Are KOREAN Cars Coming Up On Your Radar? Well, They Should Be...

If you had not noticed but for at least the past year, 001 has been all over the Korean car movement.  He saw the power of Hyundai's Genesis sedan AND coupe and called it out.  Too bad it has not been recognized until NOW.

This week a couple of publications have made it known that the Korean cars are here with a vengeance.  No longer are they the shitboxes we once knew and despised, but more importantly, they are not the image crampers that once made the driver hide behind the steering wheel.

From the Hyundai Genesis coupe to the new Kia Forte, which I am dying to drive, you have to admit, things have progressed from where they once were.  Interiors have been updated while materials are becoming up market and designs are becoming less wonky.  And, one thing that has never changed are the prices.  Still at a discount compared to their competitors, the K-cars have always offered more kit for less pain in the wallet. 

So what do you think, Spies?

Would you consider a K-car? Are they on your radar? Do they even peak your interest?

Well, they should.
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M53R - 10/18/2009 11:46:06 AM

+4 Boost

Kia and Hyundai are on a roll and anyone who denies this is a troll. If they continue with their progress, I expect them to beat the Japanese at their own game. Their prices are low, their designs are acceptable, their interiors are on par with the competition, and their mileage is decent. Why wouldn't they succeed? They just need to keep working hard and never let the quality slip like many other car companies ;)

NewBeginning - 10/18/2009 6:20:53 PM

-7 Boost

What Japs do well, Koreans do better.

Joe_Limon - 10/18/2009 11:48:21 AM

+2 Boost

They have always and will continue to be cheap cars. They used to be higher on my radar, but as I grow older they are falling on my list.

mini22 - 10/18/2009 1:22:38 PM

+2 Boost

I think at the rate the Koreans are learning and working Korea may surpass Japan in quality and inovation. If a person does not care at all about having the best handling sedan or sport coupe they should have no qualms at all buying any Hyundai. Soon the gap in ride and handling will all but dissapear. At that point it gets down to cost,performance and styling. Hyundai is already there on cost and styling.

pushrod27 - 10/19/2009 12:02:30 PM

+4 Boost

Agreed.

kornholio - 10/18/2009 2:22:55 PM

+2 Boost

I would rather buy a used car if the only new car I could afford was a Korean car.

NannerPus - 10/19/2009 11:34:51 PM

+1 Boost

asians copying asians...about time! hahaha

PPower - 10/18/2009 6:27:11 PM

+2 Boost

They used to not be on the radar. Now they are on the radar for something to watch for in the future. It's not something I want to buy just yet, but it they are up and comers.

pushrod27 - 10/19/2009 12:01:46 PM

+2 Boost

lol... like you would know what any girl was like in the bedroom. I've already done the math on you homeboy: your taste in cars + the time you spend posting on autospies + your apparent lack of any type of style or manly swagger = you don't get any.

truckman - 10/19/2009 5:12:22 AM

+3 Boost

I have considered them in the past, when I researched them they were never the best on gas, never the most HP, never the safest, so would I want a vehicle that is none of the above and just cheap, no, I would not ever buy a Korean car unless they were better at something. For 2007 the Civic was the safest,most efficient,most HP.Where were the Korean cars? Brand loyalty is sheer ignorance unless you have stakes in them, and if you did have stakes in them for goodness sakes work harder than the rest and make the best, then It would be a no brainer, I would buy the best regardless who made it.

lambo98 - 10/19/2009 5:48:35 AM

+1 Boost

im korean and our cars used 2 be bad. but now they r starting 2 impress

lambo98 - 10/19/2009 5:50:03 AM

0 Boost

korea have the i30. AUstralian car of the year. kia cerato, genisis they dont sell em in australia:( Equis, koup holden cruze

lambo98 - 10/19/2009 5:51:17 AM

0 Boost

Japan is going 2 die against korea realibiblty is also getting beetter!!!

pushrod27 - 10/19/2009 11:45:21 AM

+5 Boost

lol, I was thinking the same thing. what kind of a person gets excited about a compact four cylinder econobox like the Kia Forte?

pushrod27 - 10/19/2009 11:53:26 AM

+2 Boost

No, they are not. I would never consider a Korean car for even a second... Who are you to tell me what I should like???
Their product has improved, but still to me they only appeal to people who want something cheap, people for whom price is the top consideration in their vehicle purchase.
If you are someone who really likes cars and cares about things like performance, styling, image, and history, then there are just too many vastly superior alternatives to any Korean car. I don't care what they build, they will always be the 1980's Hyundai Excel to me.
Hyundai to me is in the same league as Yugo and LeCar. I have no idea what a Kia is, but it sounds like something a chick should have, not me.

PerformanceGuy - 10/19/2009 1:28:16 PM

+4 Boost

No, they are not and will not! If I want an asian car, I go Japanese!!