Hyundai, the largest automaker in South Korea, draws a bead on the American market with a new assembly plant in Alabama, a design and technical center in Michigan and a test track under construction in the California desert. Models in Hyundai's extensive line for 2005 include a pair of plush sedans, two economical subcompact hatchbacks, a zippy 2+2 sports coupe and a crossover sport-utility wagon that drives like a car. Then Hyundai rolls out a new small-class SUV called Tucson with extensive safety features aboard plus two powertrain options.

Flagship sedans from Hyundai reflect sedate styling on a package of generous scale for the mid-size class with power supplied by a V6 engine and the passenger compartment -- featuring leather-lined seats and automatic everything -- rivaling a refined luxury car. Exterior styling seems subtle but elegant with a series of flat horizontal and vertical surfaces united by crisp angled surfaces that form etched character lines across the hood and along each side as shoulders.

Power for XG350 stems from Hyundai's dual-cam 3.5-liter V6 engine that delivers 194 hp in concert with a sophisticated five-speed automatic transmission with Shiftronic manual shift mode. There are two trims -- XG350 and the luxury-laced XG350L. XG350 continues to offer an extensive list of standards including leather seating and 16-inch alloy wheels, with a CD changer for eight discs new on 2005 issues.

The value-packed mid-size sedan in Hyundai's fleet carves out room for five in a spacious cabin. It supports bold exterior styling with unusually smooth shapes contrasted against definitive creases and crisp edges. The look is elegant and dressy but also aggressive -- and clearly different from typical sedans from other Asian automakers. Sonata also has spacious headroom in a cabin dressed with features for comfort and luxury, along with safety systems extending to frontal and side-impact air bags. The series for 2005 shows up in three trims, beginning with the base Sonata GL and climbing to GLS and deluxe LX models, the latter two rolling on 16-inch alloy wheels. Sonata's optional 2.7-liter V6 engine hits 170 hp, while the base 2.4-liter in-line-four generates 138 hp.

Hyundai's smallest car for the economy club forges a passenger compartment with generous headroom for front riders and respectable legroom in the rear. This year, the variations include a three-door hatchback and four-door sedan with three trims and all versions packing side-impact air bags as standard safety gear plus anti-lock brakes (ABS). The hatch trims out as Accent GLS and sporty GT, with the sedan cast strictly as GLS. Accent GT has a sport suspension, front fog lamps and body color rocker moldings on the body, and the cabin fixed with a leather-wrapped steering wheel and white-face gauge package. All Accents pull from Hyundai's 1.6-liter dual-cam four-cylinder engine, which achieves 104 hp plus fuel economy numbers as high as 35 mpg. (CONTINUED...)