I have a friend who bought an Elantra, i think it was back in 2001. Previously he had a crappy little Daihatsu that he would beat up all the time. I figured when he got a new car, he would take care of it. I was wrong. He beat the crap out of that Elantra and it just took it. In our area, we had a rather decent incline coming up to a railroad track and he would always jump it bottoming out the shocks. His parent's lane was typically under about a foot of water during the spring and early summer and he would fly through sending water out in every direction. 180s, a few tries at 360s, a mail box or two. One time he rode it so hard that he barely got it to stop the brakes were so hot.
So, needless to say, seeing an Elantra take that kind of abuse definitely got kudos from me. I've heard the latest Sonata has reliability up there with the Camry and Accord. My brother told me Hyundai used to be a cheap crappy car a long time ago, but they've apparently decided a 100,000 power train warranty and construction/engineering matching that of the Japanese auto makers would get people to take notice. I think it's working.