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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  I love this car - its a keeper! - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Lolo - September 11 - 2:00 am

  I cant say enough about my Sonata. Its dependable, reliable and simply a great looking car. I saw someone driving this car in 2004, walked into my credit union back inquired on this vehicle and said exactly what I wanted and I got it 2 days later. Never test drive this car, first time ever doing that when purchasing a car! Best thing I ever did and have not regrets either. I plan on buying another Hyundai but I do plan to keep my Sonata. It too had a paint chip in the door handles and a radiator replacement but overall its an outstanding car. I have had this car 6 years now and approximately 190,000 miles. Imagine that! Longest I ever owned a car with that many miles.

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  Falling apart - 2000 Hyundai Elantra
  By janey - September 10 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car used in 2004. The window switch for one window was broken and the speedometer had been replaced around 14,000 miles. Since then, the switch to another window, as well as the regulators to two windows, have died. An outside door handle broke off. The transmission went out in 2006 (a bearing "disintegrated," according to the technician) and is going out again now (2010). The computer is dying and the throttle position sensor. There is a short in the dash that makes the interior lights come on and off randomly, and sometimes a little puff of smoke comes out of the steering column. The seating is uncomfortable and the cup holders are in front of the stereo.

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  Best Sonata that Hyundai has ever made! - 2004 Hyundai Sonata
  By Jason - September 6 - 2:00 am

  I have had this car for about a year and a half, and I love it. The only downside is city mileage. I love the style inside and out. Inside, the mahogany wood grain complements the interior nicely. Plus, the body style has an expensive look to it. It is silver, which to me is the best color of all the 04 Sonatas. Its sleek, sporty, and rather fast surprisingly. I have the V6 2.7L, which delivers a lot of power and speed. It may be six years old, but she still runs like a champ. I Love this car, and I hope to get another 100,000 thousand miles out of her.

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  Great Little Car - 2002 Hyundai Elantra
  By Lin - September 5 - 2:00 am

  Read the reviews and bought Hyundai for first time. This has been a great car. Reliable, sporty feel to it. Car has held up well for being inexpensive.

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  Replaced Michelins with Bridgestones - 2008 Hyundai Azera
  By sgtusmc73 - September 5 - 2:00 am

  OEM Michelins with lots of rubber were driving me nuts with their noise. Replaced them with Bridgestone Turanzas Serenity. Holy Crapola! What an upgrade in so many ways it drives like a new car. No more noise and hippity hopping down the bunny trail anymore. And the car drives like it is on a track, unbelievable. Got the tires out the door for $400. Great deal great tire finally great handling and cruising and silence - blessed silence. Those Michelins were driving my buggy. Those are the only Michelins I have ever had on a car and they will be the only ones. SemperFi

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  Great but - 2011 Hyundai Genesis
  By vjk - September 5 - 2:00 am

  Some items have been overlooked in an otherwise great car. No mute button. No pedal adjustment. No outside temperature view. No power folding mirrors. Surround sound is not permanent selection. No 6 disc with navigation a few of the shortfalls

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  My hyundai - 2000 Hyundai Sonata
  By Metry - September 4 - 2:00 am

  Well. i got my hyundai sonata from this man who said he bought it from a lady who had it for years, APPARENTLY, she didnt take care of it. I end up getting spark plugs, diff. fuel lines, fuel pump, catalytic converter and many tires. Paint is fading. Transmission is slipping. got my bushings & tie rod replaced on the passenger side, JUST A LOT. luckily i didnt have to pay for anything but the fuel pump (: STILL A LOT OF WORK. Im ready to switch cars.

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  What an excellent surprise! - 2010 Hyundai Genesis
  By SeistaKeyGolfer - September 4 - 2:00 am

  One of our children had just totaled my 2001 GS430 Lexus L-Tuned. I loved that car. Distraught and needing a car, a friend encouraged me to look at the Genesis. After owning nothing but Lexus, BMW, Saab Turbos,Mazda 929, I was very skeptical.I drove the Genesis demo 8 cylinder for two days. I was amazed. My wife was amazed, and that takes a lot of "doing". I thought about it for two days and drove another V8 demo for a day. I was hooked. We have just finished a 3000 mile trip to New England and on IS-95 the V8 averaged 27.5 mpg--- unbelievable and comfort was great. This car is as good as any I have owned. Keep making Genesis this good and youll see the competition through the rear view mirror.

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  Decent little inexpensive car - 2007 Hyundai Accent
  By JeramieH - September 3 - 2:00 am

  Generally positive so far in the first 65K miles. Had to replace the battery once during a particularly hard winter freeze, and have had to replace the tires already. Other than that, its been painless and gotten me around quite well with no problems and rather comfortably for the price.

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  Happy College student - 2007 Hyundai Elantra
  By Happy Elantra owner - September 3 - 2:00 am

  I bought this beauty after months of deliberation between the civic, corolla, honda fit and accent. For 12,000, I got it used with 19k mi on it. In general, this car is very reliable, love the blue lighting, interior space. Friends with the corolla and civic love to ride in this car as it is just Bigger from the inside. It rides very well. I have taken 1000 mi + road trips in this car and it has not given any problems. It has tackled rain, sun and snow like a beast. I would highly recommend this affordable, fuel-thrifty, comfortable hyundai to anyone. I am sold with Hyundais dedication to making good cars, and am looking at buying the Genesis coupe as soon as I get out of Grad school.