By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Not many years ago buying a sub-compact car meant sacrificing some of the things that make driving more enjoyable such as heated seats, automatic headlights, keyless start, an upgraded audio system and the newest safety features. If you wanted a small car with stellar mileage, you sacrificed.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

For years small-car hatchbacks were out of favor in the U.S., but things have changed in recent times due in part to the need for the extra cargo space inherent in the so-called five-door vehicles and perhaps even more, because of the modern, stylish designs that in many cases have made the hatchback more pleasing to gaze upon than its sedan counterpart.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

In 2011 Hyundai brought the Fluidic Sculpture design language to its mid-sized Sonata sedan deviating from the pedestrian styling of many of the other mainstream mid-sized offerings with flowing, coherent lines, a large expansive grille and swept-back headlights. Interior styling was also groundbreaking. And the sixth-generation Hyundai resonated with buyers.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

We were already convinced the all-new Hyundai Ioniq hybrid was a gas-sipping compact car we could live with, but it took a 600-mile round trip mostly on the rough and tumble world of interstate highways on the east and west coasts to really appreciate Hyundai's efforts in building a gas-electric vehicle that rivals anything in the segment — including the industry standard, Toyota Prius.

By David Finkelstein

Impressively refined! That's what comes to mind the very moment you get behind the wheel and drive the award-winning 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe, three-row Crossover. As a building block, the '17 version had already received a number of notable enhancements such as a reworked exterior design, upgraded safety features plus attractive LED signature lighting and additional infotainment and audio improvements.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Hyundai has been getting positive reviews from critics and customers alike for its upscale Genesis sedan, especially since the inception of the much-improved second-generation car in 2015. Perhaps that helped the South Korean company decide to create Genesis as a new, stand alone upscale brand dropping the Hyundai nameplate. It's not a new idea coming decades after Nissan/Infiniti, Toyota/Lexus and Honda/Acura.