 2020 Hyundai Ioniq HEV Limited

2020 Hyundai Ioniq HEV Limited.

The 2020 Hyundai Ioniq HEV Limited and an abandoned gas station.  Some things just work visually.  If we were all driving Ioniqs, there'd probably be a lot more abandoned gas stations.  Because the Hyundai Ioniq HEV is EPA-estimated at 55 miles per gallon city, 54 highway.

A Car For All Seasons: The 2020 Hyundai Venue SEL

The 2020 Hyundai Venue SEL.

When the 2020 Hyundai Venue came to market, it was a can't-miss proposition.  Hyundai was putting a new vehicle, competitively priced, into the red-hot small crossover market in a roaring economy.

As I write this, California and much of the country is in the 37th day of a stay-at-home order.  Car dealers are considered essential businesses, but, as you'd imagine, not a lot of people are showing up and spending money.

The good news is that the 2020 Hyundai Venue has the potential to be a strong seller when the stay-at-home orders are lifted, even---or maybe especially---if the economy is in bad shape.

It's Got Smaht Pahk: The 2020 Hyundai Sonata Limited

The 2020 Hyundai Sonata Limited.

The 2020 Hyundai Sonata Limited is all new, with swoopy styling, great feature content, remarkable performance and fuel economy from a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine, and an extremely competitive price.

But probably, at least for a while, all anyone is going to ask is "Does it have smaht pahk?"

Grin Control (You'll Need It): The 2020 Hyundai Veloster N

The 2020 Hyundai Veloster N.

Remember what Grandma told you about not judging books by their covers? That applies to cars and their styling. Case in point, the 2020 Hyundai Veloster N. The Veloster is, at first glance, an oddly-proportioned hatchback with three doors---two on the passenger side and one on the driver's side. It's been around since 2012, but was all-new, with somewhat smoother styling, for 2019.

Why Pay More? The 2020 Hyundai Palisade Limited AWD

The 2020 Hyundai Palisade Limited AWD.

If you've been admiring big luxury SUVs like the BMW X7, but can't quite swing the six-figure purchase price, Hyundai has a new vehicle for you. It's the 2020 Hyundai Palisade. It's a familiar move from Hyundai---deliver the looks and a lot of features of established competitors---at a significantly lower price.

Meeting The Revolution Halfway: The 2019 Hyundai Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid

2019 Hyundai Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid.

Look around you in traffic.  It may be a bit different where you live, but here in Northern California, I guarantee you that you can hold your breath until you see an electric car and pretty much not interrupt normal breathing.  

Yes, being an area full of highly-educated people, early adopters and where they make Teslas stacks the odds a bit, but even on our nine-day camping trip that took us through remote areas of Utah and Colorado, not a day went by that I didn't see a Tesla Model S or Model 3, a Nissan Leaf or a Chevy Bolt.

But what if you’re not quite ready to take the all-electric plunge?  A plug-in hybrid is a great way to go---in fact, I think PHEVs are the underappreciated gateway to electric mobility for the majority of Americans.

The Value Proposition: The 2019 Hyundai Tucson Limited FWD

The 2019 Hyundai Tucson.

The time has come, the automotive journalist said, to stop talking of one particular thing:  How Hyundai is right on the bumpers of the Japanese automakers (for those not following such things, Hyundai is South Korean).

I wrote my first review about how Hyundai was a looming presence in the rearview mirror of  the Japanese makers, especially Toyota and Honda, eight years ago, and have written several more since, with the objects in the mirror getting closer each time.  In my opinion, Hyundai (and Kia) passed Mitsubishi and Nissan a while back and are now neck and neck with the big two (Toyota and Honda). And now they are pressing their advantage---value for money.

Beauty Is Only Skin Deep: The 2019 Hyundai Veloster Turbo Ultimate

The 2019 Hyundai Veloster Turbo Ultimate.

I've always been a bit confused about the target market for the Hyundai Veloster, as I admitted in my review of the 2017 Veloster Turbo.  Three-door hatchbacks with quirky styling might seem to be a segment car companies would take a pass on, but the Veloster has done well enough to not only survive, but be succeeded by a new-generation model, an early 2019.

Sonata For The Masses: The 2018 Hyundai Sonata Limited 2.0T

The 2018 Hyundai Sonata Limited 2.0T

In music, a sonata is a composition meant to be played by a soloist.  In the automotive world, the Sonata is increasingly a car for the masses.  In one of the quickest learning curves we've witnessed, Hyundai has found the formula for making cars arguably as good as the competing offerings from Toyota and Honda, at a price just slightly lower than the Japanese.

The Next Step: The 2018 Hyundai Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid Limited

The 2018 Hyundai Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid.

Last year, the big news from Hyundai was the introduction of its Prius-fighter Ioniq Hybrid.  Now, for 2018, there's a plug-in version---and we like it better than the original.

Smooth Operator: The 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0T Ultimate FWD

The 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport.

Family responsibilities have had Navigator (the finest traveling companion known to man) and myself on the road quite a bit this year, with 350-mile roundtrips to Mendocino County and back becoming fairly commonplace (every three to six weeks lately).  That gives us a lot of hours on roads ranging from freeways to switchbacks to evaluate what we're driving and compare it to what we drove on the same route last time.  Perhaps the most impressive so far is the 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport.

An Offer We Can't Refuse: The 2017 Hyundai Elantra Value Edition

2017 Hyundai Elantra.

There's no denying we here at TireKicker are big fans of the 2017 Hyundai Elantra.  Since its introduction as a very early 2017 model in early 2016, we've been impressed by the handling and agility of this compact sedan...so much so that we've not even blinked at the $27,710 bottom line of a loaded Hyundai Elantra Limited or at the $25,010 tab for the 201-horsepower Elantra Sport.

But now, Hyundai's gone and done it...sweetening the deal with a best-of-most-worlds model called the Value Edition that starts with a low one-price-no-options-beyond-floormats number, then immediately carves four figures off of that with an "Elantra Value Edition Standard Equipment Discount".

Just One Thing...The 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid Limited

The 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid.

There are four words to keep in mind when discussing fuel economy.  They are the disclaimer in every advertisement that touts an EPA estimate: "Your mileage may vary."

You see, what we have here in the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid Limited, at least in the humble opinion of yours truly, is a perfectly-timed Prius killer.  There's just one thing...

South Korean Sport: The 2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport

The 2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport.

About a year ago, I had a major revelation while driving the all-new 2016 Hyundai Elantra Limited.  Namely, that Hyundai had built a tight little sedan that could gobble up one of my favorite stretches of twisty road (CA 128 between Rutherford and Winters) without breaking a sweat, with its automatic transmission set in "Sport" mode.

Now, Hyundai sweetens the deal with the Elantra Sport.

A Quicker Kind of Quirky: The 2017 Hyundai Veloster Turbo

The 2017 Hyundai Veloster Turbo.

I'll confess.  I have no idea who's buying the Hyundai Veloster.  What is the market for a three-door coupe of unusual proportions?   Doesn't matter.  Enough of them sold in 2016 to edge out the Corvette, not that they are in any way direct competitors.

All-American From Korea: The 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited Ultimate AWD

The 2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited Ultimate.

The headline above may cause some controversy, so let's establish what I meant, right off the top.  By "All-American", I'm not talking about place of manufacture, the source of the engine or transmission.  All that is Korea.  No, by "All-American", I'm talking about hitting the target of what American families in 2016 seem to want in a vehicle...and in this case, hitting pretty close to the bulls-eye.

What's A "Sport" Button Doing In A Hyundai? The 2016 Hyundai Sonata Sport 2.0T

The 2016 Hyundai Sonata Sport 2.0T.

Show me a squiggly line on a road map and I just naturally want to drive it.  Mrs.TireKicker and I were in the last three days of our ten-day honeymoon drive up California's Highway 1 from Morro Bay to Gualala.  As noted in our review of the 2016 Mazda 3 S Five-Door Grand Touring, we'd begun our trip in that car...but we traded in Monterey two days earlier for the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Sport 2.0T (our thanks to the fine folks at DriveShop for their flexibility in pickup and dropoff locations).

The trade netted us considerably more room for people and cargo (the Sonata's trunk easily accommodated what we had to fold down the rear seats in the Mazda 3 to hold), and without a horrendous penalty in fuel economy (an EPA estimated 23 city/32 highway compared to the Mazda 3's 26/35...and ultimately both wound up getting 29.5).  But the biggest squiggly line of the trip lay ahead.

Sonata in Gas and Electric: The 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited

The 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited.

About a year ago, we reviewed the 2015 Hyundai Sonata Eco, which, with a 1.6-liter turbo four and a seven-speed automatic transmission, managed to turn in some more than respectable fuel economy numbers: 28 city/38 highway.

In 2016, you can do better still.

Surprise! The 2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited

The 2017 Hyundai Elantra Limited.

If you had asked me eleven days ago what car I'd want if I were driving 150 miles on mostly two-lane roads after a long day at work, I doubt I would have said "Give me a Hyundai Elantra".

That has now changed.

Another Step: The 2016 Hyundai Sonata Limited 2.0t

The 2016 Hyundai Sonata Limited 2.0t.

Certain things in the car business are like clockwork.  It was a year ago this week that I wrote about the 2015 Hyundai Sonata Sport 2.0t, calling it "the car you'd have never bet they could build".