The Good Housekeeping Institute awarded the Hyundai Sonata with its "What Women Want" Automotive Satisfaction Award for the entry midsize car category. The study, based on an annual J.D. Power automotive study, is designed to find out what women find most important when buying a new automobile.

The award adds to Sonata's trophy case, which already includes recognition as the Highest Ranked Entry Midsize Car in Initial Quality in the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Initial Quality Study.

Safety is the primary determinant of satisfaction by women according to the Good Housekeeping Institute, and the Sonata comes standard with driver and passenger front airbags, front seat-mounted side-impact airbags and automatic front safety belt pretensioners that automatically remove slack from front safety belts at the onset of a collision. The Sonata also offers the high-tech Hyundai Passenger Presence Detection system, which prevents the front passenger airbag from deploying if the seat is empty. The passenger presence system reduces crash damage costs by eliminating unnecessary passenger side airbag deployment.

Engine performance, including full acceleration and handling, are very important to women, even slightly more so than to male drivers, according to the Good Housekeeping Institute. To satisfy performance demands, Sonata is available with an all-aluminum 2.7-liter V6 DOHC powerplant that develops 170 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 181 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm. Sonata also features a double-wishbone front suspension and a multi-link rear suspension. This combination provides a balance between the smooth ride of a luxury car and the handling performance of a sport sedan.

The 2004 "What Women Want" Automotive Satisfaction Study, conducted for the sixth consecutive year by Good Housekeeping and J.D. Power and Associates, is an enhanced version of an annual J.D. Power automotive study. Results are based on responses from more than 100,000 new vehicle owners - nearly 43,000 of them female. The evaluation criteria included satisfaction with overall condition of the vehicle's interior, solid and durable construction, interior quietness of the vehicle, overall condition of the vehicle's interior, and vehicle safety. As part of the 2004 study, over 40,000 female new-vehicle owners were surveyed to determine their favorite vehicles in eight different segments.

About Hyundai Motor America
Hyundai Motor America, based in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea. Hyundai cars and sports utility vehicles are distributed in the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 660 dealerships nationwide. For more information, visit www.hyundainews.com.

About Good Housekeeping
Good Housekeeping, founded 120 years ago, reaches 24 million readers every month. The Good Housekeeping Institute, founded in 1900, is the consumer product testing facility that evaluates products appearing in the magazine's articles and advertisements. Good Housekeeping is published by Hearst Magazines, a unit of The Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com) and one of the world's largest publishers of monthly magazines, with a total of 18 U.S. titles and 137 international editions.