Overview & Reviews

A relative newcomer to the American marketplace, Hyundai is a Korean automaker with a product line that has improved greatly over the past decade. Hyundai cars and SUVs provide a high level of content for an affordable price, and are currently backed by one of the industry's longest warranties.

In 1947, Chung Ju Yung founded the Hyundai Civil Engineering Company. Mere months later, the outfit was bombed in the Korean War. However, the company regained its footing to distinguish itself as one of Korea's leading construction enterprises during the 1950s.

By the late 1960s, Chung had turned his attention to the automobile industry. The Korean government at that time believed that it made more sense to import vehicles than produce them domestically, and had made its opinion known. Still, Chung opted to follow his own convictions, and in 1967, he founded the Hyundai Motor Company.

The company quickly established an alliance with one of the industry's oldest automakers, signing a two-year contract with Ford in 1968 to share assembly technology. Hyundai's first car, the Cortina, was created from that partnership. The manufacturer's first car to be designed and built in Korea was the compact Pony (although the car was based on Japanese technology courtesy of Mitsubishi). The vehicle made its debut in 1974, and the following year Hyundai began exporting it to overseas markets.

Hyundai entered the U.S. market in 1986 with the introduction of its subcompact Excel. The car was an immediate hit, with its supreme affordability being a primary selling point. More than 100,000 Excels were sold stateside in the first seven months. By 1988, Hyundai had begun to produce cars using its own technology. The midsize Sonata was the first fruit borne of this endeavor.

Unfortunately, Hyundai's nascent image was soon tarnished by the poor durability and reliability of its vehicles. Sales tanked. However, rather than abandon the American market in the '90s, Hyundai chose to invest heavily in new product designs and improvements in overall quality and reliability. In 1998, Hyundai also purchased Kia, another Korean automaker, to expand its business and economies of scale.

It all started to pay off by the start of the new millennium, with the 2001 Elantra in particular showing massive improvements in overall quality, reliability and performance. Other models followed suit and the desirability of Hyundai cars increased sharply. Providing an extraordinarily long warranty period didn't hurt either.

Today's lineup is indicative of Hyundai's complete turnaround. Hyundai has a vehicle for nearly every segment, including the economical Accent subcompact, the popular Elantra compact, the midsize Sonata sedan (also available as a hybrid), sporty Genesis and Veloster coupes and a couple of stylish SUVs. Hyundai has also expanded into the entry-level and premium-level luxury sedan markets with its Genesis and Equus sedans. Having gone from being the butt of late-night TV jokes in the 1980s to a well-respected manufacturer of quality vehicles, Hyundai has created a very inspiring rags-to-riches story.

User Reviews:

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  Make up for the low price in repairs - 1997 Hyundai Sonata
  By Leeann - June 3 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Sonata used a couple years ago. It ran fine for about six months. When it hit 100,000 it fell apart. Ive had it in the shop about twice a month for the last year and a half. It has been one headache after another. I would recommend that you not touch this car with a 10-foot pole.

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  Excellent vehicle - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By tecolotelrd - June 2 - 3:32 pm

  Just bought a used 2011 SE with 29K miles and so far I really like this car. It has great exterior design, the interior feels well built and the materials do not feel cheap at all. The features are really nice and ride comfort is great for my standards. The only concern I had was about the left pull I read so much about, so when I test drove this vehicle, I paid the most attention to this. Either the issue was fixed previously or it never had it because at 70-75 mph it never pulled to any side.

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  MY SUV - 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By MORRISON - June 2 - 10:00 am

  I SUGGEST THIS SUV TO EVERYONE FOR PRICE STYLE, WARRENTY, FEATURES, ETC. I WOULD AT LEAST CHECK IT OUT

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  Hidden Gem - 1.6T ECO - One hell of a sprinter - 2015 Hyundai Sonata
  By jasonsjwou - June 2 - 12:27 am

  After considering Accord, Camry, Fusion, Altima and Mazda 6, I chose Sonata ECO. This is my first Hyundai purchase, and boy Hyundai came a long way. Its up there with Honda and Toyota now - Hyundai is better than many Japanese and American brands, when it comes to FWD sedans. MPG - I can put this car in "SPORT" mode and floor the gas pedal all I want and still get 30MPG. Using cruise control at 80MPH, I can get 34MPG all day long. With little light footwork and drive conservatively, I hit 40MPG regularly. I measured 0-60 myself, and consistently get under 7 sec. This is a new model so I cant speak for reliability, but hyundai reliability is up there among the best.

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  Pleasantly Surprised by the Santa Fe - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Ed Brunson - June 1 - 11:20 pm

  We initially overlooked the SF, mainly due to the old stigma of Hyundai. We looked at The Toyotas RAV4 and Highlander, the Honda CRV, the Ford Edge and the Mitsubishi Outlander. All had their good and bad qualities. I did the research and decided to take another look at the SF. Im glad we did. The SF excelled in appearence, safety features, warranty & price. It was easily $3-5,000 less than the other models, loaded. Hyundai really did their homework, its like they took the best attributes of all of the vehicles we tested and put them in one package. Their attention to detail on the interior is noticible. Granted, its not perfect, but for the price, its an exceptional value.

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  Wow. Hyundais come a long way! - 2008 Hyundai Elantra
  By Doug - June 1 - 6:16 pm

  I was in the market for a small to mid-size car that gets good gas mileage. After driving the Civic, the Corolla, and the Mazda 3, I bought the new Elantra SE. It had more torque (read "get up and go!"). more room, and was more comfortable than either the Civic or Corolla, and was thousands less than a Mazda 3 with the same equipment. Its quiet and comfortable with lots of storage space.

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  Excellent low-cost sports car ... - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By DChristopher - June 1 - 2:26 pm

  You get everything you could possibly need for 20.5K + TT&L! The looks are undeniably awesome (from the sleek "borrowed" lines to the dual exhaust rear-shot), the power is there (come on, 2.7L V6 @ 180+hp is plenty), the equipment is far from sufficient (the next possible add-on would be DVD-navigation or some junk like that) and the warranty is great for peace of mind. I havent had any problems with mine yet and I dont foresee any ... sure, the reliability is not proven but thats why we have 48-month leases for! I also have a $38K 01 Olds Aurora and I have to admit its hard to pick a favorite. The Tiburons suspension is a tad rough, but hey, isnt that the whole point?

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  Good buys come in small packages. - 2017 Hyundai Elantra
  By Mike - June 1 - 6:41 am

  Im happy with the car. I maintain it at the prescribed intervals and dont drive it hard. The manual 6-speed transmission makes it fun to drive. Downshifting makes my brakes last a long time, and having a manual clutch is cheap insurance should my battery ever fail to start the motor. It handles fine at all speeds up to 75mpg, which is the fastest Ive driven it. I bought it new in 2016, but it was a 2017 model and had only 8 miles on the odometer. Owing to several discounts, I paid only $17,000 for it out the door (tax & license included). I have no doubt it will continue to give me reliable service. I would buy another one without hesitation.

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  Fun to drive, great value, very reliable - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By proaudiorep - June 1 - 2:00 am

  Bought in May 2000, paid off last month. I looked at Civic, Corolla and some other competitors there was no real competition for this car at its price. Amazing car for the money!

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  My first SUV - 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By Marie - June 1 - 12:16 am

  This is my first SUV and it is a sound vehicle and it looks great too. I didnt get the 4 wheel drive, but I didnt have any trouble in a snow storm. The traction control worked great.