And a V8 in a RWD Coupe would be to hard to resist.

Please Hyundai don’t go completely down the ZZZZZZZ Toyota route – good looking cars with average FWD handling and performance.

Build a flagship and they will come

I wouldn’t pick the Yaris, I’ve driven it and it is not bad but neither is the drive memorable…but the Mazda 2 is not too bad… zoom…zoom…

The point i was making is that Toyota is good at what they do, which is very reliable transport…

Yes, the current model civic i own is made in Thailand, but i can’t see any lack of quality for that, where as the new lancer is made in jap but there is obviously a lack of “touchy feely” quality…i did test drive it and came out slightly disappointed…

the civic by the way is a nice package, it isn’t smoother, quieter or more refined than the camry but as a package in that class of vehicle it works very well…

and yes it’s space agey in its looks inside and out…and i hated it when i first saw it at the motor show…but once i drove it, it made sense! the Mazda 3 is too small inside, the corolla is just that (though i’ve ordered the new corolla for my dad – it fits him perfectly), the Tiida just doesn’t seem right, astra has questionable reliability and the lancer lacks the perceivable quality… so the Civic won out…don’t regret buying it… :)

The REAL point i was making is that it won’t be too long b4 Hyundai gets to where Toyota is today, but progress is such that everyone is striving, so the edge for the japs will always prevail… though it would be nice to see what Japs can come out with a rwd car!

By the way, I’ve driven the Falcon, Commodore and Aurion and if i had to pick one, it would be the Aurion – simply because it has by far the best refinement and quality… though that’s my sensible side of the brain deciding. If i let my emotion make the decision then it would have to be the Calais…because all that power works so well in a RWD car…but i wouldn’t touch it ’cause i know they are not engineered the way Toyota is…believe you me i have quite a number of friends who have moved from Holden/Ford to Toyota because of “issues” with their cars… Why can’t Toyo and Mitsu introduce rwd platforms for their Camry/Aurion and 380? They have the clout for it…and if they did they the opportunity to corner the market…

All Hyundais launched after arount 2000 (i.e Tiburons, NF Sonata, Santa Fe etc) can match any Japanese cars in quality, and more recent offerings can be competetive against top class makers such as Lexus. Just look how SOLID new i30 feels…

Agree on Corolla front, but then again Hyundai polarised by omitting Traction Control from range (think it was that and it was on this website).

As for i30, I think the i30 has alot going for it… hell if I wasnt worried about their reliability (in the future this will change, it just needs time) Id get one over a Corolla… no stability control for Aus is a poor move by Toyota while the i30 has it.

Concerning the i30, the write ups I have sighted in newspaper, caradvice website do indicate clearly that they have made massive gains on i30 compared to Toyota – dare say Toyota would be best served to hang onto its staff as they are getting poached and systems, etc based on many many years of success is being taken and handed legally to other organisations. Paul Iam not disputing Toyota is at top, they have a good solid varied range and had many years to streamline there manufacturing procedures – unfortunately as they do not 100% own staff, as soon as they leave and go elsewhere then they also lift the bar!