Current generation Hyundai Elantra.
 

So I was looking for a used small sedan in the low teens, like a 3-4 year old Civic or a 7-8 year old Jetta TDI. Then this car pops up on my radar. 6 speed, 150 hp, air, Monsoon stereo system, best in class fuel economy, cabin room, and it's only about $15,000. I've seen claims online of non hypermilers getting 42-45 mpg, Hyundai claims on long stretches of highway and ideal conditions, it should hit around 50mpg for some stretches. I realize that they don't have the long heritage of other imports, but their warranties are great, nearly all auto publications say currently they are near the top of the industry as of recent. I look at their line up, and they are actually clearly moving forward with their vehicles, as opposed to Honda, who has sat idle with microscopic changes for the last 10 years. So I say, why not get this car?

yes...
 

And let's not forget the long warranty. It sounds like this could be a 50mpg car without that much effort. I'm looking at this car also now. It looks great, and the price is awesome. Just a bit small for my perceived safety. I'm sure it does get good crash test scores also. Hyundai has stepped up their game lately.

Wife and I had bought a new Elanatra back in 04 just because of the warranty and the good reviews. That was one tough little car. Didn't mpg as well as the contemporaries, but we are talking 7 model years and I know that the newest models are kicking butt in that regard.

The Hyundai / Kia twins are solid products.

I'd say Hyundai / Kia are the new Honda.

Many Kia's are technically Hyundai's or vice-versa, but Kia warrants them for 7 years or some 100.000 miles. Even the Japs are don't that over here.

And I've read that the 275hp turbo Sonata can also hit 40mpg on the highway. That's incredible.
By the way nice Volvo. I have a D11 360hp 1685tq for my work truck. What a nice ride they are...

The problem is that when you go to resell the Hyundai, it won't be worth as much as an equivalent Civic would.

Edmunds.com's "True Cost To Own" shows the 2011 Elantra Limited's ($20,195 MSRP) 5 year depreciation to be $12,470. In comparison, a 2011 Civic EX Sedan's ($20,405 MSRP) 5 year depreciation is $9,632. $2800 buys a lot of gas...especially if you are an ecomodder! :)

So you're saying the Hyundai is going to be a better used car than the Civic. Excellent!

I'm also looking at this car. I've been very impressed with it.
It is constantly getting high marks in testing and kicking out Honda off the top.
Even the styling is nice. I can't say the same for other cars at this price range.

Depreciation is negated if you keep the car. Plus the current Civic struggles to get 34mpg even with the long geared 5 speed on the highway. It's a nice car, I've owned 3 Civics, but they just seem to rehash and spit out models with few improvements. Don't get me started on the rust, yes rust issues on 08-11 models.

The latest Motor trend scores the top 8 small cars. Hyundai's real world MPG's were not good. All the cars tested had lower mpg's than advertised but Hyundai did the worst with the Civic scoring much higher for fuel efficiency. Although Hyundai's quality and style has improved I don't believe it is on par with Honda and Toyota just yet. Also I believe the least stylish tend to age slower.