1.5 DOHC GLSi (X2)

STORY

The Excel followed the rear-drive Pony as Hyundai's first front-wheel-drive car. Giorgetto Giugiaro designed the body, and the 1.3 and 1.5-litre four-cylinder engines came from Mitsubishi. It was developed from 1981 under the name X Car. It reached the US in 1986 at $4,995, the first Hyundai exported there, and was a best-selling import in its first year. The redesigned X2 arrived in April 1989 as the New Excel, and production ended in July 1994. Quality-control problems damaged Hyundai's reputation in those years.