However you say it, the Trajet is an affordable mover

America created it, Europe perfected it and Japan followed. More recently, the Koreans have jumped in.

Were not talking about style and fashion shows, which is lucky because Hyundais first entrant in the people-mover market, the Trajet, does little to stop traffic.

But the Trajet lands in this market with a familiar Korean ring: top notch value-for-money, a price of $34,990, V6, drivers airbag, central locking, power windows, power mirrors and a dual air-conditioning system.

Spend another $4000 for the GLS and youll also get remote locking, a passenger airbag, anti-lock brakes (with rear discs added), roof rails, a CD player and alloy wheels.

The Trajet is based on the Sonata mid-sized car, but a tad shorter, meaning car-like manoeuvrability and seating for seven.

And it marks the first time weve seen Hyundais all-new 2.7-litre V6 in Australia, but it wont be the last. Its due soon on the Santa Fe light-duty off-roader.

The engine is good for 132 kilowatts (kW) of power and 247 Newton-metres (Nm) of torque, which makes it one of the better performers in the people-mover category.

A four-speed column shift automatic is standard, making for smooth changes blurred by an occasional reluctance to downchange.

On paper the suspension set-up, which has been retuned for Australia, looks OK, being fully independent. But its not about to challenge the sort of refinement and dynamics displayed by class leaders such as the Honda Odyssey.

Like a number of new Hyundais, particularly the Grandeur, suspension damping appears to be the problem, with a floaty ride that doesnt cope well with mid-corner bumps. The whole handling equation is not helped by rather noticeable kickback through the steering wheel over bumps. Still, its comfy enough and reasonable when driven within its limits.

The last word on the Trajet deserves to go to its name. By now youre probably wondering why a company would name a product the Trajet, which some people (even within Hyundai) suggest has a sound a little too close to tragedy.

The answer comes from Hyundais Korean head office, which basically told the Australian distributors that Trajet was a worldwide name. Hyundai Australia had initially been planning to change it, but now is embarking on an ambitious marketing campaign that aims to teach people the French pronunciation, which goes something like "trar-shay". Good luck.