2001 Hyundai Tiburon Base Coupe 2-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Best cheap SUVs: You don't have to pay a lot to get a lot

Here's a news flash: Everything is a lot more expensive now! And that definitely goes for new SUVs, with prices that keep nudging higher and higher. Actually "nudging" might be too soft of a description for their motion. "Skyrocketing" is probably more accurate.  While higher prices and hefty interest rates have likely knocked a lot of people out of the new car market entirely, there are still quite a few cheap SUV choices. Better still, they're not terrible! Far from it, in fact. While the lowest price SUVs used to be drab, sorry affairs best left to the lots of Avis and Budget, that is definitely not the case today. Not only are there legitimately appealing cheap SUV choices, they offer genuine differences in character, capability and design. It's not just a series of anonymous boxes with different badges. Below you won't just find a simple list of the cheapest SUVs available. We are actually pointing out the best ones. They are listed from least expensive to most expensive, with none exceeding a starting price of $30,000. Most are subcompacts, but a few of our top choices in the compact SUV segment snuck on. Finally, please excuse the crummy photo quality. We sought out representative trim levels of the prices in question rather than just reusing pretty carmaker-provided photos of the most expensive trim levels. This is what the cars will actually look like. Kia Soul Why it stands out: Ample space and abundant features for the money; unique style; strong turbo engine upgrade Could be better: All-wheel drive is not available Starting Price: $21,315 Read our most recent Kia Soul Review The Kia Soul definitely didn't start off as a small SUV, and the term "crossover" is probably better applied to it. Still, what started life as an undefinable funky tall hatchback now finds itself in its third generation with numerous vehicles of similar shape and size that are dubbed "small SUV" or "small crossover." If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck ... Call it what you will, but the Soul delivers the goods with tons of equipment and space for its price and size, an agreeable driving demeanor, and an even more powerful engine upgrade than the Kona's. We also think it's pretty cool. All of the above helped it win our subcompact SUV comparison test. Now, if there's one area where the Soul does not satisfy a typical SUV requirement, it's the lack of available all-wheel drive.

Hyundai, Kia and U of M studying 'highway hypnosis'

Next up on the hot-button list of things that can kill you behind the wheel: "highway hypnosis." That's the zombie-like, autopilot phase you get into on a long highway drive when there isn't much to distract you, like curves or traffic. Digging further into what it is and how to combat it, Hyundai-Kia engineers and the University of Michigan are commencing a study that will measure brainwave activity in order to track the body's slide into highway hypnosis.
We're not sure how much overlap this has with Mercedes-Benz's Attention Assist, which tracks more than 70 in-car parameters to determine when you're not focused on the road anymore. That system is billed as an alarm against fatigue, in our experience it does more than that - if you use your phone while driving, for instance, it will chirp.
They don't know what form a warning system will take yet, but Hyundai-Kia plans to develop a method for warning drivers when they being to zone out. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were more than three thousand deaths and nearly 400,000 injuries due to distracted driving in 2011.

2015 Hyundai Genesis priced from $38,000*

Today's rear-wheel-drive 2014 Hyundai Genesis sedan with the model's base 3.8-liter V6 starts at $35,200. Come the new 2015 model, Hyundai has announced that price of entry will climb to $38,000. And if you're so inclined, the Korean automaker will include its new HTRAC all-wheel drive setup for $2,500, for a bottom line of $40,500. The extra $2,500 for AWD rewards you with more than improved foul-weather handling, as the HTRAC model prepared for cold climes with standard heated steering wheel and rear seats, as well as headlight washers.
If that's not enough power, stepping up to the company's well-liked Tau 5.0-liter V8 requires $51,500, a marked $4,100 bump over the price for its 2014 model equivalent, but then again, there's more standard equipment. And that's pretty much the top of the line, because the big eight-cylinder can't be had with all-wheel drive. (Note: *All prices are subject to a $950 destination fee).
Having successfully kept the Genesis' starting price below $40,000 even after handling and destination, Hyundai has thrown new equipment into the base car beyond its exterior and interior redesign. Gewgaws like paddle shifters, rain-sensing wipers, power folding outside mirrors, power height and lumber-adjustable passenger seat and one-touch power windows in the rear compartment are luxury touches that add more than their raw weight in upscale perception.