Actually, Hyundai has been steadily climbing the ladder as far a build quality is concerned, they are now easily on par with American makes (and, in my personal subjective opinion, a darn sight better than Chrysler). Hyundai still cannot hit the standards set by the Germans and the Japanese, but few cars can. The only reason I can think of not to buy a Hyundai is preferance (i.e. you like a Civic or a Lumina better) and the imagined perception of others. Despite (sp?) Hyundai's great strides in reliability and build quality they are still percieved as barely a step up from the infamous Yugo. Goes to show how important first impressions are. I really think that you would be getting a great value for you money with that car.
Zenmervolt
EDIT: Experiences with Hyundai's; My friend's brother drove one of the original Excels for the longest time. He hated the car, and tried to kill it several times, but the thing would not quit, I recall him mentioning that he regularly went for more than 15,000 miles without an oil change. I recall that the car finally died when he hit ice in the winter and introduced the Excel to a tree at moderate velocity, destroying the drivetrain. The engine still ran, by the way, albeit rather roughly.