2007 Hyundai Entourage Scoring on Saturday morning

By Richard J. Newman

If suburbia has a showcase, it's the soccer field on a Saturday morning. The parents who arrive ferrying children feign groggy indifference, as they clutch their Starbucks and complain about the early hour. Yet their form-fitting sweat suits and stylishly unkempt hair bespeak primping and preparation. Their collapsible lawn chairs, replete with cupholders for those grande cardboard cups, reveal premeditation upon matters of comfort and convenience.

Then there are the vehicles: swept sedans, rigged-out minivans, and cavernous SUVs that disgorge kids, dogs, grandparents, sports gear, scooters, bikes, and, finally, the parents who pilot these craft. Of all the appurtenances, it's the automobiles that complete the picture of privilege, with their chrome and their cupholders and their just-in-case off-road capability. For those few moments, on Saturday mornings, the parents seem as if they have everything under control.

A couple of years ago, if I were driving a Hyundai into this festival of fullness, I probably would have parked around back. No sense bringing anybody down (least of all my own ego!) by trying to enter a mundane econobox in the parade. But this time, I proudly steer the Entourage, Hyundai's brand-new minivan, right into the midst of suburban self-satisfaction. It fits there. It's not a looker, but the Entourage has curves and proportions that give it presence.

Hyundai has put enough effort into design that with a few slight touches, like alloy wheels or a bit of chrome, the Entourage even looks luxurious. The nose tracks adroitly into a standard parking space-no embarrassing three-point maneuvers to make the turn-and when the doors glide open, the interior appointments, when glanced from the outside, are sufficiently comforting. As my own little bundle of suburbia tumbles out of the Entourage, I catch a few fellow parents checking out my ride. Their expressions signal something that is crucial at Saturday soccer: approval.

The Entourage is essentially the same package as the Kia Sedona, with slightly different styling and packaging. Since the Sedona's attributes are basically the same as those of the Entourage, it's worth making a few other observations about Hyundai and its sister brand, Kia (both owned by the same South Korean conglomerate). Only a few years ago, these were cut-rate nameplates, cheap in every sense. Rapid quality improvements and consumer-friendly packaging have raised Hyundai and Kia squarely into middle-market terrain. Hyundai even has a respectable luxury sedan, the Azera. That's quite similar to the path Toyota took on its way to the top of the heap. In other words, drive the Entourage into soccerland, and make a big show of it. It's a vehicle worth being in control of.

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