Hyundai spokesman Bill Thomas replies on behalf of South Korean brands: "Hyundai uses only the finest grades of steel in the construction of its cars — in fact, we are the only car maker on earth that makes its own steel, so we can control its quality to very fine tolerances. It's not thinner or lighter, it's just very high quality. The new Elantra, for example, uses 53 per cent advanced ultra-high-strength steel in its body construction, which makes it 30 per cent stiffer than the model it replaces. It's also worth noting that Hyundai uses a huge amount of Australian iron ore in the construction of our steel, from Western Australia, so there's a bit of Australia in all of our cars."

We test all cars in the real world, on the toughest corners and worst surfaces we can find, and I've been doing the job for nearly 40 years. Hyundai has focussed its suspension work on European-style handling, not a cushy American-style ride, but that's no different from many other brands. For your needs I would probably have steered you to a Nissan Pulsar, but also advised not to buy anything without a proper test drive on road you know.

FIRST go out and check the accuracy of the odometer. Markers on posts used to line many highways are quite accurately placed by the road authorities. Head out on a nearby highway and locate one of these markers and stop safely alongside it, noting your odometer reading. Reset your trip meter to zero, then drive off to the next marker and stop again, noting the reading on your odometer and trip meter. Preferably do this over a distance of 5-10km, and repeat it a number of times to improve the accuracy. That will give you an indication of the accuracy of your odometer.