Sonata, Grandeur, Elantra, Tiburon all in top three by class.

Hyundai is now the highest quality non-‘premium’ car nameplate in America, according to respected US consumer researcher J.D. Power and Associates’ 2006 Initial Quality StudySM (IQS), which surveys new car owners’ first 90 days ownership.

Hyundai ranked third outright in the study after Porsche and Lexus and ahead of Toyota, Jaguar and Honda among all 37 nameplates surveyed.

Hyundai owners had fewer problems with their vehicles than any other non-‘premium’ car or recreational vehicle brand. Hyundai has been steadily improving its non-‘premium’ nameplate ranking, finishing third best in 2005, up from fourth in 2004.

Another Hyundai highlight was Tucson, which won the trophy for the highest initial quality in the compact multi-activity vehicle segment. Last year in the IQS, Tucson was named the highest quality all-new model to debut in the US car industry.

In other car segments, Grandeur (badged Azera in the US) rated second in the Large Car class ahead of Nissan Maxima, as did Elantra in the Compact Car class ahead of Honda Civic and Tiburon in the Compact Sporty Car class, while Sonata—now sourced from Hyundai’s new Alabama plant—took third in the Midsize Car class.

The IQS results emanate from over 63,000 respondents who bought or leased one of the 310 models of new cars and recreational vehicles on the US market between last November and January.

In its 20th year, the IQS study for 2006 increased the measured criteria to 217 attributes from the 135 of previous years and focused on design as well as build quality. Design quality assesses the user-friendliness of features and new technology, an increasing area of concern expressed by respondents.

“This ranking is the latest and most significant independent proof that Hyundai is already in the top tier of quality in automotive design and build integrity,” said Theo van Doore, Director of Sales & Marketing, Hyundai Motor Co Australia.