Any car experts/hobbyists?

[mrs.b]

Hyundai's come a long way in safety ratings with the new designs the past few years. For an extra couple bucks - one-time investment - purchasing gap protection at time of purchase covers against accidents in the few year or two from other drivers' stupidity. Neither my last one (a Tucson - man, I loved that thing and was like giving up a favorite pet when I had to trade it in to pull equity out of it to get my husband into something new) or this one (Sonata; the Elantra is my husband's since he drives further and needs better mileage) have had any collisions to test that, a couple times when I was in for oil changes, other drivers were there getting repair work done after collisions and always had stories about the severity of the accident but the minimal damage to their vehicles and safety of passengers.

Kia is an even less expensive version of Hyundai, and the body designs and many of the mechanics are the same. From the brief check we did during our last purchase round (could be wrong as we only glanced at other options from Hyundai), the warranties are similar if not the same. The only major differences I saw were some of the interior design and what perks came standard.