Hyundai has come a long way, in 2007 Hyundai's was ranked among the best cars in the world. When you see promotions comparing Hyundai's to BMW & Lexus, it means they are serious and mean business. I have a 2007 Santa Fe, and my experience is good. The quality, driving handling, and plastic interior is superior. It may be true that when Hyundai hit the market earlier it looked more junkier, they had few transmission problem. Later down the lane they pushed up their R&D invested millions of $, today I think they are the best, may be better than Honday and Toyota. Go have a test drive and do consider the price tag.