yeah i've rented a bunch of kias and hyundais when i travel for work, they're usually a bit nicer than the similarly priced (ie cheap) american options from ford or chevy. when i really luck out i will get a honda or a toyota from the rental agencies tho, and i do definitely feel a difference. they drive better.
currently driving a 2007 honda accord v6; mechanically its all pretty solid still at 130k miles, but most of it is city driving in brooklyn, so pretty rough on cars. so the thing looks like shit. hard to justify doing anything about it tho, and i inherited it when my dad died so it was basically free. would really like to have some more storage and awd, or some better mileage (only gets like 21mpg city)... but the grass is always greener on the other side. i usually stay pretty up to date on all my maintenence, it could be one of those hondas that hits 200k
when it does finally croak, something like a hyundai kona seems like it could be kinda sick. i guess ill see how well they hold up over the next few years while i drive my current whip into the ground.