Car Talk: I'm looking for a compact hatch

[Woochifer]

FWIW the Mazda 3 and Elantra were the only cars in the class to get 5/5 stars.

The Elantra 2012 just won car of the year. Hyundai Elantra is 'Car of the Year'

The Hyundai Elantra comes in a hatchback - it's called the Touring. They have a new 2012 model as well.

They've come along way since the laughable Pony. My friend has the Accent - nice little car if a bit go-cart in feel.

I like the looks of the Mazda the best in this class though - it looks more like a sports car.

That would depend obviously on who's writing the review! The Ford Focus and VW Golf offer comparable driving dynamics to the Mazda3 (which shares its underpinnings with the Focus), and are superior to the Mazda in some areas, especially with the interior.

Unfortunately for Hyundai (and for me, I guess), they chose to carry over the previous Touring model. I'd driven the last generation Elantra as a rental, and did not like it at all. Felt too much like someone at Hyundai put a Toyota Corolla on a pedestal and said, "Copy this!"

The current generation is a clean break from Toyota both in styling and supposedly driving dynamics as well. It was a risky move for Hyundai, but it seems to have paid off. Alas, it's only available in the U.S. as a sedan.

[RGA]

Unfortunately for Hyundai (and for me, I guess), they chose to carry over the previous Touring model. I'd driven the last generation Elantra as a rental, and did not like it at all. Felt too much like someone at Hyundai put a Toyota Corolla on a pedestal and said, "Copy this!"

The current generation is a clean break from Toyota both in styling and supposedly driving dynamics as well. It was a risky move for Hyundai, but it seems to have paid off. Alas, it's only available in the U.S. as a sedan.

You're not far off - about 10 years ago Hyundai hired all the top engineers away from Toyota and Hyundai's reliability greatly improved and Toyota fell into the toilet.

Hyundai I think wanted to tackle reliability first - it's what made the Japanese basically destroy the American car makers who sold complete caca in the reliability department.

The 5/5 rating comes from the Lemon Aid - which is based on actual repair records, survey reports - Phil Edmonston is the Ralph Nadar of the car industry. He was talking about the sudden surges in Toyota cars well before(several years before) it cam to light.

Lemon-Aid author talks tough about buying cars | Wheels.ca