Hyundai unexpectedly competes with 2010 Toyota Prius

Hyundai is well aware of the gold standard benchmark the 2010 Toyota Prius has set, and they are well aware that they cannot surpass Toyota overnight, but perhaps they realize they can ruffle a few feathers and maybe even make a move by next year in the hybrid market with the Hyundai Elantra and 2010 hybrid Hyundai Sonata.

From the beginning, the South Korean automaker has been relatively quiet amongst hybrid competitors and has not sought to challenge the big guns in a market already saturated with impressive MPGs. So instead, they took their time and created the world's first LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) car and are alternatively measuring KPL (Kilometers Per Liter) in a much less aggressive South Korean environment that offers Petroleum at just about half the cost of gasoline.

The move is essentially priming the market for Hyundai's gasoline hybrid, the Hyundai Sonata, that is set to release in 2010. By that time, senior vice president of the hybrid development team, Lee Ki Sang, hopes to "catch up with Toyota’s full-hybrid model." A bold goal for a company just beginning to test the hybrid waters.

If what Sang is proclaiming has any merit, the Hyundai Elantra, that is paving the way for the Sonata, would have to at least be putting up comparable statistics in the hybrid categories to the 2010 Toyota Prius. So is it?

Surprisingly, in many ways the answer is yes. Obviously, the comparison is somewhat far-fetched considering the Elantra is petroleum powered and the Prius is gas powered, but a car is a car; both have fuel and a battery spinning the tires.

According to BusinessWeek, the Elantra can travel 39 kilometers for the price of one liter of gas. A number very comparable to the 2010 Prius that reports a target of about 40 kilometers per liter. 

In terms of the all important battery category, Hyundai claims their lithium-ion batteries are 35% less weight, 40% smaller and generate less heat than that of the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight.

Additionally, when it comes to pricing and quality, Hyundai is a cut above. Hyundai offers the Elantra starting at just $16,200 while the 2010 Toyota Prius is starting at $22,000, an almost $6,000 difference. Although quality is not exclusive to the Elantra, Hyundai as a company passed up Toyota in a vehicle quality survey by J.D. Power & Associates in all brands but the Lexus—a factor that has helped keep Hyundai as one of the top automakers.

American consumers will not know what to expect until the Hyundai Sonata hits the market, but until then, Toyota may want to keep a watchful eye on what's happening at Hyundai.