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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  My Tibby - 2004 Hyundai Tiburon
  By Stang - April 5 - 4:10 am

  Im 17 years old and still in high school so I needed something kinda sporty that I wouldnt get made fun of but still wouldnt kill me with insurance and gas prices. So after a month I finally found the Hyundai tiburon. Ive owned it about a month now and I love it. I love the way it handles and the purr of the engine (even with a inline four cylinder) when I start it up and it idles. I wish it could go faster than 130 mph but Im not complaining. The interior is pretty sweet. It doesnt look cheap. The body style is pretty slick looking too. I get a lot of looks when im driving around town. Being in a city in North Dakota you kinda stick out with a sportier car.

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  FLAWLESS - 2001 Hyundai Accent
  By elmotiptop - April 5 - 2:00 am

  Put 73,000 miles on car in 20 months. Average 35 MPG, mostly highway. Car has been almost perfect only 1 minor problem winshield washer squirter, repaired under warranty. Handling is good & predictable, even when pushing it. Really only complaint is brakes four wheel disk would be great. My other car (91 Saab) has it and the difference is dramatic. Only other drawback is depreciation all Korean cars lose about 25% of their valus soon as you drive off from the dealer and lose another 25% after one year. So you should plan to keep it for a long time. However, this makes it a great used car buy.

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  Nice vehicle for the price - 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring
  By John - April 4 - 10:13 am

  I like every thing about this vehicle except the the way the steering wheel is built. With one of the three connecting post right at the bottom of the steering wheel, it makes it difficult to place your hand in a comfortable position without reaching for the top of the steering wheel. Gas mileage could be better. 24 is the best i can get. Of course, most of my driving is city..stop and go.

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  love my Santa Fe - 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe
  By bloodclaws65 - April 4 - 12:16 am

  Great fun to drive , great comfort , great reliablity , love the new design, nice performance , nice fuel economy 21mpg hiway like 24mpg , drove 800 miles very comfortable . happy with my Santa Fe .

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  Camry is Gone, Sonata New Baby - 2011 Hyundai Sonata
  By 2009 Camry Gone - April 3 - 11:56 am

  I had a 2009 Camry, loved the car and hated the big payment. Researched the 2011 Hyundai Sonata and was totally impressed. Went and test drove the GLS and feel in "love". Totally impressed by the 4 cyl. power, the eye catching exterior design and the roomy interior. Fantastic standard equipment, cant wait to get the bluetooth figured out. Payment is half of what I was paying and people want to take a look.Hope it will live up to the gas mileage Im hearing about and the great reviews Im reading. I think it was a great choice and Im extremely happy with this car.

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  Fabulous Value - 2007 Hyundai Veracruz
  By Anita - April 2 - 7:50 am

  Ive had my new Veracruz for a few weeks now. So far, love it! Very intuitive controls. Super quiet. The handling is more luxury, less sport, but it has great pick up when you need it. The second row bench is very comfortable - my kids like it better than the Dodge Durango, the Nissan Maxima, and the Infiniti G35. The seat material feels like a super soft suede, very nice. 100x better than the Pilot. I cannot imagine getting a comparable vehicle for anywhere near the price (under $30k).

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  So far, so good! - 2003 Hyundai Sonata
  By willsiv - April 1 - 10:00 am

  Purchased a new 2003 Sonata w/the V6 upgrade and 4AT (no other options). Its great! Interior could use some minor adjustments - like seat comfort - the drivers side certainly doesnt "cradle" you (spoiled by my old Chevy Lumina!) The speaker sound quality is not the best - a little muddy. But overall, a GREAT deal! We were out the door at $15,806 (including a 1000 rebate). Mike and crew at Fitzgerald Auto Mall were upfront and very accommodating. More than I can say for some of the other dealers we visited before buying there.

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  Milos Tiburon GT V6 - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By MilosGTV6 - April 1 - 10:00 am

  I really like the power which the Tiburon GT gives you. Its a car that will turn heads, and if you really want speed the Tiburon GT V6 is the car you want.

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  TysTerrificTiburon! - 2003 Hyundai Tiburon
  By joeykitty - April 1 - 10:00 am

  I still find myself in awe of the dynamics of this vehicle. I have been asked by many: "What is it?" Definately a head turner/attention getter!

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  Terribly Unreliable, but wonderful dealer service - 2012 Hyundai Veloster
  By jnall - March 31 - 10:02 am

  Ive got a marathon blue luxury package with an automatic thats been plagued with gremlins. The A/V system has been replaced but random transmission problems persist (DCT). On two occasions now the transmission has stopped working. Once the car would not move from a stop despite trying drive and reverse and everything in between. Today the vehicle spontaneously went into neutral at about 30 mph. After coasting to about 5 MPH the car started moving again. I plugged in my iPhone to the A/V system once and it never worked again. Hyundai was nice enough to pay for a new phone. We have two velosters--our second one is great.