Hyundai Problems

The Hyundai would be my bet. They are popular with young drivers and dealers like to have them in their yards for that reason. The fact that it has a bigger engine will also give it more appeal when you come to sell it. The Daihatsu's 1.0-litre engine is a little small and that will hold it back. If, however, you were planning to keep the car longer, I would be tempted to go for the Daihatsu as they have greater reliability than the Hyundai. The Daihatsu seems to be the favoured final transport of older folk who want a reliable run in their last years.

There is nothing that points to a problem with the Lantra auto in general that might cause your troubles. Given that the car is fine when cold -- when you would expect it to be getting extra fuel enrichment and perhaps some added spark -- and not when hot, I would have someone check the engine electronics for a fault. The only thing I would check on the auto would be the pulse generators. There are two, one on the input and one on the output. If they are faulty or dirty they can cause erratic shifting. Sometimes they will force the gearbox to hold a gear instead of shifting up or down. Starting off in a higher gear would feel like it has lost all performance the way you describe. The only thing to do is to take it back to a dealer and have it checked.

Reliability and resale should be the key factors in your decision, given you're doing about 30,000km a year. That's considerably more than the average, and in three years you'd be clocking up close to 100,000km. With that in mind I suggest you go for a Japanese brand with a reputation for quality and reliability. That way you are more likely to have a trouble-free run and have a car that will be highly valued on the used-car market when you come to sell it. The Lanos and Accent are both built in Korea by companies whose credo was cheap, cheap, cheap. While the reliability of their products wasn't necessarily poor, their cars weren't built as well as their more expensive Japanese-made rivals. The Korean makes don't hold their values as well as the cars from Toyota, Mazda, Honda and Nissan. I'd consider a Nissan Pulsar, a Mazda 121, Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla, all of which are good, robust cars with good resale potential.

Hyundai recommend changing the auto trans oil at 90,000km intervals and to use Hyundai's recommended ATF SP III trans oil. As your car has gone past that mileage, I would make sure it is serviced and the oil has been changed using the correct oil.

FIRST to your last question. You will wonder why you haven't had fuel-injection before, it is so much better in all respects than a carburettor that you will love it. Your car will start without drama at all temperatures, will drive smoothly at all times, won't suffer from fuel vapourisation, will deliver better fuel economy and have more power. As for the Accent and Rio, I can't give you a definitive answer other than the Accent has a good reputation within the trade. The Rio isn't quite as well regarded. The feeling is that Kia is about where Hyundai was five years ago in build quality and reliability. I would favour the Hyundai, but don't have any major Kia objection.

ACCORDING to the trade, the Excel doesn't have a problem with pinging. The advice about using a higher-octane fuel to check for the source is correct. As the pinging wasn't present when PULP was used, it suggests you have a problem with the fuel you're using. Try switching brands and buying from an outlet with a high volume of sales. It's possible you've had some poor-quality fuel. If that doesn't work and you aren't satisfied with what your dealer has done, contact Hyundai's local office and express your concerns directly.