Hyundai Picks up Ideal Vehicle Awards

MACQUARIE PARK, AUSTRALIA – July 7, 2009: In the U.S., automotive research and consulting firm AutoPacific named Hyundai Motor Company’s Genesis and Elantra ‘2009 Ideal Vehicles’ in their respective categories. In the Aspirational Luxury Car category, the Hyundai Genesis beat out top rivals including the Audi A5 and A4, Volvo XC70 and Cadillac CTS, while the Hyundai Elantra topped the Ford Focus, Mazda3 and Kia Spectra (Cerato in Australia) in the Compact Car segment. Additionally, the Hyundai Sonata finished second in the Premium Mid-Size Car segment.

AutoPacific’s fourth annual Ideal Vehicle Awards (IVA) rank auto manufacturers for how closely their 2009 model year passenger cars, pickups, SUVs or people movers came to matching owners’ expectations and criteria. To determine the winners, AutoPacific asked owners to rate their new car or truck on how close it came to “ideal” in 15 different categories ranging from power and acceleration to safety features and storage. The vehicles that customers said they would change the least were considered the most “ideal.”

“Hyundai has created two vehicles that owners say are nearly perfect just the way they are: their ideal vehicle,” said George Peterson, president, AutoPacific. “Owners of the Genesis and Elantra indicated through AutoPacific’s survey that they are driving a vehicle that meets their expectations, meaning they desire little to no change to their vehicle.”

In the U.S. Hyundai’s Genesis sedan sets a new benchmark in the premium car category. With a starting price of just US$33,000, Genesis includes performance and luxury features typically found on vehicles costing thousands of dollars more.

About AutoPacific
AutoPacific is a future-oriented automotive marketing and product-consulting firm. Every year it publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies for the automotive industry. The firm also conducts extensive proprietary research and consulting for auto manufacturers, distributors, marketers and suppliers worldwide. Additional information can be found at www.autopacific.com.