by John Sarkis

Created on: May 03, 2008   Last Updated: November 27, 2008

Hyundai's have come a long way since they debuted back in the late 80's. The song: "you've come along way baby," should be a good slogan for Hyundai's, since they have made due on their promise of building great cars at reasonable prices. For those of you with short memories, when Hyundai's first came out: "cheap" was their middle name. You couldn't own a Hyundai with more than five-thousand miles before trouble would start to creep up. Today however: Hyundai's are extremely well built, even tailgating; if not surpassing big names like: Lexus, Infiniti, Audi, Acura, and even BMW.

The pros and cons of this automobile.

PROS: The Veracruz limited caps out at around $40,000. For this, you get a fully loaded SUV with little to desire from any others in technology, looks, performance, etc. Since at $40,000, this car comes fully loaded; there's little left on the options list, unlike say Lexus or Infiniti. If you were to get the Lexus RX, or Infiniti FX series, you would need to spend well over $50,000 to comparably equip them. You get a wonderful car, which performs (even-outperforms) better than most of the competition, with room, and all those other things one has comes to expect from an SUV; while maintaining a civil price range. You can compare this SUV to less expensive ones such as the Honda Pilot, while at the same time; it can also be compared to the more expensive RX350 from Lexus. The 3.8 V6 is wonderful for this car, especially with all-wheel-drive. 260 horsepower and 257 torque; are more than sufficient for this car. Standard features abound: anti-lock braking system, traction control, active head restraints, and: airbags abound everywhere...and plenty of room.

CONS: It's a Hyundai! In a society like ours; where so much emphasis is placed on looks and perception: the idea of owning a Hyundai just doesn't sit well with most people. If like some people; you're good with negotiating and things of this nature. For $40,000, you can probably get a Lexus, Infiniti, or Acura for the same amount of "dead presidents" (I use the term loosely in today's world), so why get a Hyundai? This is the question most people are going to ask themselves before walking into a Hyundai dealership. Although another point to remember is: Lexus, Acura, etc...already have a reputation: Hyundai doesn't; which is another reason most will overlook the Veracruz, and take an MDX/RX350 instead.

These days: Hyundai's have received all sorts of awards. Hard to believe when this little car came out back in the late 80s; it was the subject of jokes and satires of every kind. No more: Hyundai have made due on their promise to built cars that are reasonable price, yet dependable at the same time....

If you're looking into an SUV, and don't want to spend a lot of money; you should definitely look into the Veracruz...it could be worth your while.

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