When it comes to purchasing a new family car, several things come instantly to mind. Do I need a mid-size vehicle, a large sedan, or perhaps a minivan? Am I looking for luxury appointments, fuel efficiency, or a maybe a sporty model? Yes, there are always lots of things to consider. However, there is always one constant factor...what can I actually afford???

Now, unless your name is Rockefeller, or your bank manager makes home visits at your request, inevitably, the name Hyundai will come up somewhere in the processes. After all, the company is well known for producing affordable family vehicles, but is that enough to make you purchase the Hyundai badge?

For most, the name Hyundai instantly recalls the infamous Pony. Now there was a car! Cheap, reliable transportation, and although the vehicle was rather lacking in creature comforts, it really wasn't a bad car. Don't laugh! Ask anyone who actually owed one and they'll tell you stories of the many thousands of miles they piled on their little Pony and how it rarely let them down. Of course, whilst telling you all this, they'll have beaming smiles on their faces.

Why? Well, because to own a Pony back in its day was something similar to owning an Austin Mini or a Volkswagen Beetle in their heyday. Cheap, no frills transportation, with above average reliability... well mostly!

Way back when Hyundai first entered the marketplace, they sold their vehicles purely from a price point of view. Their little Pony appealed to the money-savvy public, including many students who needed nothing more than reliable transport which could carry them, a knapsack, and a couple of cases of beer.

This worked well for the company and helped to firmly establish them. However, it also landed them with a label for being a "budget brand".

Of course, these youngsters are all grown up now. They have found themselves decent jobs, and many now have children of their own. For most, their days of driving "no frills transportation" are over.

Hyundai isn't stupid. They realize this, which is why over the past decade or so they have been busying themselves to bring their product line more into the mainstream. The company has done extremely well in this regard, with enough awards and accolades piled on them to make any manufacturer envious, especially in the vehicle safety area.

They are like the wild young adolescent who finally comes of age and astounds the world with his brilliance, and yet somehow, still find it difficult to shake off that former label.

That to me is strange, as the manufacturers of the aforementioned Beetle now produce cars like the mega-buck Volkswagen Phaeton, and the humble Mini is now sold at less-than-humble rates by BMW.

Perhaps it is now time for the coming of age of Hyundai? Maybe those former students with their fond memories of the brand will help drive a new vision for the company. After all, nobody can say that they haven't worked hard enough to deserve it.

Well, with that said, let's take a little look at their Sonata GLS premium model and see just what you get for your Hyundai dollar these days.

From the outside, I have to say that the Sonata has truly "arrived". It would be no problem to mistake this vehicle for a Toyota, a Honda, or any other Japanese vehicle for that matter. The bodywork is of impressive quality and the overall styling is bang up to date.

However, that is not what sold me on the vehicle. Oh no, what grabbed my attention was the interior. Hyundai has excelled themselves in this department. The leather seating appears to be out of a vehicle with a much heftier price tag, and the wood effect accents which the GLS model boasted certainly add to the high-end feel of the vehicle.