korean cars

I've had the good fortune to either test drive, own or driven car made by most of the main stream car manufacturers ranging from Japanese, Malaysian, Korean, chinese, American, British , German and Italian. I have to say that in the last 6 years the Koreans namely Hyundai and Kia, have made massive improvements to their car in terms of styling, engine technology, gearbox technology and even safety. With all these improvements they have been eating into the market share where it was firmly held by Japanese auto makers such as Toyota, Honda and Nissan. Coming from behind and playing catch up the Koreans were able to learn from the mistakes made by the Japanese auto makers and create cars that people love looking at and will consider owning especially in this glum economic climate.
The big break through came with the introduction of the new range of cars lead by Hyundai with the handsome looking Sonata YF and the new Tucson. This new fresh design created a lot of interest in crowds where traditionally they would not even touch a Korean made car. Saying this, Kia (the sister company of Hyundai) also embarked on a bold step to pinch top car designer from Germany (Audi) to head their design team. The net result was a spectacular looking Kia Optima K5 and the new Sportage. As an avid car buff I was simply astounded with the progress made and the bold innovation that the Koreans took. Not to say that the Japanese auto makers were sleeping, the Koreans simply make a quantum leap in terms of design. They also manage to develop their own twin clutch gear box for high range Hyundais which was something that the Japanese didn't even bother and instead stuck to their CVT gear boxes.
The heavy investment is paying off handsomely for Hyundai and Kia as you can see their market share climb in almost every market they are in. Hopefully this momentum can be maintained as there are still many unconvinced consumers out there who previously had bad ownership experience with their old Korean cars. This was mainly caused by cheaper or inferior built quality, high fuel consumption and replacement expensive parts.
Despite all these improvements, the Koreans still have not quite made it to the levels of the Japanese or Germans. what I mean by this is that the driving experience is not as involving and something is still lacking. There is still this hollow feeling when you drive a new Hyundai. Unlike a Toyota or Honda or VW, the Hyundai or Kia may excel at certain points about the car but as an overall package, it still cannot command the premium expected by a Toyota, VW or even a Skoda.
Given another few more years and a bit more learning I believe the Koreans will be challenging the Japanese for a bigger slice of the world automotive market. Whether it can compete with the Germans is another story all together.
The next big wave in will be the emerging challenge from China made cars.