Start with what the Hyundai Lavita is: a 5-door hatchback with 1.5 L Alpha II I4, built from 2001 to 2010, in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Lorenzo Ramaciotti (Pininfarina).
The background
The Hyundai Lavita is a multi purpose vehicle (MPV) produced by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai, from 2001 to 2010. It was also marketed as the Hyundai Matrix in Europe and Southeast Asia, and as the Hyundai Elantra LaVita in Australia. It was mechanically related to the Hyundai Elantra (XD) and was designed by the Italian company Pininfarina. Sales commenced in August 2001, and continued until the end of 2010, when it was replaced by the ix20.
The engineering
The engine is 1.5 L Alpha II I4; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. On the scales it comes to 1223-1316 kg. Drive goes through a 5-speed manual / 4-speed automatic. The layout matters: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The wheelbase is 2600 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
In the Hyundai line-up the Hyundai Lavita has a clear place: it handed the line to the Hyundai ix20; the factory was Ulsan, South Korea. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Honda Fit, the Mazda Mazda6, the Porsche Cayenne. Its Hyundai stablemates include the Hyundai Accent WRC and the Hyundai Accent.