Hyundai's itsy-bitsy sedan in the price-conscious economy club forges a spacious passenger compartment. A new platform appeared several years ago with a longer wheelbase. The expansion created modest spatial improvements within the redesigned passenger cabin, which resulted in more headroom for front seats and more legroom in the rear.

Last year brought edgy exterior style revisions with a new front grille and headlamps, restyled front fenders and rear quarter panels. This year, all models carry side-impact air bags as standard safety gear.

Variations include a three-door hatchback and four-door sedan. The hatch trims out as the base Accent, up-level GL and sporty GT, with the sedan strictly in GL trim. Accent GT gets a sport suspension, front fog lamps, rear spoiler and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with white-face gauge package.

All Accents use Hyundai's 1.6-liter dual-cam four-cylinder engine, which achieves 105 hp plus fuel economy numbers as high as 33 mpg.

Hyundai's 2+2 sports coupe looks exotic and expensive, although it supports affordable price points. The price-leader entry edition, labeled simply as Tiburon, packs Hyundai's four-cylinder Beta engine that displaces 2.0 liters and reaches 138 hp.

A five-speed manual is standard but Hyundai's four-speed electronic automatic with Shiftronic manual controller is optional. The sport-tuned version - Tiburon GT V6 - contains an aluminum dual-cam V6 sized at 2.7 liters. It's racked to 172 hp and offers the five-speed manual or optional Shiftronic four-speed automatic, with Hyundai's pliable six-speed manual as the ultimate sport option.

Tiburon GT V6 adds leather seats, an Infinity 360-watt sound kit with seven speakers and the spoiler wing on the tail.

The sport-utility vehicle from Hyundai fits in the compact class with four doors and two rows of seats for five riders. It packs a four-cylinder or V6 engine and has FWD or optional all-wheel-drive (AWD) traction with the V6. The full-time AWD system employs a unique Dual Drive front differential with planetary gears plus viscous coupling and sends as much as 60 percent of the engine's muscle to front wheels and 40 percent to the rear.

Despite a car-like attitude, Hyundai's SUV looks tough like a sturdy wagon rigged for work yet it's also stylish with a bold face and shapely contours on the sides. The cabin layout consists of bucket seats and center console in front of a bench seat for three and a bay in back measuring to 30 cubic feet for cargo and sports equipment.

Four trim levels apply to 2004 editions with a base Santa Fe, the base unit with utility package added, or GLS and LX models. The 3.5-liter V6 engine is standard on LX for 2004 and optional for GLS. The six-pack nets 173 hp and links to Hyundai's five-speed Shiftronic automatic transmission.

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