HYUNDAI'S first truly competitive car was the J1 Lantra, released locally in 1991. It debuted the company's first big step away from relying on discarded Mitsubishi technology, using its first in-house four-cylinder engine. But it was the J2 of 1995 that really put Hyundai on a near-equal footing with other small cars, with its fashionably styled sedan and (from early '96) wagon body styles clothing a Porsche-honed front-wheel drive platform. There were problem areas though, mainly concerning the durability of the popular four-speed automatic transmission. And although the J2 dated quickly with the advent of excellent rivals from Mazda (1998 BJ 323) and Holden (1998 TS Astra), the wagon carved a niche for itself by virtue of being pleasantly styled and - ageing CC Lancer wagon apart - fairly unique in the small car class. The improved XD Elantra that replaced the J2 Lantra from October '00 dispensed with the wagon for a five-door hatchback, which ironically was the sole body style of the first-generation Lantra. By the way, Mitsubishi's trademark on the similarly-sounding "Elante" name (used briefly on a forgotten sporty model TP Magna in the late 1980s) forced Hyundai to drop the E from Elantra until the XD model arrived...