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The Koreans are here to stay. I’ve said it before, but few people believed me. Most folks responded with Hyundai jokes.

That’s Hyundai, as in the Hyundai Accent, Elantra, Sonata and Tiburon — all good little cars that nonetheless are viewed as suspect by much of the U.S. buying public.

That’s because the first Hyundai cars were stinkers, rotten little putt-putts with myriad quality problems. Hyundai thus became synonymous with shoddiness — an error compounded by the tendency to label any Korean car subpar.

I have advice for people still holding such views. In the immortal words of District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry: “Get over it!”

If you need help making that emotional leap, I suggest you take a drive in a new Daewoo. That’s Daewoo as in the Daewoo Group, the Korean maker of the Lanos subcompact car, the Leganza luxury sedan and the Nubira compact — all of which are scheduled to go on sale in the United States later this month.

I’ve driven the Lanos and Leganza, and will concentrate on the Lanos in this column. But both cars are solid competitors in their respective categories — especially at their 1998 introductory prices.

This is no joke.

The Lanos, for example, is as ugly as sin with its lopsided lump of an oval body; but it’s an exceptionally well-built, spirited runner that is bound to give rivals a run for the money. Indeed, the Lanos’s very ugliness works to its advantage. It’s different. People notice it. Lots of people will choose an ugly car with personality over a bland car with none — especially if the ugly car can boogie on the road.

The Lanos can boogie. This became evident in lots of close-encounter driving in the District and adjacent communities, where driver courtesy apparently is a thing of the past. The little Lanos darted around obstacles, braked smartly, accelerated competently on expressway entry ramps and in lane changes. It even held its own in high-speed highway traffic.

I was impressed; but impressed more so because the little car was comfortable. It didn’t wear me out, as many little cars do because of their marginal suspension systems, which can’t handle bumps.

Credit goes to the Lanos’s chassis, which was developed by Porsche. For a small car, it has a wide stance, and a relatively long wheel base at 99.2 inches. That ample geometry gives the car balance, making it less susceptible to upsets on rough roads and in turns. The McPherson-strut front suspension also helps.

The Lanos is a front-wheel-drive, four-seat car, available as a three-door hatchback or four-door sedan. The sedan is prettier. The hatchback looks, well, hatched.

The tested hatchback comes with a 1.6-liter, in-line four-cylinder, double-overhead-cam engine designed to produce 105 horsepower at 5,800 rpm and 106 pound-feet of torque at 3,400 rpm. It’s a willing little hummer.

Daewoo will try to sell its cars directly to the public, using company-owned stores, 14 of which should be in o peration nationwide by Sept. 1. The company expects to expand this sales concept, bypassing traditional dealerships, as its sales grow in this country.

It’s a bold retail move, one that is sure to stir up controversy and ridicule. People will say that the company is trying to do the impossible — the same people who once said it was impossible for the Japanese to gain substantial market share in the United States; who said it was impossible for super-auto retail giant AutoNation USA to succeed; who said it was silly to think that Daimler-Benz AG, maker of Mercedes-Benz cars and trucks, could ever be interested in buying Chrysler Corp.

1999 Daewoo Lanos

Complaints: Strictly superficial — the Lanos is ugly.

Praise: It is one of the best-built, fun-to-drive, actually affordable economy cars available.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Pretty darn decent in all three categories. Highly competitive. Excellent braking, including panic stops.

Head-t urning quoti ent: So ugly, it’s cute. It definitely gets noticed.

Safety: Dual front air bags; side-impact barrier protection with impact beams in all doors; pre-tensioning seat belts; anti-submarining seats with steel reinforcements; accommodates installation of baby seats (but check with Daewoo sales agent to make sure you are using compatible infant’s seat).

Mileage: About 27 miles per gallon. Tank holds 12.7 gallons of recommended regular unleaded gasoline. Estimated range is 339 miles on usable volume of fuel.

Sound system: AM/FM stereo radio with compact disc. Installed by Daewoo. Pretty good.

Price: Introductory 1998 prices on the Lanos — “lanos” being Latin for “pleasure” — range from $9,000 to $12,000.

Purse-strings note: I don’t know how this factory-store thing will work out. But the car most certainly is worth the look for anyone in the market for a well-made economy ride.