What's the best Korean car brand?

[AviatorTom]

South Korea - architecture and mountains

This is the fifth in a series on auto makers in the world.

South Korea is known for many things, including the manufacture of automobiles.

The poll lists the major Korean auto-makers, in alphabetical order.

Which do you think is the best Korean auto-maker?

Genesis

Hyundai

Kia

[OneViewpoint]

All 3 Korean brands are owned by the same parent company Hyundai Motor Group which is comparable to General Motors. They share platforms, engines, transmissions, and technology. They are only differentiated by branding to target different different groups of consumers.

• KIA = Chevy, the value brand. Nice styling but built to a low price point.
• Hyundai = The middle child like Buick, Honda, or Toyota. Basically badge engineering for a little bump in price. A step up from Kia but not a luxury brand.
• Genesis = The Korean parent company's (Hyundai Motor Group) answer to the luxury branding market. Like Cadillac, Acura, Lexus, or Infiniti. But Genesis is still in the process of establishing itself as a viable competitor to the Japanese and European luxury brands as well as Cadillac. It's still the "bargain luxury brand". Lower prices and less status.

So which one is "the best brand"? Pick your poison. They have 3 brands to target different consumers. But they have a lot of problems with basic stuff like their engine durability and their safety / security. They all get stolen a lot because the Koreans didn't put in an engine immobilizer chip in their ignition system designs until long after their competitors. A Toyota, Honda, or Nissan 4 cylinder engine routinely lasts 200,000 miles while their Korean counterparts tend to self destruct at just over 100,000 miles.

[Lliam]

I picked Kia.
After doing a bunch of research and trying different cars, my wife bought a new 2012 "alien green" Kia Soul in 2013 and loves it. It is still in great shape even though she has over 180,000 miles on it. She has had to have a few things repaired/replaced, but nothing major.

[purplepoppy]

Isn't genesis and hyundai the same company

[AviatorTom]

@purplepoppy Maybe, but they're different brands.

[OneViewpoint]

Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis are three different business units under the same parent company, Hyundai Motor group. Think Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura, or Nissan/Infiniti. The three Korean brands share chassis platforms, engines, and transmissions but each has it's own management and target market.

[Massageman]

We had a few Hyundais and were happy. Hyundai styling went awry and- since Hyundai and Kia are sister-cars with the same basic guts, and with Kia's option packages much more to our needs (typically the #2 out of 4 or 5 packages), we now get Kias.

[Northstar84]

I bought a Hyundai back in 2010, it was okayish. These brands to me don’t represent the best build quality, but if you’re looking for something that will run well for 5 years then you’re probably fine.

[Xawyx-2]

Err, you forgot about Daewoo...

Hyundai is the owner of Genesis...

Anyway, I voted for Hyundai.

[AngryCarl2]

I voted Kia because I drive one. It may not be the best car but it's certainly the best value for money.

[exitseven]

I like the Kia Diarrhea

[Cubus]

My dad has Kia

[strateguy632]

2nd ,