A rational mind says that it doesn’t matter which part of our blue planet your car comes from. It doesn’t matter who’s designed it, where it’s been built or by whom. The only thing that matters is the overall quality, reliability and performance and how well it accomplishes the task it was designed for. Unfortunately, rational minds are as scarce as snow blizzards in the Sahara. In the real world where we live, preconceived notions and prejudices rule. Customers are strongly opinionated with every car labeled, categorised, and branded in our minds. Manufacturers, countries, even regions garner a reputation that they sometimes find difficult to get rid of. Whichever way you look at it, in the world of luxury cars, brand is super important, snob value paramount. And in India, Honda drips brand equity in buckets, which is why when it launched the Accord it did so from a position of strength. To compete with the Honda brand in India is a tough job even for global names. Ask Mitsubishi (Lancer), Opel (Astra) or Suzuki (Baleno)
  
So when Hyundai launched the Sonata to pit it directly against the Accord, what chance would it have against its Japanese rival? After all, in most markets around the world, Hyundai is not a brand that consumers want to flaunt. But in India, thanks to a range of highly succesful products and clever brand management the Hyundai name is more respected here than anywhere else in the world outside Korea.
  
The difference in brand equity between Honda and Hyundai in India may be smaller in India but is it small enough for the Korean car maker to make the same statement as the Accord? Is the Sonata good enough to see off what is arguably the best known and most sought after luxury car in the market? These are questions car buyers with more than a million bucks in their pocket want the answers to.