Few companies have undergone the quality transformation that Hyundai Motor Co. has seen in recent years.The Korean automaker has gone from producing some of the poorest-rated cars in the world to having its popular Sonata model named as one of Consumer Reports’ most reliable cars for 2005—all in about a decade. The company earned a most improved ranking from J.D. Powers and Associates in 2004, which also ranked the Sonata as having the highest initial quality in the midsized car category. In the entry-level sport utility vehicle segment, the Hyundai Santa Fe finished in second place this year; in the compact car segment, the Accent also finished second. This marks the first time that a Korean-branded vehicle has outpaced both European and U.S.-branded vehicles in initial quality.

And that’s not all. The 2005 Strategic Vision Total Quality Study ranks Hyundai’s Tucson and Accent as the segment winners in its small SUV and small car categories, respectively. The models tied for the honor with the Ford Focus and the Mazda3.

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