My family has owned eight Hyundais. They have by far been the most reliable and cost effective cars ever owned. We have owned Mazda, Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota, Honda, Chevy, Mercury Nissan and Cadillac. The Hyundai have been more reliable than any of them. And don't get me started on the three transmissions that my F-150 went through and three transmissions on my Chevy pickup. Our oldest is an 07 SantaFe coming up on 190,00 miles which runs good having minimal repair.
My 2017 SantaFe could possibly be affected a defective motor in the future but it has a free motor replacement for life. What is so bad about that?
I recently purchased a new Hyundai Tucson after looking at Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Subaru and a fleeting look at GM and VW. I would have to spend thousands more to get less. And also the Tucson rode better, was quieter and more comfortable than the other smaller SUV's we looked at.
Every car has it's Achilles heel. There is no perfect car. I sorted through everything as best I could and based on my experience I think I made a good decision.